Texas-based corporate consulting firm Opgrade has been disrupting the industry with client-centric and process focused frameworks for over 12 years. Founded with the vision of helping businesses see the forest and the trees, Opgrade has built a legacy of delivering sustainable results through accountability. By equipping teams to recognize their barriers to success and overcome them independently, the firm’s outlook on corporate strategy and planning surpasses outdated templates used by competitors. Many consulting firms have become notorious for short-lived solutions that leave teams feeling overburdened and unlikely to take ownership of new changes. Opgrade understands the limitations of this approach, which is why it transparently educates clients on the fundamentals of strategy and offers hands-on support for how they can discover the strategic framework that works best for their organization.
C-suite executives are the stewards of a company’s values and vision. Their leadership shapes what actions an organization takes to meet future milestones. Yet, this roadmap is often not well communicated throughout the organization. Even for those who understand what a company is working toward, these goals can lack the specificity necessary for real change. Opgrade Founding Partner Nathan Barber says that many companies conflate tactics with strategies. “Tactics are actions you take when you know what you need to do,” Nathan says. “Strategy helps you decide what to do even when you don’t know what to do.”
Opgrade addresses this issue by empowering teams to shape their own corporate strategy and planning. Rather than tell a company what its strategy needs to be or propose an action plan that employees don’t resonate with, The consulting firm helps teams choose the best approach. By enabling them to champion their company’s success, teams feel significantly more accountable for the strategy’s performance. It has transformed strategic planning from cookie-cutter suggestions to bespoke solutions that will grow with an organization. These key differences ensure that the company’s strategy will bring sustainable benefits.
In addition to taking this unique approach to corporate strategy, Opgrade leverages its SIMPLE process to optimize the effectiveness of the strategic planning process. This proprietary framework helps businesses develop a strategy to enhance their culture across several fronts.
Opgrade’s SIMPLE framework;
Set Your Strategy, Invite Alignment, Measure What Matters, Process Makes Perfect, Learn From Mistakes, and Enhance Your Culture.
To ensure companies can eventually reach their goals, they must identify where they want to go. After Setting the Strategy, companies must Invite Alignment because alignment can only be invited, not required. A company’s roadmap to success becomes more feasible as it begins Measuring What Matters. Pinpointing out how long this journey may take, what supplies are necessary, and how progress will be tracked is vital for activating a strategy. The last three steps of the SIMPLE framework exist to refine a strategy and align it with a company’s cultural values.
Process Makes Perfect describes the importance of focusing on the processes that deliver results, not just the results themselves. Learning from Mistakes is a common-sense part of the SIMPLE framework that encourages repeated failure and reflection to identify what isn’t working. The last step, Enhance Your Culture, reinforces how values and corporate strategies must be cohesive for sustainable results.
Opgrade applies the SIMPLE framework worldwide, primarily with large companies with revenue between 300 and 800 million. The firm specializes in supporting manufacturing organizations but can bring value to clients of all verticals. Its continuous support comes from strategic designers, implementation facilitators, cultural transformers, and asset optimizers. Regardless of client challenges, Opgrade deploys fun, effective methods that cultivate corporate alignment, workflow management, and other productivity boosts.
Opgrade Founding Partner Nathan Barber has a rich background in both engineering and business. He enjoys learning new things and working with teams to find creative solutions that enhance performance and profits. His perspective has influenced Opgrade’s mission to turn chaos into clarity with a bit of dad humor on the side. Inspired by a quote from businessman, investor, and philanthropist Warren Buffet, Nathan often says that ‘business is simple, not easy.’ This outlook on what it takes to achieve success describes Opgrade’s commitment to problem-solving no matter the barriers that stand in the way.
As the consulting firm expands its clientele, Opgrade hopes to act as a productivity expert for a larger network of businesses. Nathan, who owns Opgrade’s parent company, Great Family Enterprises, aims to establish a franchise ecosystem that will allow individuals to acquire and run service-based businesses with greater ease. As this plan takes shape, Nathan is also writing a book, Business Is Simple (Not Easy). Covering his business principles, the book will be informative for any entrepreneur, business owner, or individual looking to heighten their capacity for success.
Published by: Khy Talara
