INTENT is a method for creating purpose, enabling a team to perform unusually well.
Using a facilitated 3-step approach, the team establishes clarity, understanding and alignment. At the same time a working culture emerges that is creative, productive and has a good team spirit.
Great things come from great teams – made with INTENT.
There are three steps to create an INTENT
- Diverge, Re-frame and Align.
During Diverge, different perspectives are shared and captured.
In Re-frame, this “raw material” is sorted, filtered and synthesized to create the “Shared Why”, "Most Valuable Problem" or "Success DNA" - all types of INTENT.
A "Real Team" arises when people Align through finalizing the shared INTENT together.
The INTENT is then ready to use for example for ideation, decision-making, communication or just getting back on track.
Read a fuller description of the INTENT® process »
The benefit of doing an INTENT process is that you get much faster aligned about “what this is” and “what it is not”. You get a team spirit built up really efficiently and the chance of failure is reduced because we have discussed the initial hurdles.
The INTENT method creates an enormous synergy in the group and great trust between the participants. This means that the risk of the project failing due to misunderstandings between the participants is considerably reduced. The INTENT-based projects that I have been involved with have all subsequently given very concrete and successful results.
As a program manager the INTENT approach gives me confidence that we are developing the right thing. It delivers a shared goal that everyone in the team has ownership in because the task is not given to the team, but defined by the team. Each member contributes from their professional experience – so we know it is thought through from all perspectives.
Another benefit we got from using the INTENT approach is early alignment between a new technology and the value it can provide to the company and user. We also got a shared direction early on in the process, making it a lot easier to make decisions.
It’s a big “aha-experience” to go through the INTENT process. The method is democratic where everyone participates, be they a naturally quiet or loud person. The method brings the best out in people and satisfaction with the result is high because everyone feels they have been part of the process. Furthermore the INTENT process ensures that you don’t waste time on endless discussions but come quickly to a usable result. I can thoroughly recommend the method.
I participated as external consultant in an INTENT workshop facilitated by Tim. INTENT was a great way for me, as an outsider, to get deep insights about the specific project and my client in just two days. Normally its months before I have that level of knowledge in a project.
The entire participating team started out having very different knowledge about the project and very different views of the project's goals. But after completing the INTENT process, we all had one clear, shared direction to carry us forward.
I recently had the opportunity to follow and INTENT process from start to finish and I saw that they were able to take everyone’s diverse point of view and develop them into a coherent intent. In the process of doing that they became what looked to me like a real team
At INTENT we advise, facilitate and train individuals and partners to create “Shared Why” and “Success DNA” solutions using the INTENT method.
As an advisor we advise on how to create alignment within teams or partnerships.
As a facilitator we facilitate the INTENT method in a particular team.
As a trainer we train individuals within an organisation to work with the INTENT method.
The Danish Design Award was re-launched in 2016 as a joint venture by the government (represented by the Danish Design Council) and design practitioners (represented by Design Denmark). They used the INTENT method to create an aligned team that produced a highly creative and productive results. The Danish Design Award is an award “worth winning “ and communicates the breadth, strength and value of design within Danish society.
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The Oticon Delta was a unique hearing instrument, that performed very well yet didn’t look at all conventional. It became a classic. When the time came for it to be replaced, how could the team ensure that the new instrument would have a similar level of desirability and integrity? The team used the INTENT method to form a team capable of creating a new classic – the Oticon Intiga.
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The concept development team at FOSS work with a complex variety of technologies to produce analytical equipment for the agricultural industries. By combining business, user and technology knowledge, they create concept solutions for a wide range of agricultural customers. The team used the INTENT method to devise an effective and efficient way of working to deliver consistently high quality concepts.
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When GN Hearing used the INTENT method to align a large, cross-functional team, they also wanted to measure the effectiveness of the approach. So they asked an Associate Professor from the Copenhagen Business School to measure both the value creation and team-forming effects of the method. The results are quite remarkable – for example 94% said they understand their colleagues’ point of view better as a result of the INTENT method.
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The interior design profession has changed over the last 20 years. With the popularity of television programs making interior design look very easy and architectural firms offering similar services, the traditional individual interior designer faces challenges in communicating the relevance and value of their profession.
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Tim has a varied background - having studied and worked in electronic engineering, industrial design and both B2B and B2C marketing. He has a holistic approach - with a particular ability to bridge the creative-technical and design-business worlds.
“I believe that teams and organisations can work far more effectively, creatively and enjoyably than they typically do at present. After many years of working in corporate life I had an “Aha!” moment about how this could be done, and set up INTENT is the vehicle to unfold the INTENT concept”
He has held 9 different roles (Researcher, Engineer, Designer, Educator, Marketer, Program Manager, Business Developer, Strategist and Facilitator), in 8 different industries in 7 different countries.
Tim is from the UK, but has been living and working in Denmark for many years, and is married to a Danish wife. They have an 18 year old son.
Tim Larcombe, Founder of INTENT
