“TL/DR: You should work with Cherie if outcomes matter to you and you want to enjoy getting them. You'll leave conversations with improved signal-to-noice ratio, whether you're after a clarity you can't name or you need concrete next steps in the right direction. 

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​It was a “right time, right place” thing that I met Cherie. I got recruited into an advisory group for a big, national innovation program she was heading up at the Federal Reserve. It was clear she was operating with very effective magic, and I’ve been tapping her as a coach and mentor ever since, which is close to ten years now; I've engaged her for everything from strategy support for complex programs to personal development.​

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I’ve got a couple of decades behind me in innovation strategy, but Cherie's method is mining things that are not usually visible. This is undeniably outcomes-focused work, but the heart of it is a fundamentally enjoyable, creative process. This process moves you into clarity about what you want and helps you figure out how to get it while riding the razor’s edge of intuitive vs. analytical insights.

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For those interested in frameworks: The gasoline of this thing is dialectic. It’s Hegelian, only with a toolset. I’ve experimented with some of the tools in my various circles (including with really seasoned Agile people who are way better than me), and I’m frankly amazed at how much of this stuff just isn’t on the radar of otherwise really capable and experienced folks. It's built with a feedback loop that steers continued use of the process in the right direction over time, so it naturally makes you more effective at what you're doing.

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As I’ve told Cherie, her framework needs a copyright, a brand, and a certification program ASAP. I haven't ever seen a strategic process that gives your gut enough space to actually operate in the process of decision-making.  I can't begin to imagine what combination of innate wiring and life experience has this “Cherie” showing up, but her process is a real luxury that I make a conscious choice to take advantage of.  It's having a profound impact in a lot of ways, so, as I often say to Cherie, I’m grateful she's here."