Our work is rooted in a simple principle: ‘Customer First, Customer Throughout.’ We advise large organisations that wish to look beyond the rhetoric of being ‘customer-focused’ and ensure the needs of customers are evidenced within everything the organisation does, day in, day out. Thinking that requires new systems and processes and a far wider cultural change and that organisational effectiveness is actually measured.

JOURNEY establishes these principles via a more direct connection between organisations and their customers. It requires a clearer and deeper understanding of customer needs and expectations: a simpler approach to strategy development; the alignment of the whole organisation to 'customer first' thinking; and the challenge of linking service delivery to performance management.

Our sense is that investment in the future now requires a totally different focus. New approaches to service design and planning will have to face up to new realities - primarily, that organisations cannot continue to meet current levels of demand and expectations of services on a sustainable basis without first determining their overall effectiveness. This will involve changes in behaviours of individuals, communities, commercial businesses and the public sector alike.

The thinking is long-term. The time for application is now.