our work

approach: Solutions

• Our 2009-10 On Campus Recruiting Schedule

Dean & Company approaches each engagement as a unique situation with an appropriately tailored approach and workplan. We work in teams, often including representatives of the client organization, focused on a common, integrated set of goals and outputs. The overall effort is subdivided into individual modules: each team member is responsible for a piece of the problem, which provides focus and "ownership", and the integration of modules is a responsibility of the entire team.

We spend significant time at the beginning of assignments working closely with the client to focus our effort. Our experience has been that investment in up-front structuring pays dividends in smooth workflow later on. In particular, as we get into an assignment we often discover that the problem had been somewhat misdefined. Obviously, proper problem definition is critical if subsequent analysis is to be productive.

During the execution of an assignment, we stress the early and continuous "buy-in" of client management. Clients should understand how analysis is being conducted, be clear as to its limitations and consequences, and have ample time to think through the practical implications of recommendations. We believe clients should find no surprises in the final outcome of our work, having been closely involved in all prior phases.

In our analytical work we are constantly seeking to stretch the limits of what data and analytical technique will allow. We believe this push for constant innovation and improvement has important long-term benefits for our practice as well as immediate benefit to clients. In many cases we have succeeded in developing solid data where none was previously available, and we have applied creative analytical techniques to what otherwise would have been strictly judgmental issues. As an example, we have used decision theory and gaming models, combined with detailed competitive economics, to help clients understand the full implications of pricing or investment decisions they might take, including the consequences to competitors of their likely responses.

The problems we address are complex and abstract in nature; the solutions we deliver must not be. Client or investment performance will only change to the extent that high-level strategies can be translated through large, diffuse organizations into practical actions. We therefore strive not only to provide the "right" solution to the business issues but also to carry that solution through to practical programs that can be implemented.