From intention to meaning
Helping impact organizations decode, design and curate their activities to be more meaningful to their audiences
A team had a problem about what its work meant.
Maybe they’d built a well-thought-out program or experience to reflect their mission, but its meaning to the team’s audience didn’t match.
Or maybe their work did have the right audience meaning, but the team struggled to develop new ideas to reinforce it.
The team found a partner to bring an outside perspective. A partner informed by the team’s goals, but grounded in the audience’s point of view.
The team and their partner explored how people actually experienced their work –
what resonated…
what confused or alienated…
what mattered more than anyone expected…
They identified patterns, strengths and opportunities. They developed plans.
The team didn’t just get feedback. They gained a better understanding of what their work meant – and could mean.
And of what to do next.
That’s the heart of what I do.
Some people come to me when they’re in rough waves —facing complex questions and internal debates about audience, purpose, or direction.
Others come when they’re on smooth water, able to think more deeply about possibilities for the meaning they create.
In both cases, my work helps –
Decipher how audiences actually experience what organizations are doing
Define what matters to the audience, and to the organization itself
Translate nuanced insight into concrete storytelling and action
Because strategizing for impact doesn’t begin with objectives. It begins with understanding people.
And organizations that understand the human experience of their work create meaningful things.
But what about that name?
In theater and movies, a "dual role" is when one performer is cast in two roles in the same production. When used effectively, a dual role can bring a project greater depth and inventiveness.
Dual-Role Strategy tackles project challenges using a dual role mindset:
modeling leadership and collaboration
championing organization and audience needs
wielding reason and creativity
“What’s my motivation?” To play both parts to create better solutions.