Our group has been forged together by a different alloy...
Cygnus Sprints Believes
Chances are if you joined an incumbent management consultancy, a flashy boutique or alternative styled advisory firm, you were either seeking a solid base salary, starting out your career, trying to make some "bank" or chasing the brass ring of prestige or partnership. Nothing wrong with that.
Cygnus principals and advisors have come together for a much different reason. To a person, we live and breathe: making sense of the world, improving the craft, doing great work and helping interesting clients. We came together in the midst of a global pandemic, we are staying together to do great things differently.
Guild Values
Cygnus means quite literally, to be of the Swan, tied closely to the Grey Swan Guild — the movement that birthed our venture. It connotes kinship and belonging to a much bigger movement.
Thus, we zealously embrace the four core values of the Grey Swan as guidance for our Cygnus efforts::
Collaborative — committed to the collective good
Purposeful — evidence-based, impacting policy, and driving humanity forward
Curious — critical, rational, optimistic & aware
Aspirational — a ceaseless can-do spirit, and search for non-ordinary/innovative solutions
Sprint Mindset
Like Swans, our Cygnus principals and advisors form a wedge against the headwinds of change and complexity . A wedge is that V-formation that swans make while flying in formation, serving as a powerful metaphor for rotating leadership, aerodynamic flight paths and sensing currents of least resistance..
As a multidisciplinary group, we are a global "V" of experience that intrinsically understands:
Range ie Better —we mash up and go beyond traditional industries, standard disciplines and conventional thinking to configure and produce distinctively better stuff
On-Demand — we provide what clients want, when they want it, and how, valuing wins & outcomes over hours & usage rates
Agility — we know speed matters, we act in favor of the smart actions of today, synthesizing the current and backcasting from preferred futures
Comfort with Ambiguity — we recognize that new thinking involves uncertainty and push forward despite incomplete info, complex factors and dynamic shifts
Cygnus Tone
In astronomical terms, Cygnus is a celestial northern constellation, representing: a steadying guidepost, a reassuring source of inspiration and a confident, clear skies, pathway in the stars.
Our recent Cygnus survey suggests more than any other dissatisfier of consulting service firms is their arrogance and tone. We won't tolerate that and instead embrace four integral tones of engagement:
With You, Not At You – .clients are our valued partners, not our lab rats, experiments or stepping stones
Empathy — we're on your side, we've been in your shoes before, we understand change isn't easy, and we listen
Wisdom & Confidence — it is all about the work, the craft and the results, park the ego or attitude at the door
Allies for a Better Future — we share our ambitions, passions & resources for imagining & realizing what's next