DATA

Meaningful action relies on relevant information.

We combine information from multiple sources including qualitative and quantitative research, desk research, organisation data archives and the knowledge held by employees.

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“A great deal of creativity is about pattern recognition, and what you need to discern patterns is tons of data. Your mind collects that data by taking note of random details and anomalies easily seen every day: quirks and changes that, eventually, add up to insights” – Margaret Heffernan

“Research is creating new knowledge” – Neil Armstrong

“In real life I do a lot of reconnaissance and then kind of choose the guy I’m going to go after. Not like stalking, but I just want a little background info. That might be why I haven’t had many bad dates” – Claire Coffee

“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion” – W.Edwards Deming

“Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals” – David Ogilvy

INSIGHT

Grey Matters places considerable emphasis on reflection.  In the age of big data, information is not in short supply.  However intelligent analysis of its implications is often more difficult to come by.

Not only are the Grey Matters team highly experienced business analysts but we have spent many years designing and running workshops to ensure that information has direction.

“Outsiders often have an insight that an insider doesn’t quite have” – Diane Abbott

“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding” – Marshall McLuhan

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it” – Aristotle

“There is nothing so terrible as activity without insight” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Knowing is not understanding. There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it” – Charles Kettering

“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better. I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself” – Elon Musk

ACTION

We help organisations manage structural and cultural change. Population aging requires greater internal flexibility than ever; old ideas about career structures, loyalty and recruitment are being replaced by an emphasis on smarter more intelligent companies who factor reputation management into their thinking.

Grey Matters has considerable experience in helping organisations evolve into more flexible entities – we help you make policy a reality.

“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing” – W.Edwards Deming

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you” – Thomas Jefferson

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision” – Dalai Lama

“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action” – Herbert Spencer

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world” – Joel A.Barker

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction” – John F. Kennedy

“I love doing the action stuff. It’s soooo much fun!” – Paul Walker

“It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny” – Colin Powell