Transformative Experiences: All of The Collaboratives are Transformative

Last week Stone Mantel announced our newest Collaborative: The Transformation Economy Collaborative (TEC). This is a big deal and we are extremely excited about the program. When we launch a new Collaborative, we intend for that program to build and grow over seven to eight years. So we are making a seven year commitment to new content, lots of new research, assistance, and insights. 

Which is exactly what we do with all of our Collaboratives. This year we will have three Collaborative programs: The Digital Healthcare Collaborative, which is in its 6th year. The Meaningful Experiences Collaborative, which is in its 4th year. And the TEC.

Stone Mantel Collaboratives Defy Easy Description

When we first describe our programs to new companies seeking to join, they often think we are like Forrester, Gartners, or the Conference Board. That’s because they associate the quarterly meetings we hold with case study discussion formats that these companies produce.  

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The Collaboratives are programs designed around an important experience strategy topic where companies join to study, to share, to build frameworks, and to innovate. We do not start out with the answers but we build upon previous work and the best thinking to create new ways of understanding near future problems. There are no group discussions where people share abbreviated versions of case studies they worked on--with approval of their companies. Instead Stone Mantel provides the research and content and Collaborative members work together to find ways to apply frameworks to solutions. That means you don’t have to share anything about your company to participate but you learn a tremendous amount that you can take back to your company. 


The four pillars of The Collaboratives are:

  1. Conduct primary research that can truly make an impact on your customers or employees. 

  2. Work alongside a group of like-minded, forward-thinking, solution-oriented individuals to help you solve experience strategy problems in innovative ways.

  3. Build new frameworks, measurement tools, and design tools to drive improvements for your employee and customer experiences and transformations.  

  4. Think with some of the most influential brands on the planet. 

When you do the kind of work we do in The Collaboratives it changes you. Some people describe it as being like getting a Master Degree. You think differently. You see your company’s challenges differently. And you leave with the evidence you need to help your company grow. 

A Short History of Our Programs

Well over 100 companies have been a part of Collaboratives run by Stone Mantel. Disney, Marriott, Coca-Cola -- many of the top consumer brands in the world have participated. As have many of the best healthcare companies. 

When I started Stone Mantel in 2005, one of my first clients was Deluxe Corporation. Realizing that the checks business was dying, a group of innovators at Deluxe, led by Jeff Vande Velde created a program called the Deluxe Collaborative, which was focused on customer experience. It’s goal was to help banks and credit unions become more customer centered, and was part of a transformation Deluxe was going through to find new opportunities for growth. Jeff left the next year and Martie Woods took over. The program for banks and credit unions lasted nine years. And Stone Mantel provided the research, methodology, and frameworks that guided the program. In every way, we were ahead of our time. 

When Deluxe decided to stop funding the Deluxe Collaborative, Stone Mantel launched a new series of cross-industry, topically based, programs. We started with the Digital Consumer Collaborative, which was focused on the impact of future technologies on consumer behavior. Then a group of healthcare experts came to us and asked us to create a program focused on digital, patients, and value-based care. We call that program today, The Digital Healthcare Collaborative. It’s helped many healthcare companies catch up and move ahead in digital experiences. We launched the Meaningful Experiences Collaborative a few years ago to help companies who had customer experience groups, step up their game. In this program, we study new ways of thinking about individuals, families, and groups, new frameworks for journey work, in-person/digital strategy, and persona development. And, of course, analytics and metrics. This year (2022) our focus will be on how to produce and measure Time Well Spent, a topic Stone Mantel first introduced to customer experience professions in 2007.  This year is also the inauguration of the Transformation Economy Collaborative. My dear friend, Joe Pine, first articulated the Transformation Economy in 1999. Today, the Transformation Economy is growing by leaps and bounds. 

There is so much for your company to learn this year about transformations, time well spent, and health. We will take you on a journey with your customers and patients that will surprise and transform you.

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Transformative Experiences: The New Physical is Mental, Part 1

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The Experience Strategy Podcast: The Umami Strategy