Approach · Business research
Every engagement starts by finding out how the business actually works.
We study an organization firsthand: its objectives, how its people and systems work today, and where information gets lost between them. That includes industries we haven't worked in before. The investigation decides what comes next, so it comes first.
How we approach it
- 01
Talk to the people who do the work.
Owners and staff explain how things happen today, exceptions included. At D.W. Ross that meant seventeen recorded working sessions, with a person correcting the notes against what was actually said.
- 02
Read what the business already says about itself.
Its website, its listings and directories, and what AI assistants answer about it. The D.W. Ross discovery found the business described differently across its own pages, its Google listing, directories and AI answers.
- 03
Trace where each fact lives and who can confirm it.
Some knowledge sits in people's heads, some on paper, some in software. For each fact that matters, we find the person with the authority to say it's right.
- 04
Keep the evidence with the finding.
Every material finding carries the source or observation behind it, marked confirmed or still needing review.
Questions it answers
- How does work actually move through the organization today?
- Where does information get lost between people, paper and software?
- Which facts does the business depend on, and who can confirm each one?
- Does what customers and AI assistants see match what the business knows?
In practice
Where this shows up in our own work, with each item's current status.
Tell us what you're trying to accomplish.
We'll talk through the problem, whether Lehvel is a good fit, and a sensible next step. The scope comes from the problem, not a package.