Sudden Compass is a collective of world-class strategists, product leaders, data analysts, and network-builders. We believe that all great work begins with understanding people.
We help companies reconnect with their customers and help teams focus on addressing human needs strategically and effectively.
By asking bold and unexpected questions, we drill down past calcified beliefs to unearth new ideas and deliver breakthrough results. We believe in fast and effective collaboration, so everything we do is lean, simple, and (dare we say it?) fun.
As company founders, we genuinely enjoy doing this work with you, not for you. So if you’re looking for 200-page slide decks and jargon-strewn reports, look elsewhere. But if you're looking to drive exceptional outcomes through deep insights, Sudden Compass will show you the way.
We're a small collective with big ideas
We are accomplished practitioners in the fields of human insights, executive recruiting and expert networks, data analytics, and product management. Our interests and experiences may run the gamut, but we share a deep love of asking bold questions, understanding people, and doing powerful work.
Custom engagements & breakthrough results
We help organizations make human-centric decisions because we believe that understanding people drives better outcomes.
Venturing into uncharted territory? Facing a complex or unexpected challenge? Let’s untangle the knots together.
STRATEGY
Bringing early-stage ideas to fruition through network-building and funding strategy
Creating agile, adaptable strategies and roadmaps
WAYS OF WORKING
Applying data and insights to understand customers and get ahead of the market
Developing human-centric data science practices
Streamlining work processes to minimize busywork and maximize collaboration
PEOPLE
Curating expert networks to introduce cutting-edge new ideas
Recruiting extraordinary leadership teams
Training and coaching research and product teams
How We Think
Here is a selection of some tools we've created for you to use and some books, talks, and articles we've put out into the world.
We partnered with Google to publish this guide to Unlock Sprints, a cross-functional practice for turning data into breakthrough insights and actions.
Over 100 people from companies like Disney, American Express, and Amazon have taken this pledge to spend no more than one page and one hour working on any deliverable before sharing it with their colleagues.
Article
THICK DATA
This watershed article coined the term “thick data” to describe the stories, emotions, and human connections that “big data” alone cannot capture.
In this TED talk with over 2 million views, Tricia Wang provides a compelling history of why “big data” has always needed “thick data” to be understood and interpreted, from the Oracles of ancient Greece to the dashboards of the modern enterprise.
This book describes the principles and practices of the Agile movement in clear, jargon-free terms that are equally accessible to product teams, executives, marketers, and creatives.
This book focuses on the real-world practice of product management with all its daily challenges, frustrating setbacks, grudging compromises, and hard-won incremental gains.
How modern marketing became obsessed with performance and optimization--and lost its humanity along the way
On how the quantitative metrics we create to defend our work--like the ubiquitous Net Promoter Score (NPS)---can become our destroyers.
Case Studies
SPOTIFY
Asking unexpected questions to unveil crucial customer specifics.
PROCTER & GAMBLE
Meeting customers where they are to help craft resonant marketing messages.
CREDIT SUISSE
Connecting a legacy brand to historically overlooked and undervalued communities.
