Growth Team Membership TM

BEST PRACTICE GUIDEBOOKS: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Defining a Best Practice Guidebook A Best Practice Guidebook (BPG) is a step-by-step illustration of the specific activities performed by a profiled company to solve a pressing business challenge. BPG Research Methodology This document outlines the five-step methodology employed by the Growth Team Membership research team to ensure the viability and pertinence of the guidebooks. The methodology is presented in two formats: the full version that details each step, and a condensed version in a table. Step I: Problem Identification ObjectiveIdentify the most pressing challenges faced by each of the eight functions within the CEOs growth team Core Activities: Conduct web-based surveys of director-level and above executives within each of the functions Analyze the results and identify the most urgent and widely-shared challenges facing each function Step II: Research Agenda Development ObjectiveDevelop a function-specific research agenda that focuses best practices research on addressing the most pressing issues. Core Activities: Develop the formal research agenda by function and geographic region - and share with the GTM membership through CVE and Sales teams Perform secondary research to identify current thinking and standard practices that address the core challenges Formulate research interview guides Develop a list of potential interviewees based on: o Examination of client presentations at Frost events o Discussions with sales and events teams at Frost o Review of current GTM membership o Secondary research in media to identify thought leaders

www.frost.com

Growth Team Membership TM

Step III: Primary Research ObjectiveIdentify potential best practices that solve the underlying causes of the identified challenges Core Activities: Conduct a series of initial scoping interviews with executives to: o Refine understanding and drive prioritization of the issues o Further develop knowledge of standard current practice/strategies employed against the challenges o Develop a set of hypotheses about the underlying causes of the issues and the possible solutions to the challenges Test and hone the hypotheses based on interviews Document the tools, processes and tactics being employed and benchmark them to identify companies with potential best-in-class practices Prioritize additional interviews with the identified companies Step IV: Best Practice Documentation ObjectiveDetail the best practice from the profiled company so that members can effectively implement the solution in their own organization. Core Activities: Conduct in-depth interviews with executive(s) from the company on their best practice Create a storyboard that summarizes the processes, tools and templates used by the company in creating and implementing their best practice Refine the storyboard through review sessions with executives from profiled company Put the storyboard into the formal BPG template Finalize the BPG and obtain written sign-off for publication from the appropriate executives within the profiled company Step V: Best Practice Guidebook Publication ObjectiveDisseminate the completed Best Practice Guidebook to the GTM membership Core Activities: Post completed Best Practice Guidebook on the GTM member portal. Identify the functions that the guidebook is most relevant for Set up an Ask the Thought Leader webcast. This provides a detailed overview of the guidebook from core process components to detailed implementation steps. In addition, the presentation includes a Q&A session with the executive(s) who created the profiled best practice.

www.frost.com

Growth Team Membership TM

BEST PRACTICE GUIDEBOOKS: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY I. STEP Problem Identification II. Research Agenda Development III. Primary Research IV. Best Practices Documentation V. Best Practices Guidebook Publication

OBJECTIVE

Identifying the most pressing challenges faced by each of the eight functions within the CEOs growth team

Develop a function-specific research agenda for best practices research based on the most pressing challenges

Detail the best practice from Identify potential best practices the profiled company to that solve the underlying causes enable members to effectively of the identified challenges implement the solution within their own organization.

Disseminate completed Best Practice Guidebook to the GTM membership

KEY ACTIVITIES

Conduct web-based surveys and analyze data to identify the most urgent and widelyshared challenges for each function

Develop a formal research agenda, share the agenda with GTM members, perform secondary research, formulate an interview guide, and develop a list of potential interviewees

Conduct initial scoping interviews with companies, develop and refine hypotheses on the challenge, benchmark potential best practices based on their tools, processes and tactics, prioritize companies for additional interviews

Conduct in-depth interviews, create storyboard draft of solution, revise storyboard with profiled company, put storyboard into Best Practice Guidebook template, and finalize guidebook with written sign-off from profiled company

Post guidebook on the GTM portal, include identification of functions it is most relevant to, set up an Ask the Thought Leader webcast

OUTPUT

Research topics for each of the eight functions in the CEOs growth team

A set of function-specific agendas outlining the key challenges. A structured approach to investigate the functional challenges including: background information on topics, interview guide and pools of potential best practice companies

A prioritized list of best-inclass practices requiring further research and development to be a certified best practice

Finalized Best Practice Guidebook that addresses a specific growth challenge facing specific functions within the CEOs growth team

Published guidebook and webcast-based presentation of the guidebook to enable GTM members to implement the best practice

www.frost.com