After decades helping organizations grow, we’ve learned a simple truth: people believe what they discover. Safari is TalentMiles’ practical method for turning real-world exploration into shared insight and action. It’s light and fast—and it sticks. Built for busy schedules, it works online or in person and builds a habit of learning without adding noise.
What Safari is
Safari is a compact cycle of exploration done in pairs or small groups around one practical question. You step out to meet customers, users, partners, or peers; observe context; ask open questions; and listen. You then debrief together and turn what you saw and heard into options and next steps. One cycle is useful; several cycles shift how the team learns.
This isn’t about collecting data for a slide deck. It’s about context, language, and a common reference point your team can return to: “We were there.”
A short origin
Years ago, a Finnish telco wanted better sales results. They had already updated training and playbooks. Results didn’t change. Instead of more training, teams went out to meet customers. People came back surprised, sometimes frustrated, and often energized—“Why didn’t we do this earlier?” That emotional shift helped them adjust their approach immediately.
Since then, we’ve seen similar moments elsewhere: bankers in car showrooms learning how financing is discussed when the pressure is on; media teams talking to readers who explained the point at which a subscription stopped feeling relevant; IT teams sitting with “internal customers” to see workarounds that never show up on a dashboard; municipal leaders meeting peers online to compare practical approaches to community engagement. Different settings, same outcome: once people see the work as it is, discussions become more concrete and action moves sooner.
Why it works
Seeing beats slides. A slide can tell you “customers struggle with onboarding.” Standing in a depot at 7:30 a.m. while someone shows you the workaround they built because your system slows them down? That stays with you and guides priorities.
Shared experience creates shared understanding. When two or three colleagues hear the same comment and notice the same workaround, it stops being one person’s opinion. It becomes a useful anchor for decisions months later.
Outside-in perspective broadens options. Conversations across your ecosystem reveal new perspectives to familiar questions, what stakeholders value most, and how other teams or even other industries have tackled the same problems. You spot choices you didn’t know you had.
Ownership speeds things up. Because teams generate the insights, they’re more confident in the next step and move faster.
The “preject” before the project. Most projects rush to create solutions. We add a “preject”: a short, structured discovery phase before you commit to an answer. A burst of exploration upfront reduces rework later and raises solution quality. In practice, it looks like three parts discovery, one part consolidation, and a cleaner path to implementation.
Adapted from: Herlau, H. & Tetzschner H. (1999). Fra jobtager til jobmager – model II, København: Samfundslitteratur.
Why small groups (not solo)
You can visit customers alone, but pairs or small groups produce something more valuable: a shared memory of what happened and what it meant. People negotiate what they saw, compare interpretations, and build that shared reference. A year later, it’s not “someone’s story.” It’s a source the team can point to when choosing what to do next.
How it runs (kept brief on purpose)
Start with one sharp question. Meet a handful of relevant people—externally and internally—on site or online, focusing on context and open questions. Debrief together, capture the phrases and moments that matter, and turn them into a handful of options and next steps. Repeat in short cycles.
As one facilitator put it, “You’ve got to start where people are.” Safari begins exactly there.
Where Safari helps
- Customer and sales: understand real jobs-to-be-done and improve conversations.
- Strategy: test assumptions with customers, partners, and communities before committing to a bigger investment.
- Operations and IT: observe how tools and processes perform at the edge and fix what counts.
- Innovation and partnerships: spot needs and allies you won’t find from your desk.
- Leadership and culture: build confidence in learning together and acting on insight.
A quiet difference from “traditional” consulting
Many organizations still bring in experts to lecture. That can inform. It rarely transforms. Safari is different. It assumes people closest to the work are the right experts to discover what matters and that change sticks when they own the insight. Our role is to help you start where you are, get out into the field, and make sense of what you find together.
What makes Safari distinct to TalentMiles
Safari grew out of decades of hands-on work with teams under real pressure. It’s deliberately simple. Hours, not months; conversations, not surveys. It is designed to work in today’s mix of in-person and online.
We help you frame the question, decide where your Safari should head, and build a structure that fits your context. Your people generate the insights and lead the change.
Ready to go?
If you’d like support designing a Safari for your team TalentMiles can help you identify clear questions and establish the rhythm of exploration, sense-making, and action.
Contact us to book a short discovery chat: annika.haggblom[at]talentmiles.pro
