From 10 to 20: Designing Forum’s Next Decade
As April approaches, Forum Solutions is preparing to turn 11 and enter a new chapter defined by imagining what is next. While our first decade gave us a strong foundation, this moment invites us to think bigger and longer-term. Just as ages 11–20 represent a new phase of growth, exploration, and possibility, we are using this milestone to intentionally look ahead and consider what Forum can become in the decade to come.
Transforming and Scaling
We help our clients think about how they can transform their organizations and scale their operations every day, which means we have some great tools to use for our own introspection.
Visualizing our Future
Over the past 10 years, we have been fortunate to partner with incredible clients and share in their successes. We spent time reflecting on those relationships and the trust, collaboration, and impact we have built together. As we look ahead, we also considered the types of organizations we hope to continue working alongside in the years to come. Clients who are integral to the Pacific Northwest community, share our values, care deeply about their customers, and are building meaningful and exciting futures.
We also looked ahead to the challenges our clients are likely to face over the next decade, including greater organizational complexity, emerging technologies, and new ways of working. We considered how Forum can continue to evolve as a trusted partner that helps clients innovate, adapt, and grow.
At the center of all of this is our people. As we look forward, we remain grounded in the belief that Forum’s success is driven by smart, innovative, and authentic associates who care deeply about our clients. Our people are, and will continue to be, our most important asset.
Personifying our People
To support this forward‑looking work, we turned to a tool we regularly use with our clients: personas. Rather than focusing only on who we are today, we used personas to imagine who our future Forum associates might be and which roles will be essential as we grow into our next chapter.
We created personas for our current roles as well as roles we anticipate needing in the future, and asked ourselves a series of guiding questions:
Who are these future associates, and what roles will best meet the evolving needs of our clients?
How will they contribute in a future shaped by increased complexity, new technologies, and innovative ways of working?
What will they need from Forum to thrive? We explored how flexibility, technology, connection, and career path opportunities may need to evolve for the future worker.
What will Forum need from them? As client needs change, we considered the skills, capabilities, and mindsets required to continue delivering exceptional value.
How will they work? We acknowledged a future where remote work remains important, while in‑person collaboration continues to play a meaningful role.
What will they need to feel connected, supported, and able to add value?
What organizational changes will we need to make to attract, retain, and support great people while continuing to cultivate the culture we value so deeply?
Mapping our way
Our personas became the foundation for mapping the future state. Because our people are central to everything we do, we wanted every voice, present and future, reflected in our vision. Even when those future voices had to be imagined, they helped ensure we are building a Forum that remains resilient, relevant, and deeply connected to its people and purpose.
As Forum enters its second decade, this work represents more than reflection. It is a commitment to intentionally shaping what comes next. By grounding ourselves in our values, our clients, and our people, we are designing a future that builds on what has made Forum strong while creating space for growth, innovation, and new possibilities.
Forum Solutions is a management consulting company dedicated to crafting and delivering transformational outcomes for our clients, our colleagues, and our community. With our help, clients become more agile, resilient, and connected, bringing great ideas to fruition with brilliant results. From start-ups to the Fortune 50, business leaders rely on Forum Solutions to help them form and realize their strategies. Our company is a certified Woman Owned Business that believes in developing and growing our colleagues, company, and region in a socially conscious way.