Strategy / Technology / Value
A new model for turning strategy into value.
Thinking³ aligns the client, the technology ecosystem, and independent advisory around one shared outcome — co-funded, co-invested, and proven in weeks, not quarters.
The problem
The traditional advisory model is slow, expensive, and misaligned.
A large consulting firm arrives, builds a strategy over several quarters, and hands over a roadmap — long before anything tangible has been delivered. The investment is made upfront. The risk sits entirely with you.
And the technology vendors who ultimately benefit from adoption? They are not in the room — and they are certainly not sharing the cost.
Slow
Strategy delivered over 3–4 quarters, with value realised much later.
Misaligned risk
The financial exposure is carried entirely by the client.
Free riders
Technology vendors benefit from adoption they did not fund.
Theoretical value
Reports sit on a shelf while timelines stretch and proof never arrives.
The Thinking³ approach
One outcome. Three parties. Aligned incentives.
We bring together three parties and align their incentives around a shared outcome. The result is a co-funded, co-invested engagement where everyone has skin in the game — and where tangible value is visible within weeks, not quarters.
The client
Reduced upfront cost and shared risk. Independent expertise without vendor bias, plus access to learnings from across the technology ecosystem.
The technology ecosystem
Preferential positioning and a funded pathway to adoption. Relationship depth and first-mover advantage — earned through co-investment, not procurement.
Independent advisory
A differentiated model with shared stakes and fast proof points. A retained, continuous engagement — not stop-start consulting.
- Co-funded by leading technology partners — reducing your upfront cost and sharing the risk.
- Fully independent advisory stance — partners are in the background, not in the room.
- Funding consolidated behind the scenes through a nominated prime partner, keeping commercial complexity away from you.
- A PoC or MVP in 8–16 weeks delivering visible, measurable value — not 3–4 quarters.
- Continuous by design — a nimble retained partnership rather than large, stop-start projects.
- Proof over presentation — living artefacts that inform action, not slide decks that sit on a shelf.
“We don’t hand over a roadmap and walk away. We stay embedded, keep moving, and let value compound.” The Thinking³ operating principle
Areas of focus
What we deliver across the full strategy-to-delivery spectrum.
Our outputs are not reports that sit on a shelf. They are living artefacts — architectures, maps, models, and frameworks that actively inform how your organisation communicates, changes, and governs itself at every level.
Architecture & Design
- Brand architecture — how the organisation presents itself, its portfolio, and its value proposition.
- Business architecture — mapping operating model, capabilities, and structure to strategy.
- Data architecture — how data flows, is governed, and is activated to support technology investments.
- Process & experience mapping — how work gets done and how customers and employees experience the organisation.
Strategy & Planning
- Business case development and financial modelling.
- Strategy definition, roadmaps, and prioritisation frameworks.
- Measurement frameworks & KPIs — defining success and how it is tracked.
- Proof of concept & MVP delivery oversight.
- Partner planning and technology investment sequencing.
Change, Communication & Governance
- Change plans — structured programmes that bring people, leaders, and partners on the journey.
- Communications frameworks — from board-level reporting to frontline messaging.
- Reporting & governance — making investment decisions visible, accountable, and continuously optimised.
- Continuous business case shaping and portfolio management.
Every output is designed to inform action — not just articulate it.
Time to value
Visible, measurable value in 8 to 16 weeks.
Not a compressed timeline that cuts corners — a different way of working. Continuous, iterative, and oriented toward proof rather than presentation.
Partnering & the funding model
How the co-funded model works.
Technology providers have a significant commercial interest in being first and best-positioned with high-value clients. Rather than competing for influence after the strategy is set, they co-invest in the advisory process that shapes it.
Funding, consolidated behind the scenes.
A nominated prime partner coordinates and consolidates the co-funding — including marketplace credits and partner rebates. The client never navigates a multi-vendor funding conversation. It is handled for you.
For every dollar you invest, partners match it.
The default structure is a dollar-for-dollar matching model. The client’s cost is halved. The partners gain preferential positioning. And the engagement is fully underway.
Partners fund the thinking — they don’t shape it.
Thinking³ remains fully independent in the room. Partners are in the background of the engagement, not at the table during workshops or recommendations. The integrity of the advisory work is what makes the model valuable to everyone.
In the funding model, not in the room.
Partners earn relationship depth and first-mover advantage at the strategy stage, before architecture decisions are locked in — a structured, defensible way to get into the conversation early, with the client’s trust intact.
The Client
- Co-funded advisory — reduced upfront cost and shared risk
- Independent expertise without vendor bias
- Access to learnings from across the technology ecosystem
- Tangible PoC or MVP value visible within 8–16 weeks
Technology Partners
- Preferential positioning and a funded pathway to adoption
- Relationship depth and first-mover advantage with the client
- Consolidated funding coordination via a nominated prime partner
- Commercial return tied to customer lifetime value — not charity
Thinking³
- A differentiated model with shared stakes and fast proof points
- Retained continuous engagement — not stop-start consulting
- Compounding proof points that grow harder to displace over time
- A nimble, organised team structured for continuous delivery
A live engagement
$1M to begin. $4B in identified value.
A real engagement Thinking³ led with a major enterprise client — the cost to start shared 50/50 between client and technology partners.
Meet the founders
Two operators. Complementary track records.
Thinking³ was co-founded by David Burns and David Mallam — two operators with complementary track records in building, transforming, and advising organisations at scale.
David Burns
David Burns builds and transforms businesses. Former Group Executive at Telstra, and 23 years at IBM across Australia, the US, Europe and Asia. He has grown businesses organically and through 13 acquisitions, turned a $200M services unit into a $3B one, and led teams through every kind of complexity and change — from boardrooms in Sydney to deal tables in Tokyo, London and New York.
Today, alongside Thinking³, he advises enterprise clients and PE firms on acquisitions, transformation and leadership.
“Businesses that aren’t changing are going backwards. The formula: customers, outcomes, people.” — David Burns
David Mallam
David Mallam is a serial founder and organisational strategist with a proven track record of building businesses that challenge how companies think, operate, and grow. As founder of Design Farm — a successful design strategy consultancy — he spent years helping leading organisations connect customer insight, creativity, and commercial strategy to create real, measurable impact.
Alongside his consulting work, David operates The Barn Retreat on the Northern Rivers of NSW — reflecting his deep connection to land, lifestyle, and grounded thinking. With founded ventures across agriculture and retail, he brings rare depth as both a builder and an operator.
“The best strategies are grounded in real life — in people, place, and purpose.” — David Mallam
Let’s talk
See what a co-funded engagement looks like for your organisation.
We’ll walk you through how the model would be structured for you, which technology partners are relevant, and what a realistic 8–16 week value milestone could look like in your context.
Prefer email? contactus@thinkingcubed.com.au