Palace Management, Weapon Upgradation or Farmer Dispute Settlement. From what the folk tales tell us, Emperor Akbar didn't reach out to Birbal for problems in any specific domains like these. He would summon Birbal for anything that bothered him, confident that Birbal, with his deep understanding of human behaviour, wide knowledge and sparkling imagination, would provide a prudent solution for the issue at hand, whatever it may be. 

Birbal on his part would not jump to any conclusions on where the solution to the matter might lie. He would study and challenge the problem. He would spend ample time wondering if what is troubling the Emperor really is the problem. Or if it lay elsewhere. And then he would surprise the Emperor with his solve, more often than not, using some refreshing lateral thinking. 

That's what we hope to do with Sideways. To be the Birbal to businesses and organisations. And to apply a right brain approach to problem-solving across business areas without pre-supposing what the solution could be.

Using a proprietary approach, ‘How Things Are’, we think through the problem the client brings to us by thoroughly immersing in it with bespoke research methodologies. And yes, we do it all in-house, getting our own hands dirty.

Once we have clarity on the issue, we embark on bringing alive inspiring ideas that will provide the requisite answers. The battery of solutions we come up with might lie in communications, technology, service design, product design or maybe even a simple behavioural intervention. Besides having core expertise across fields within Sideways, we have a host of specialist partners as well, folks who have unquestionable expertise in their respective skills. From big data companies to spatial design specialists to digital media pros and many others, we bring them in whenever needed.

But the bottom line for it all, be it Marketing or Services or Product or HR, is that we love a tricky challenge.