It is our view that wisdom cannot be obtained via a one-way exchange, and deep understanding only occurs through a two-way exchange of skills and capabilities that creates an environment for obtaining the highest form of expertise. High-level expertise is achieved through an examination of mutual first-hand life experiences that provide insights drawn from tacit knowledge. We believe that deep understanding is as close as one can get to true wisdom. The Case Method is based on knowing-how as much as knowing-what. Our mutual goal with the client is to fully comprehend complex interactive relationships that allow us to make effective decisions based on systems-level thinking – understanding both the big picture and details, while appreciating interconnections as well as consequences.

More important than the will to win, is the will to prepare. Through utilizing The Case Method, we have developed in-depth, cumulative knowledge regarding situations faced by thousands of individuals and hundreds of businesses in various industries. We have studied various individual conditions and business models that have led to success, as well as activities that have led to a destruction in value.When faced with a new client, we initially erase all our past knowledge in order to take an open-minded look at an individual or business situation – it is our experience that each case is unique. Prior to meeting a client, we develop a list of open-ended questions that we believe will pertain to a client’s particular situation. For example, if a business client participates in a manufacturing setting, we would access our past knowledge and experience to develop a list of specific questions that pertain to the manufacturing sector. These questions may pertain to strategic positioning after studying industry competition, as well as management and organizational structure that allows for future growth. Through preparation, we attempt to develop a strong sense for the client’s position that creates a positive environment for a healthy exchange of information that allows us to jointly ascertain the best capital allocation solution.

An important benefit of using The Case Method allows both us and the client to learn how to determine the real issues surrounding an individual or business situation. To accomplish this objective, it is important to ask the right questions. Our view is that answers are relatively easy to find, but asking the right questions is the most critical skill. Solutions emerge through asking deep, insightful questions.We design our questions to be thought provoking as opposed to purely inquisitive – where one word answers are likely the result. Primarily, we are interested in gathering information regarding our client’s circumstances that allows information to be transformed into knowledge. Knowledge forms the base from which insight appears.

Questions that we may ask individual clients include:

What are your immediate and long-term financial goals?
(How can we help meet your short-term and long-term financial goals?)

How realistic are these short-term and long-term goals?
(How certain are we that short-term and long-term goals are attainable?)

What is the greatest interference that you face from meeting your financial goals?
(What key issues impede you from meeting your financial goals?)

What are the highest priorities for you and your family?
(What is the best estate plan that meets your family needs?)

Questions that we may ask business clients include:

What are the interesting long-term prospects for the business?
(How and where can it grow over the long-term?)

How predictable are these prospects for the future?
(How certain are we that growth is attainable?)

What is the business’s greatest competitive advantage?
(What makes the business different and unmatchable compared to competitors?)

How well does the organization currently allocate capital that is retained in the business?
(What are the expected returns on incremental invested capital in the business?)

At first, an exchange with our client is a course of gathering information that would be pertinent to evaluating an individual’s or business’s circumstances. Once information has been gathered, we use our mutual experience with the client to establish a large picture, as well as detailed framework of the situation. We call this inside-out and outside-in thinking. We place this information into categories that we determine to be knowable and important and unknowable and important, while placing the knowable and unimportant information to one side. In the important category that has been determined to currently possess unknowable but important information, we passionately pursue knowledge and go back to the client with additional penetrating questions to see if pertinent information can be obtained. The re-exchange meeting is a vital part of The Case Method that allows us to reach the deepest mutual thinking about a situation.At this point in The Case Method, we take context into account and search for commonalities and/or differences that further transfer information to knowledge. Using mind-mapping techniques to establish network thinking, we develop patterns of experience and interconnections that bring knowledge to life, simplifying the complex in our progression. This is the point where answers begin to emerge, but in using The Case Method we resist the human temptation to jump to conclusions, and seek the best recommendations only after a thorough evaluation of alternatives.

Our view is that there is not usually one set of answers, but a series of alternatives that emerge through our exchange with clients. We employ alternative-based thinking and diligently work with our clients to first isolate all the alternatives. Once all the alternatives have been outlined, we then conduct a thorough trade-off analysis that include the pros and cons surrounding each outcome. It is only at this stage where we are prepared to develop recommendations and execute a plan of action with our clients.Through guided mutual experience, The Case Method allows Founders Capital Management to focus on observation, experimentation (what if scenarios) and problem solving to assist our clients in fulfilling their needs. At Founders Capital Management the client comes first, and it is through this lens that our unique practice is philosophically built.