Siena Consulting provides its clients in the social profit (not-for-profit, non-profit), public (governments, crown agencies) and private (corporate) sectors with wayfinding services.

In its most common usage, the term wayfinding refers to the navigational technique used by the ancient Polynesians to explore and settle almost every island group of the South Pacific – an area of almost 25 million square kilometres – before 1000 AD. They did this without the benefit of charts, compasses or large vessels, relying instead on wayfinders – the tribal navigators who relied on their reading of the natural elements and their knowledge of the sea to guide their crafts to their destinations, and bring them home again safely.

We at Siena are wayfinders. We work with community organizations, corporations, and government agencies, helping them navigate the new normal – the world of turbulent economies, shifting demographics, technological proliferation and cultural fragmentation. We help them make their way through a terrain in which the only constant is change, finding new ways to connect, to sustain, and to fulfill their goals. 

Wayfinding is a holistic discipline, a synthesis between art and science, combining inquiry, observation, interpretation, and intuition. It entails an iterative processing of an endless flow of data, from spread sheets and annual reports to corporate histories, conversations, and stories, to organizational rhythms and interactions, all with an eye towards understanding where organizations are coming from. For like the navigational practice it’s inspired by, wayfinding is based on the principle of dead reckoning – to quote anthropologist Wade Davis, “you only know where you are by knowing precisely where you have been and how you got to where you are.”

A second principle of wayfinding is clarity of vision. It holds that successfully reaching your destination involves having a clear picture of where you’re going. The ancient Polynesian wayfinders would “call islands out of the sea”, visualizing distant points, and holding them in their minds throughout their journeys. Siena works with its clients to arrive at a similar clarity of vision, focusing on purpose, values, and goals to arrive at mission-driven maps of achievement. 

With respect to Siena’s diverse clients:

In addition to working independently with the three sectors, we also employ wayfinding techniques to bring them together to create mission and values based relationships, resulting in innovative approaches to addressing a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues and opportunities.