Strategic Horizons

What Strategic Horizons does

Strategic Horizons LLP is a privately held consulting and education firm founded in 1996 by business thought leaders B. Joseph Pine II and Jim Gilmore, operating from Aurora, Ohio. The firm is the originator and commercial steward of the Experience Economy concept — first introduced in a 1998 Harvard Business Review article and a 1999 bestselling book — and has evolved its core thesis into the Transformation Economy framework, published in 2024. Strategic Horizons monetizes this intellectual property through a portfolio of professional services and products: keynote speaking engagements, half-day and full-day workshops, one-on-one advisory sessions with Joe Pine (60-minute virtual or full-day in-person), an exclusive five-day Certified Experience Economy Expert course, and the XCOACH program for C-suite executives.

The firm's product portfolio includes published books (The Experience Economy and The Transformation Economy) distributed through Harvard Business Review Press via major global retailers, the Transformation Toolkit (a 180-page write-in workbook with application cards and large-format maps), OnStage Customer Experience Training (a 12-week online course sold as an annual license to organizations with front-line staff), the FieldNotes quarterly newsletter, and the Transformations Book Substack subscription ($20/month or $200/year). Distribution is hybrid: direct sales-led for services requiring inquiry-based quoting, Stripe self-serve checkout for the Toolkit and Substack, and wholesale retail plus HBR Press for bulk/custom book editions with a minimum of 10 (bulk) or 50 (custom) copies. The customer base spans four primary segments — business executives and leaders, organizations with customer-facing personnel, conference and event organizers, and consultants/practitioners — served globally. Over 270 professionals have completed the certification program since 2006, and annual EXPY and EMA awards (e.g., to Carnival Corporation in 2017 for the Ocean Medallion) reinforce the firm's category authority in experience staging and mass customization.

Name

Strategic Horizons

Legal name

Strategic Horizons LLP

Website

https://strategichorizons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Strategic Horizons LLP is a privately held consulting firm founded in 1996 by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore that monetizes the Experience Economy and Transformation Economy intellectual property through keynotes, workshops, advisory, certification, books, and subscriptions for executives and organizations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategic Leadership & Business Acumen (EDABAAAC), Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Management consulting
• Experience economy
• Business transformation
• Executive education
• Thought leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

Aurora

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Speaking Engagements: Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore deliver keynote presentations at corporate events, industry conferences, and executive retreats. Fees and availability are quoted upon inquiry. Each talk is tailored to the audience.
2. Workshops: Interactive, collaborative workshop sessions (half-day or full-day) facilitated by Joe Pine, applying experience economy frameworks to clients' businesses. Participants leave with concrete plans and actionable next steps.
3. One-on-one Advisory/Consulting Sessions: Hourly virtual consulting sessions (60-minute increments) or full-day in-person office visits with Joe Pine for personalized guidance on applying Transformation Economy concepts.
4. The Transformation Economy Book Sales: Book published by Harvard Business Review Press, sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, Target, Walmart, The Nile, and Indigo. Available in standard, bulk, and custom editions (minimum 50 copies for custom).
5. Transformation Toolkit: Self-guided companion product to the book, sold individually through Stripe. Includes write-in book, application cards, large-format maps. Typically ships within one week of order.
6. Transformation Economy Substack Subscription: Monthly subscription ($20/month or $200/year) giving subscribers early access to Joe Pine's frameworks, principles, and book content. Includes article commentary, book reviews, early article access, tools, and periodic Zoom sessions with Joe Pine. Auto-renews; cancelable anytime.
7. Group Learning Programs: Private group learning offerings including Workshops, Executive Education, thinkAbout4U (with EXPY & EMA awards), Learning Excursions, and Learning Encounters. Customized for organizations.
8. Certified Expert Course: Exclusive five-day intensive certification course in experience staging ideas, frameworks, and approaches. Graduates become officially sanctioned Certified Experience Economy Experts. Over 270 professionals certified since 2006.
9. OnStage Customer Experience Training: 12-week online training program for front-line employees, purchased as an annual license. Includes 24/7 access, quarterly live calls with Pine & Gilmore, a Manager's Manual, and excerpts from The Experience Economy.
10. Bulk and Custom Book Orders: Harvard Business Review Press handles bulk orders (minimum 10 copies) and custom editions (minimum 50 copies) with co-branding options including custom covers, belly bands, flap text, or custom forewords. Managed through HBR Press directly.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Strategic Horizons is a management consulting and education firm that helps executives and organizations understand and apply the Experience Economy and Transformation Economy frameworks developed by co-founders Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore. The firm sells keynote speeches, half-day and full-day workshops, one-on-one advisory sessions, the annual five-day Certified Experience Economy Expert course, and the OnStage 12-week front-line employee training program, alongside published books (The Transformation Economy, The Experience Economy) and the Transformation Toolkit.

Product overview

Strategic Horizons is a consulting and education firm led by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore that offers a portfolio of services and products centered on the Experience Economy and emerging Transformation Economy concepts. The core offerings include speaking engagements, workshops, one-on-one advisory sessions with Joe Pine, and a five-day Expert Certification Course. Supporting products include OnStage Customer Experience Training (12-week online course), the Transformation Toolkit, and published books including 'The Transformation Economy' and 'The Experience Economy.' The company also offers subscription content through FieldNotes Newsletter and a Substack publication. A network of over 270 Certified Experience Economy Experts has been trained since 2006, and annual EXPY & EMA awards recognize outstanding achievement in experience staging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Haier Model InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Joe Pine was commissioned by the Haier Model Institute in summer 2023 to research Haier's ecosystems, develop a framework explaining them, write a whitepaper, and present findings at the annual RenDanHeYi Forum. The resulting framework on integrated ecosystems was also shortened for Duke Corporate Education's Dialogue journal. This is a research and thought leadership collaboration.
• Stone Mantel (Dave Norton)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Joe Pine collaborates with Stone Mantel founder Dave Norton on research including Harvard Business Review articles on genius platforms ('Are Your Digital Platforms Wasting Your Customers' Time', March 2023) and the Transformation Economy ('The New You Business', January/February 2022). Norton also leads The Collaboratives, year-long multi-client studies on experience innovations including Transformation Economy research.
• Lance BettencourtminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Co-author on the Harvard Business Review article 'The New You Business' (January/February 2022) with Joe Pine, Jim Gilmore, and Dave Norton. Bettencourt is a professor at Texas Christian University and contributed to the Transformation Economy framework.
• Harvard Business Review PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher of The Transformation Economy book and handler of bulk and custom edition orders. Contact: [email protected], +1 (617) 783-7571. Publishes and distributes the book through major retail channels globally.
• Duke Corporate EducationminorOthersDuke CE published Joe Pine's article 'Vitalizing Ecosystems' in its Dialogue journal (March 2024 issue and online). Pine's Haier ecosystem framework was shortened and published through Duke CE's Dialogue publication.
• LocalBizGuruminorOthersSEO optimization service provider for strategichorizons.com. Listed as the company's SEO vendor on the website footer.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Strativity Group: Customer experience strategy consultancy founded by Lior Arussy, focused on helping organizations design and operationalize CX transformations. Closely comparable to Strategic Horizons in size, founder-led thought leadership, and CX/strategy positioning.
• Beyond Philosophy: Customer experience consultancy founded by Colin Mitchell, with proprietary CX frameworks, training, and certification programs. Direct peer in founder-led CX thought leadership and education.
• XM Institute (formerly Temkin Group): Customer experience research and advisory firm (now part of Qualtrics) built on Bruce Temkin and Jeanne Bliss's thought leadership. Comparable as a founder-driven CX research and advisory practice producing frameworks, reports, and certification-style offerings.
• Siegel+Gale: Brand and customer experience strategy consultancy with proprietary simplicity-related frameworks. Comparable in being a mid-sized, founder-influenced firm helping enterprises differentiate through experience design.

Broad incumbents

• Forrester Research: Large research and advisory firm with a substantial customer experience practice, including proprietary CX frameworks, research, and consulting. Overlaps with Strategic Horizons' CX strategy and experience staging domains but at much greater scale and breadth.
• Bain & Company: Global strategy consulting firm with a long-standing customer experience and loyalty practice. Broad incumbent in strategy consulting, frequently competing for the same enterprise transformation engagements Strategic Horizons addresses.
• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting firm whose Growth, Marketing & Sales and Organization practices overlap with Strategic Horizons' strategy and transformation advisory. Represents the top end of the strategy consulting competitive set.
• BCG (Boston Consulting Group): Global strategy consulting firm with deep customer experience and innovation practices. Broad incumbent alternative for enterprise customers considering Strategic Horizons for transformation work.
• Deloitte Digital: Deloitte's digital and customer experience transformation practice competes for enterprise CX strategy mandates and operates at significantly greater scale than Strategic Horizons.

Others

• Harvard Business Publishing (HBP): Publisher and corporate learning provider for Harvard Business School content, including books, articles, and executive education. Not a direct competitor but a partner/adjacent entity that distributes Pine & Gilmore's books and represents the broader executive education and business book ecosystem in which Strategic Horizons operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/StrategicHoriz
• Facebookfacebook.com/StrategicHorizonsLLP
• Pinterestpinterest.com/strategichoriz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strategic Horizons