It is an ongoing advisory relationship for a flat monthly fee. We work out where your business has its biggest opportunity, test it with the people it affects, turn it into a plan with a measurable result, and coach your team as they put it in place. Part of our fee is a share of what each initiative delivers, so we only do well when you do.

Owners and CEOs of relatively established businesses, roughly 5 to 200 staff, who make the big calls without a CFO, a board or a peer beside them. You do not need a problem to start. Many owners come because they want a steady, independent voice that knows the business.

A project answers one question and ends. The recurring advisory plans carries on: one initiative after another, each measured, with finished initiatives still tracked so you can see whether the result holds.

Predominantly the following, however if we've missed your area we're happy to see if it's a fit - book a discovery call with us. Where the business grows: growth strategy, and new products and markets. Where the money goes: costs and margins, revenue leakage, and cash and working capital. How the business runs: operations, processes and systems, and roles and decision-making. We work out with you where to start.

One specific move with a number attached, such as lifting margin on your top product line or getting paid sooner on large jobs. Each one is written on an initiative card before we start: what we are changing, how it will be measured, the starting baseline, a trial budget, a decision date, and who we may speak to.

Not currently. You get a senior adviser, a weekly check-in, regular sessions and a quarterly results statement. Progress is shown in your sessions and sent as a PDF snapshot. There is no client login at this stage.

We believe that we should only win, if you do, hence sharing in the gains is our primary financial return. Before each initiative starts, we agree an initiative card with you: the measure, the starting baseline from your own data, the formula and the window. Our share is a percentage of the measured result, agreed on the card. Margin, leakage and cost changes are measured as the price or cost change multiplied by actual volume. Growth is measured as extra revenue from tagged customers at an agreed margin. Time saved is hours multiplied by an agreed rate. Cash released is valued at an agreed interest rate.

For a set window per initiative: 12 months from go-live for margin, leakage and cash initiatives, 12 months after a one-month settling period for operations and decision-making initiatives, and 24 months for each new customer won through a growth initiative.

24 months. Each year on the anniversary the fee rises by the greater of 5% and the annual change in CPI. We start the renewal conversation around month 20.

Yes. Your agreement sets out the terms. In short, the upside still owed on initiatives already running is settled by fixed instalments or a lump sum. All data, insights, plans and document access will be removed.

We start with a two-week Foundation, done once. In weeks 1 and 2 we study your documents and data, including who your customers are from your point of view, and do quiet outside-in research on your market, competitors and pricing. We do not interview your customers at this stage. In week 3 we hold an alignment session: we play the business back to you, show the outside-in work, check that it sounds like you, and choose the first initiatives together.

We talk to the people the initiative affects (depending on the move), then test small ideas quickly, depending on your plan. Only then do we size what survived and sign the initiative card. After that we drive the actions with your team and a very short weekly pulse from your initiative lead and a quarterly results statement. Each card has a trial budget, a decision date and a point at which we stop if it is not working.

If your lead misses two weekly pulses in a row, or a measure drifts well off plan for two weeks, Patrick joins a call with your lead to get it moving again.

Four steps, each with its own outcome. Align: agree the real question and where to look. Deep dive: know what is really behind the problem and what it is costing you. Deep dive + Roadmap: know what to do first, in what order, and who owns it. Deep dive + Roadmap + Implementation support: keep the plan moving, with independent guidance for your lead. The free Self-check is a good place to begin if you are not sure.

That comes out of a free 30-minute discovery call. Afterwards we send a proposal that recommends one step, the one that fits, and why. You do not have to pick from a menu.

No. Align and the Deep dive each stand on their own. If you already know the concern, a Deep dive is usually the better start.

Yes. The two use the same three groups and seven areas, so the thinking carries across.

A fixed fee, confirmed after a free discovery call, based on the size and complexity of your business and the duration of the work. The proposal states the exact weeks and the fee, and we hold ourselves to both.

We hold a kick-off, send a clear list of the information we need and follow it up, and meet you weekly with a short update on what we have found, what we have received and whether the project is on track. Projects finish with a findings meeting, and the Roadmap and Implementation support build on it if you choose them.

We do not give tax, legal or financial product advice, advice on buying or selling a business, valuations, or HR and recruitment advice, and we do not recommend CRM or marketing software. If you need one of those, we will introduce someone we trust. We aim to leave your business better off than when we started, but we cannot promise a particular result.

No, and we will not imply it. We agree a measure and a baseline with you, track it, and show you the result. Part of our fee depends on that result, and an initiative that is not working is stopped at its decision date rather than carried on.

By direct debit in advance each month. For project work, a deposit is invoiced with your agreement and the proposal sets out the rest.

Take the free Self-check if you want to see how you compare, or book a free 30-minute discovery call with us. After the call we send a proposal and invite you to a walk-through. You sign the agreement, and we begin.

Nothing formal. The most useful thing you can bring is some clear thinking on a few questions. We’ll work through them together, so there’s no need to have perfect answers. - What’s prompting this now? - What’s changed, or what’s not working the way it should? - What would a good outcome look like? For example, better margins, steadier cash, or a team that runs without you in every decision. Once we’ve talked it through, we’ll tell you exactly what we’d need next, and nothing more.

Patrick, personally. We use data and AI to do much of the analysis, and Patrick reviews every deliverable and runs your sessions.