Who I work with

My clients tend to be senior executives in mid-sized branded businesses.

They’re responsible for revenues of anywhere from £20m up. Typically they have 100-200 employees. They will have a good track-record of growth in the past.

They could be in any sector. I’ve worked successfully with all sorts of businesses: professional services, manufacturing, food and drink, pharmaceuticals, sportswear, telecoms, all sorts.

As individuals, my clients have high standards which show up in their approach to business. For example, they’ve a good reputation with their brand or brands; they care about quality in all aspects of their operation; and they employ good, intelligent, hard-working people.

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What prompts them to get in touch with me?

Often, my clients are just plain frustrated – about trying to discuss strategy when everyone’s busy and when no-one can seem to focus on the deeper strategic issues.

Also, something may have changed – a new boss, a new team, a new organisation – and their existing plans are out-of-date.

Perhaps they’re facing tough scrutiny from their owners, and tough competition in the market – and they’re concerned about whether their plans will stand up to it.

Sometimes, in the case of a JV or takeover, they have to work with others to implement radical changes in a short space of time.

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They often face a challenging business environment.

For one thing, they haven’t reached the promised land yet, financially speaking. Margins are coming under pressure. Costs are rising but competition is keeping prices down. Their markets are ever more competitive. Their growth record may be ok, but they’re still missing their own sales targets. Competitors are getting stronger.

For another, their long-term business plan may be relevant, but only just. People are too busy with day-to-day work to focus much beyond the next few weeks or months.  If you asked a dozen employees to summarise the strategy, you’d get a dozen different answers.  In the absence of a compelling strategy, the business is run only on the numbers. The annual budget stands in as the compass for the business. And because the budget is always constrained, so too are people’s ideas and ambitions.

What my clients want instead, and what I help them to get, is a clear blueprint for the future, so that they can build an enduring business and outperform their competitors.  That gets them into a virtuous circle of beating targets, releasing more resources and increasing their ambitions.

 

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Now that you know more about the types of client that I work with, find out more about how I work.