How we work
Diagnose, plan, deliver, review
Four stages, the same on every engagement. You know what is happening, what we need from you, and what lands in your inbox at the end of each one.
Stage 01
Diagnose — understand the business as it is
We start by watching how work moves through the business today, including the parts that are informal, undocumented or known only to one person.
- Initial call with the owner to agree the area of work and the questions that matter
- Short interviews with the people who handle the process day to day
- Review of the numbers you already produce — no new reporting burden
- A look at the tools, files and paperwork involved
At the end of this stage
You receive a written summary of what we heard, including anything that surprised us. Nothing is proposed until we have checked the summary with you.
Stage 02
Plan — agree what changes, and what waits
Findings are ranked by impact and effort. You decide the order, because you know your capacity and your market better than we do.
- Every issue written up plainly, with the evidence behind it
- Options for each fix, including the option of doing nothing yet
- A phased plan with owners and dates that fit your working month
- An explicit list of what is out of scope, so expectations stay clear
At the end of this stage
You receive the plan document and a handover session with your team. Changes start only once you have approved the plan.
Stage 03
Deliver — stay close while it is put to work
This is the stage most consultancy skips. We remain involved while the changes are made, so that the first difficult week does not end the plan.
- Regular check-ins at a rhythm agreed in the plan
- Help unblocking the practical problems that appear mid-change
- Documents updated as decisions and details change
- Direct access to the named lead, not a support queue
At the end of this stage
Your team is running the new process without us prompting them, and the documentation matches what actually happens.
Stage 04
Review — measure, adjust, decide what is next
A short, honest review of what changed and what did not. Some work ends here; some leads into the next round of improvement.
- Review session against the measures agreed at the planning stage
- A written note on what worked, what stalled and why
- Adjustments to the process where reality has pushed back
- A recommendation on whether further work is worth it
At the end of this stage
You have a clear, evidence-based view of your next three months — whether or not that involves us.
Ways to engage
Three ways clients usually work with us
The same four stages, packaged differently depending on how much of the work you want to carry yourself.
Single review
One area of the business, one set of findings, one plan. Useful when you already know where the problem is.
Review and delivery
We stay with you through implementation, attending the sessions where the work is handed over to the team.
Retained programme
A running engagement with a fixed monthly cadence, reviewed each quarter against agreed measures.
What we need from you
Small commitments that make the work land
One decision maker
Someone able to approve the plan and unblock the work as it proceeds.
Access to the team
An hour or two of your team’s time during the diagnosis stage.
Honest information
Sight of the numbers and files that show how the business really runs.
A named contact
One person on your side to coordinate diaries and questions.
Space to decide
Time to consider recommendations before they are put into effect.
Feedback as we go
Tell us early if something will not work in your business.
Next step
See whether stage one is worth doing
The discovery call is free and takes thirty minutes. Bring the problem you keep coming back to and we will tell you what a diagnosis would involve.