My Methods

Find the key to the big picture and let that lead the way to success.

My approach to strategic work is simple: help you understand the real meaning behind your Vision and Purpose, then use that understanding to guide the choices you make. 

Your Vision may be a statement in a strategic plan or a framed picture on the wall. But what does it actually mean? I work with you to define what your organisation will look like, act like and achieve when you have attained that Vision.

We identify the three or four critical success factors that are unique to what you are trying to achieve. These become a practical definition of success — something you can use to make decisions rather than simply something you aspire to.

Suddenly, everyday questions can be viewed through the same lens:

• Which recruit will help us achieve our Purpose?
• Which strategy will get us to our targets sooner?
• How do the people we work for benefit sustainably from our actions?
• Which system will help us be more efficient in meeting our targets?
• How will our financial result balance our commitment to Purpose?

Once you are clear about what success looks and feels like, strategy becomes much more than a collection of goals and objectives. At every stage, you can ask: Will this decision move us closer to attaining our Vision?

The same principle applies as you move from long-term strategy to shorter-term plans and activities. Each milestone becomes a step towards the bigger picture, rather than simply another item on a plan.

From Vision into Strategy, from Strategy into Action, and from Action into Purpose.

This way of thinking also helps reveal what the organisation needs to make the strategy work — the resources, capabilities, teamwork, people and culture required to get there.

Ultimately, my job is to help you find the key to the big picture — and then make sure the whole organisation knows how to use it.