Strategy
Market choices, priorities, operating plan
For leadership teams that can describe many options — and cannot name what stops this quarter.
Trigger situations
- 01Two or more growth bets compete for the same capacity every leadership meeting.
- 02The annual plan is approved, then ignored by week six.
- 03Founder or board direction is clear in conversation, opaque in the operating calendar.
- 04Acquisition, new market, or product line decisions stall without a shared frame.
Questions the engagement answers
- Which options are real given capital, talent, and time?
- What must stop for the chosen plan to run?
- Who decides when the plan and the week collide?
- What does “on track” look like in 30 / 90 days?
Related diagnostic symptoms
- Priorities change without a written stop-list
- Market bets stay contested
- Plan lives as slides, not weekly choices
First 30-day sequence
- Days 1–10Evidence pull: current plan, pipeline of initiatives, capacity constraints, prior decisions.
- Days 11–20Leadership workshop: trade-offs, stop-list, decision rights draft.
- Days 21–30Illustrative outputs: priority matrix, 90-day outline, decision-rights note.
Illustrative
Example deliverables
- Priority matrix (continue / stop / park)
- 90-day operating plan outline
- Decision rights one-pager
- Mandate memo for board or leadership
Client inputs required
- Current strategy materials (high level)
- Initiative list with owners
- Access to decision-makers for one workshop
- Capacity constraints leadership already knows
Explicitly out of scope
- Full market research programmes or competitor espionage
- Interim executive placement
- Guaranteed revenue or valuation outcomes
- Regulated investment advice