A decision-making partner for leadership when the stakes are high.
An experienced partner for hard calls: investment, restructuring, changing your operating model.
Problem
The largest decisions in a company — about an investment, a restructuring, a change of technology supplier or sales model — are often taken on incomplete data and under time pressure. Boards rarely have someone beside them who knows the company's operational reality without being emotionally entangled in it. People inside the organisation carry their own interests, history and loyalties; purely external advisers know the theory but not how this particular business actually works day to day. The result is a decision taken either too quickly, on one person's conviction, or deferred for months because nobody wants to own it. A separate problem is the absence of costed alternatives: usually one option and its absence are considered, rather than three real paths with the financial consequences of each. When a decision turns out to be wrong, the cost rarely shows up at once — it becomes visible several quarters later, when reversing it is already expensive.
Our approach
We take on a specific decision, not a general 'strategy', with a clearly stated question to be answered within a set time.
We analyse the company's operational and financial data, talk to the key people and build an independent picture, taking no assumption on trust.
We state plainly what cannot be established from the available data, and what that means for the confidence of the recommendation.
We present decision options with their financial consequences and risks, rather than one 'correct' recommendation with no alternatives.
For each option we define what would have to happen for it to prove wrong, and the earliest signal you would see.
We stay present during implementation, to correct course if reality tests the assumptions.
After some months we return to the assumptions and check which held and which did not.
This is for you if
- The board faces a decision that cannot be reversed without cost
- You need a view from outside the organisation before deciding
- A supervisory board or investor expects independent analysis before approval
- Two positions are in conflict inside the company and there is no costed way to settle it
- The decision has been deferred for months because nobody wants to own it
- You are weighing one option against its absence rather than several real paths
What you get
- An independent analysis of the situation and the decision options
- A financial model of the consequences of each option
- A statement of the assumptions each option rests on, with their sensitivity
- Participation in board and supervisory board meetings as a subject-matter adviser
- An implementation plan with clear ownership
- A set of indicators that will show the decision going the wrong way
- A review after implementation, testing the original assumptions
Example projects
- Assessing whether acquiring a smaller competitor is worthwhile before committing to the investment
- Preparing the board for a conversation with a financial investor about entry terms
- A make-or-buy analysis for a key operational process
- Assessing whether entry into a new foreign market stands up against the real cost of entry
- Deciding whether to close or keep an unprofitable product line
- Choosing between expanding in-house capacity and a long-term subcontracting agreement
- Testing an internally prepared business plan before it goes to a lender
Facing something similar?
We'll check for free whether your company has similar savings potential.
Book a callHave a business problem worth solving?
A short conversation is enough for us to assess the potential in your company and propose a concrete scope of work.