When there is more going on than one conversation can solve

Sometimes you know something is not working, but the cause is not obvious.

Sales may have slowed. Profit may be tighter. Your team may be stretched. Or you may be considering another employee, service or investment.

Before deciding what to fix, we take a closer look at what is actually happening across the business and why.

This is a deeper consulting engagement designed to identify what is contributing to the issue, what matters most and where your attention should go next.

The scope and fee are agreed before we begin.

How the diagnostic works

Start with what is happening
We begin with the issue, concern or decision that has brought you here.

It may relate to profitability, customers, capacity, marketing, people, processes, services, growth or a combination of several things.

The purpose at this stage is not to assume the answer. It is to understand what is happening and what needs further investigation.
Look beyond the first problem
The issue you first notice may not be where the real problem sits.

We look at what may be contributing to it, what is connected and what needs closer attention before conclusions are drawn.

This is where we start separating the symptom from the cause.
Review the information that matters
Depending on the issue, we may review information such as:
- profitability and costs
- customers and sales
- capacity and workload
- marketing activity
- people and roles
- processes
- services
- customer experience
- business performance
- growth plans
We only look at information that is relevant to the problem we are investigating.

Work through what we find
We meet to work through the findings, test assumptions and make sense of what the information is telling us.

This is where we identify what appears to be driving the issue, what may be contributing to it and what needs to change.
Work out what matters most
Not everything needs to be fixed at once.

We identify what requires attention now, what can wait, what may not need action at all and where your time, money and effort are best spent.
Decide what should happen next
The purpose of the diagnostic is not simply to produce a report.

It is to give you enough clarity and evidence to make better decisions about what happens next.

We turn the findings into priorities, practical actions and recommendations, including what to do first, what can wait and where further work may be required.

What you will know at the end

A clear understanding of what is really going on
You will have a clearer view of:
- what is contributing to the issue
- where the priority sits
- what needs attention first
- what can wait
- what may not need action
- what may require further investigation
Clear priorities
Rather than leaving with a long list of things to do, we narrow the focus to what matters most now.

Practical next steps
You will leave with clear actions and an understanding of what should happen next.
A comprehensive written report
Your report captures the key findings, priorities, recommendations and agreed actions so you have something practical to refer back to.
Follow-up
We meet again to work through the findings, answer questions and confirm the next steps.

This may be right for you if…

the same business problem keeps returning
you are considering a significant investment or decision
revenue is growing but profit is not
you are busy but unsure whether the business is working as well as it should

you are considering hiring another person
your marketing activity is not producing the result you expected
you have several problems and do not know which one to tackle first
something is not working, but you cannot clearly identify why

Not sure whether you need a Clarity Session or a deeper Diagnostic?

You do not need to decide that yourself.

Book a complimentary 20-minute introductory conversation, an opportunity to tell me what is happening. From there, we can determine whether a focused Business Clarity Session is enough, whether a deeper diagnostic would be more appropriate, or whether a different type of support may better suit what you need.

This is an introductory conversation, not a business advisory session. There is no charge and no obligation to continue.