Every organisation has some madness
In the 3.5 years I’ve been a consultant, I’ve been lucky to get inside the depths of a wide range of very different organisations. Most of my work has been in digital transformation, helping design how teams, strategy, and operating models work to speed up delivery, strengthen operations, and improve the customer experience. It’s meant seeing how the day-to-day work actually happens, how organisational directions play out, and the challenges and hopes people carry as they try to make things better.
I’ve worked with:
A leading UK retailer, a global pharmaceutical and biotech company, a national broadcaster and media company, a university with global reach, a national research and innovation body, a central government department, a local authority, a national sports organisation, a regional policing office.
The organisations have all been different, but the patterns have been surprisingly similar.
Culture can’t save an unclear strategy
You can have a great culture, but if teams aren’t clear on their mission and direction, they won’t deliver. Good culture supports people, but it can’t replace clarity. I’ve seen hugely talented teams with strong trust drift because they don’t know where they’re headed.
No big system change is possible without behavioural change
You can design structures, processes and plans, but nothing will take hold unless human behaviour changes too. Behaviours are the foundational levers of change. But they’re rarely taken seriously because they’re hard to attach to quantifiable goals.
You need a balance between thinking and doing
Most organisations who are struggling lean too far one way. Some think endlessly and never move. Others take constant action and never reflect. You need a balance of both. Make space to pause and act with intent.
Sometimes everyone needs to stop and reset
When an organisation is spinning in circles, trying to fix everything at once, it burns energy and makes no progress. The only way out is to pause, realign, and reset together. That can be hard to see when you’re a senior leader under immense pressure.
The hardest environments are full of frustration and no action
If everyone spots the problems but no one takes responsibility, things will only get worse. Accountability is the difference between taking a step forward and staying stuck. It takes one brave team to break the cycle.
If your strategy isn’t based on a genuine opportunity, you won’t see results
You can’t deliver meaningful value from a hollow ambition. Strategy only works when it’s built from a real opportunity, not an empty ambition (and ‘to be a market leader’ in something or other is the worst offender). If the opportunity isn’t real, teams feel it and won’t push it forward.
Endless word smithing is where momentum dies
When teams start debating language instead of making decisions, everything stalls. It’s a signal that people are avoiding the real work, and the one that triggers me the most.
Clear boundaries let teams move fast
Teams move faster when they know what’s in their scope and what isn’t. Even the most mature teams need some guardrails. Clear outcomes give focus, and focus gives speed.
Empowerment only works when there’s direction
Empowerment is powerful, but not everyone thrives in open space. There needs to be a clear direction so people feel safe to act.
Insecure leaders create unstable systems
When leaders are uncertain or defensive, everything underneath them wobbles. Risk gets hidden, decisions slow down, and people lose confidence.
Visual communication changes how people think
There is power in beauty. Humans are naturally drawn to things that look and feel good. Done well, visual design helps people understand complex things quickly. Write things down, draw them out, put them on the wall.
You need a strong product culture before a service culture is possible
A product-led approach creates focus and reliable delivery. A service-led approach creates cohesion and systemic change. You can’t build the system until the delivery engine works.