If you want to really create something, these conversations are essential, and you’ll get the return on your investment
Before working with Richard we had no clear vision for the company. We'd been trading for 12 years and we had an idea of where we wanted to go but no clear vision and definitely no idea of how to get there.
Our main concern about bringing in external help was price and possibly a bit of embarrassment
We were running this business for 12 years and it is embarrassing to admit that we didn't really know what direction we were driving in. That was difficult. Consultancy fees are also often automatically labelled as waste before the consultant as ever done anything!
We got a lot of clarity ...
Over the course of a few sessions we defined the company vision, ten-year goal and the strategy for how we are going to get there. The key thing was that while we started with looking at the long-term vision for the company this was eventually broken right down to a 1 year and first quarter plan which brought the vision to life. Vital!
total honesty ...
At times there was way too much of it! It's tough to hear that your ideas are often not the best fit for the company, unlikely to pay dividends or just downright awful! On reflection though, it's much better to hear that at the planning stage than finding out multiple years and cash investment into a project.
and an impartial perspective
I think this is the key to creating a successful strategy: having someone independent of the business but with a good understanding and plenty of experience to offer an objective view on the strategy and even more importantly to force us to look at the strategy from different perspectives ourselves and really shake down major concerns.
Richard brought outside perspective but with excellent business knowledge, and experience of running companies big & small that is very applicable. And he gave us clarity over where a discussion should be going. This can be very difficult when trying to take a wide-angle lens and then dig down to the details of potential issues
Would I recommend Richard?
Yes. You get high quality questions that force more thoughtful analysis, ensuring that you start and finish with the goal in mind and brutal honesty when it can't be found within. You need to want to take your business somewhere special. If you want to tick along these conversations will be too tough.
If you want to really create something, these conversations are essential, and you’ll get the return on your investment. Honesty is cheap in the long run; compliments can be expensive