Feasibility and Strategy Development

No one has put into words why the business exists or where it is going, so hard decisions are judged a different way each time.

Judge hiring, hard choices and new opportunities against one shared reference, and keep moving in one direction as more people join.

A written vision, mission and set of core values: why the business exists, the future it works toward and the principles behind its decisions.

Decisions rest on assumptions about the market and the competition that feel right but were never tested.

Choose where to compete from what the market actually looks like, and know why a customer would pick you over the alternatives.

A market and competitor analysis: the market's size and direction, your customers and what they want, the competitors' offers, and where your real opening is.

Money is committed before anyone has worked out what the plan will cost and earn over the coming period.

Know whether the idea holds up financially before you put money in, and see what changing one assumption does to the bottom line.

A financial model of operating costs and expected revenue over the period ahead, built so you can change an assumption and see the effect.

The plan looks good on paper, but no one has checked whether the business has the people, tools and budget to run it.

Know what delivery really takes, and whether the plan is realistic, before you commit to it.

An operating and resource plan: the operations, people, tools and budget the strategy needs, and the gap against what you already have.

What could go wrong is never named in advance, so problems arrive as surprises that derail the plan.

Prepare for the risks that matter, live with the ones that do not, and meet setbacks with an answer already in hand.

A risk assessment: the risks facing the plan, where each comes from, how likely and costly it is, and a practical way to reduce or handle it.

Effort goes into partnerships that look good on paper, while the ones that would move the business forward are never opened.

Spend your effort on partners who bring what you need, on terms where the value runs both ways.

A partnership strategy: which partnerships are worth pursuing, what each side gives and gets, and how to approach and structure them.

Ambition is scattered across a few people's heads, with no written goals and no one sure who does what next.

Line the whole company up behind one written direction, and track whether you are reaching it.

A business strategy: clear goals for the period ahead, the KPIs that track them, and an execution plan of who does what, when and with which resources.