Find the ONE THING that matters
To move your business forward.
The Constraint Locator
First check if AI will replace what you sell
A two-minute check on where to act first, if AI isn't a threat.
Fill it in on instinct. It takes two minutes to see where you stand, then I’ll send you the full version.
Find what matters. Act decisively. Move forward.
Does this sound familiar?
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You worry AI could replace what you sell.
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You know AI could help, but don't know where to start.
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You know something isn’t working, but you can’t pinpoint what.
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You’re constantly firefighting, fixing one problem after another.
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Growth feels harder than it should.
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You can’t plan ahead with any confidence.
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Your team is anxious, frustrated or stretched thin.
Strip away the noise to find what matters
One thing in your business matters more than anything else. You just need to find it.
I call it the One Thing. Once you find it, you know where to act.
Why the obvious fix often fails
Most business leaders are so busy they treat the problem they can see.
Sales drop, so they spend more on marketing and lead gen, or push the sales team harder.
Quality slips or lead times stretch, so they lean on the team and add more tracking and reporting.
Margins drop, so they ask the team to cut costs or clamp down on discounting.
Often the real cause sits somewhere else, and the money goes on the wrong thing. There's a pattern to it, too.
Leaders who like marketing look for marketing problems.
Those who dislike finance rarely diagnose margin or cash.
“He was always respectful of the inputs of the subject matter experts, but would also be willing to roll up his sleeves when required. He has a strong work ethic but a personable style which kept a degree of fun in what could be a demanding time.”
Paul Rouse, Head of Commercial, GÉANT
The Constraint Locator works from the outside in.
Your customer and your market first, then what you sell, then how the business runs.
The Constraint Locator guides you through the elements of your business where the answer sits. You come out with the One Thing that can move your business forward, and a confidence score that tells you whether you need more data before you can be sure.
Market
What you sell
Demand
Win rate
Retention
Profit
Operations
Cash
The AI Exposure Test checks whether your One Thing is actually what you sell. It shows how much of what you charge for AI can already do, what it can't, and roughly how long you have to react.
Run it before you spend money fixing anything inside the business. Improving work that AI is about to take over is the wrong project, however well you do it.
Check you've really found the One Thing
Why work with me?
Because I’m a problem solver with real commercial and operational experience. I’ve run a pan-European internet network serving Europe’s public sector, led a £300m international portfolio and more than 500 people at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and most recently helped build an established business out of research from the University of Cambridge, selling services into systemically important banks, regulators and law firms.
£300m
£600m
500+
3+
Of products & services developed, delivered & supported annually to 130+ countries
Services procured and managed annually, through 100s of service partners
People led through organisational development, digital transformation & AI adoption
Companies established and grown successfully