It’s a question every leader faces sooner or later. You’ve spotted an opportunity or a problem — but do you build the capability yourself or buy it in?

At the University of Nottingham, I led a review to decide whether to keep an external partner running their hotels and conferencing or to bring it all in-house. In a post-Covid market full of uncertainty, the decision to build gave them control, agility, and ownership of their future. A new brand and strategy followed, and Nottingham Venues continues to thrive.

I help you step back, see the full picture, and make a clear, confident call that fits your business now and for the long term.

Not every build-or-buy call is on this scale — it might be about choosing between an off-the-shelf system and a bespoke one, a new product line, or a potential partnership. Whatever the context, taking the time to pause, assess, and decide with clarity often pays dividends down the line.

Good housekeeping isn’t glamorous, but it’s powerful. The 5 S’s — Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain — are about creating calm, disciplined environments where everything has its place and purpose.

I saw this first-hand at TUI’s education division, where recently acquired sports travel brands — Edwin Doran, Gullivers, Masterclass, and Teamlink — all operated with legacy systems, duplicated effort, and scattered global teams. By introducing clear standards, shared tools, and simple daily disciplines, we created best practice that cut turnaround times, reduced cost, and built confidence across the group.

When that discipline runs through both your physical and digital spaces — from workshops and offices to shared drives and inboxes — the impact is immediate. Efficiency rises, waste drops, and the hidden costs of confusion, duplication, and delay start to disappear. Consistency and speed become a genuine competitive advantage — not from working harder, but from working cleaner.

I help teams do the same — stripping things back, resetting their space (on-screen and off), and building habits that stick. The result is a sharper, leaner business that saves time, saves money, and moves faster.

For some businesses, strategy feels like a glossy document that gathers dust. But when markets shift, costs rise, or customer behaviour changes, having a clear direction becomes essential.

At the University of Nottingham, I looked across a mixed commercial portfolio — catering, childcare, and student accommodation — each facing post-Covid pressures from rising costs and changing demand. We exposed inconsistencies, redesigned cost models, and created clarity on where to invest, adapt, or scale back.

I help leaders step back, see the full picture, and build a strategy that actually works — grounded in real numbers, clear priorities, and what your team can realistically deliver.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating an existing plan, I help make strategy practical, relevant, and built for today’s reality.

It’s easy to keep running hard without stopping to ask why you’re actually successful — and where you’re falling short. Taking the time to understand your wins, both financially and from a customer perspective, is the first step to sustainable growth.

At the University of Derby, we reviewed the online course portfolio, looking at market insight, learner feedback, and costs. The analysis revealed which courses weren’t delivering value, allowing the university to scale back non-accredited offerings and invest in courses with both academic credit and industry accreditation.

I help leaders uncover what’s really adding value — to customers, employees, and the bottom line — and what isn’t. We highlight the challenges in repeating your winning model, identify genuine growth opportunities, and build the discipline to follow through. The result? Smarter decisions, clearer priorities, and a business that grows with intention, not by accident.

It’s a tale as old as time: marketing and sales over-promise, operations are left to deliver the impossible, and the result is unhappy customers, frustrated teams, and squeezed margins.

At Rayburn Tours, we gave sales teams more freedom by providing live, accurate information on costs and availability, and linked incentives to margins movement from post-sale to delivery. The result? A shared goal to grow margins while delivering robust, exciting, and competitive products.

I help businesses close that gap and create a harmonious culture for both customers and employees. By reviewing marketing and sales processes, introducing clear handovers, aligning goals, and creating shared incentives, we make it easier for everyone to succeed.

It’s not always about adding complexity — often it’s about trust, transparency, and ownership, making sure every stage from first enquiry to final delivery is visible and accountable. The outcome: fewer surprises, smoother delivery, happier customers, and a team working together rather than against each other.

Description Understanding the true cost of delivering a product or service — and how it matches market expectations — is essential for smart, confident decisions. Too often teams work on assumptions, inherited pricing, or outdated perceptions. I help organisations cut through the noise to see real margins, the levers of profitability, and where effort actually pays back.

At the University of Derby, they had acquired an outdoor adventure centre previously run by JCA. They were considering operating it as a commercial centre while also creating a real-world learning environment for their Adventure Leadership programmes.

I developed the full strategic case, including operational models, market analysis, staffing, capital needs, and realistic margin projections. The work showed that running it commercially would deliver low margins and high risk. But repurposing the site as a dedicated teaching space — using key facilities for student training — created significantly better financial and educational returns.

Whether evaluating a new venture, reviewing product profitability, or questioning an existing operation, I help you see the true picture — not what you hope will work, but what the numbers and market reality actually support.goes here