That's when an independent person in the room changes things.
Some situations reach a point where nobody inside the room can move things forward, without it costing them something. A relationship or a position for instance. The dynamic they've spent years managing.
This is not a workshop nor open-ended consulting. It is disciplined, outcome-focused facilitation for moments when ownership and board decisions carry real weight.
If it's complex, sensitive or stalled - that's when to call.
It usually starts one of two ways: a seven-minute Cost of Inaction Diagnostic that shows you what's actually at stake, or a confidential first conversation. Either way, the next step from there is the same.
You know exactly what you're getting before we begin.
Every engagement is defined upfront, with a clear scope, structured, preparation & documented outcomes.
The real questions surface early, which means the session solves problems rather than just naming them.
I'll also push back - hard where needed. That's the point.
My role is to create the conditions where the right people can decide, with clarity & without the conversation going sideways again.
"Richard's experience brought so much structure to our projects and truly elevated our business proposition. We have got so much value out of working alongside Richard and are very lucky to have had them in our corner."
Four ways in, depending on where things stand.
Clarify priorities, resolve the key issue, define a 90-day forward cadence.
You leave with documented decisions and defined ownership of next steps - not another conversation about having the conversation.
About strategy daysFocused facilitation to align ownership expectations, transition clarity and decision rights. For moments where legacy, continuity and the next chapter all need to be in the same room.
Only 3% of NZ family business owners are highly confident in the next generation's readiness to lead (KPMG New Zealand Family Business Report 2026). That gap is exactly where this format works.
Sometimes that process concludes the right next leader isn't inside the family or the business. Where that's the case, I facilitate that decision alongside a specialist executive search partner, who I've known for 40 years.
A targeted session to resolve a critical issue. Structured framing, constructive & with a documented outcome.
For situations already in conflict - a founder dispute, a shareholder relationship that's broken down, a partnership at the point of fracture. Fast entry, focused on getting people back to a decision they can both live with.
Sometimes this is planned. Sometimes it's an intervention - the room's already tense, and someone independent needs to bring it back to a decision.
Decisions made, documented and owned.
Aligned ownership. A defined path forward. Working tools for the weeks ahead vs a filing exercise.
"Richard is a clear-thinking entrepreneur with tremendous people skills. A man of real integrity I would trust in any endeavour."
A plan nobody implements is just avoidance with better paperwork.
Half or full day, with the right people in the room. You leave with the decisions made and a written roadmap.
Approx. $5k, depending on the breadth of what needs covering and the outcomes needed.
Where the strategy day surfaces exit or succession decisions, we build the detailed plan from there.
Typically $10k+, depending on scope and how much ground needs covering.
Please note that based on working with multiple owners and businesses, it's not the number that matters - it's what happens if the plan stops there.
Not necessarily doing the day to day work, but alongside the right people, on the timeline that was agreed. Most engagements that reach this stage run around 11 months.
The businesses that tend to get this right, invest deliberately, with someone in the room the whole way through - not just at the start.
I recently spoke with someone who sold his business for many, many millions. He said to me: "I wish I'd had you work alongside me two years ago." Money was never his problem. Knowing what to do with the years before and after the sale was.
Some situations don't resolve in a single session.
When the ownership conversation keeps recurring. When a board needs an independent voice that actually shows up consistently - not just for the hard moments. When a business is moving through a period of change and the pressure of that needs someone holding a clear, external view across it.
That's when an ongoing advisory arrangement makes sense.
Private companies and family enterprises where:
- A facilitation engagement has built trust and clarity and that momentum needs protecting
- The board has no independent voice and would benefit from one consistently
- Ownership decisions recur and benefit from structured, external perspective
- The business is moving through growth, succession or restructure and needs someone holding the line
For owners, leadership teams and ownership groups who want ongoing independent perspective without a formal board role.
Monthly governance or ownership call. Quarterly half-day session - strategy, decision facilitation or priority reset. On-call access when something time-sensitive lands. And continuity - no re-briefing, no starting from scratch every time.
For boards wanting a formal independent presence. Structured, committed, consistent.
Attendance at board or ownership meetings. Pre-meeting review of papers. Independent challenge in the room and direct access between meetings. Quarterly governance review.
Both arrangements have an initial three-month minimum. Engagements are scoped and priced following an initial conversation.
This isn't open-ended consulting. It's defined, focused and built around what actually matters to the business.
The value isn't the hours. It's having an independent mind that knows your situation, holds you accountable and stays calm when decisions get hard.
"Working with Richard has had a hugely positive, transformative effect on my business and wellbeing. Their insightful advice provided the cut-through required when often too busy to look yourself. Richard's experience in all aspects of business has been invaluable."
A first conversation is confidential, no-obligation and usually around 30 minutes.
I'll want to understand the situation - not to diagnose it immediately, but to work out whether independent facilitation is the right tool and whether the fit is right. Sometimes it isn't, and I'll always say so.
If it makes sense for us both to proceed, I'll propose a defined engagement with clear scope, documented outcomes and a fixed fee. No open-ended billing. No surprises.
Most engagements begin within two to three weeks of that first conversation.
Your lawyer is watching the legal, your accountant is watching the numbers, your banker is watching the deal. I'm watching everything else - the things that fall between those work streams.
I'm not a lawyer, accountant or professional director. I don't make decisions on behalf of boards or ownership groups - and I don't replace your existing advisers.
I work alongside them when the situation calls for an independent person in the room who understands both the business and the people inside it.
You know the number before we begin.
Facilitation engagements are fixed fee. Advisory arrangements are monthly.
"Richard is very knowledgeable about business which is important, but also takes a holistic view as well with the work/life balance which is also a crucial component to the overall success of the business."
People who've worked with me tend to put it simply: "He's who you call when something needs to actually happen."