The work begins before the work begins.

I come in at the early, undefined stage of an idea - when there is conviction in the room but no shape on the page. The job is to stretch it, roll it around, bring in the right people and the right thinking, and turn it into a concrete programme that works in the real world.

That usually means sitting with discomfort longer than is comfortable. It means leaving certain things deliberately undefined while others are nailed down hard. And it means being honest, early, about what the idea can and cannot become.

My clients are senior leaders - chief executives, programme directors, heads of strategy. They are looking for a thinking partner who has built programmes like this before, is realistic about what it will take, and never loses sight of what's possible.