What main principles underpin the way in which David works with his clients?

The most important principle is that David provides personal counsel based on his own personal experiences on a personal basis to leaders of organisations – which means that the way of working together is different in every case.

Are there any models or ways of working that have proved to be effective?

Yes, to illustrate with three different approaches:

• periodic meetings with top leaders to discuss their issues, agendas and approaches. This can take the form of issues agreed in advance, David preparing thoughts on how to tackle these issues and then in meeting to finalise the approach to be taken by the client
• discussions to help leaders be most effective – what areas they concentrate on, where they spend their time, how they put teams in place to get leverage on that time and how they demonstrate leadership to their organisations
• selected programmes of high importance where a high level ‘stress testing’ can be useful to maximise success and reduce risk

Is this a form of coaching?

It can be, but most definitions of coaching assume that the coach only brings process to the table. David brings content based on his experiences with the right process for the client concerned, and clients engage David for that experience. David’s purpose is to help leaders tackle challenging situations themselves and become more effective leaders.

Does that mean that David does not do ‘projects’?

Correct – David sees that the best value he can deliver is based on enabling others, not doing things himself.

Is this another form of ‘consulting’?

It can be, but the difference is that David is bringing his personal experiences of running and leading large scale people - based businesses combined with his consulting experience. Essentially it is like getting an international CEO level leader for your own personal benefit.

What does this cost?

This depends on the client and the nature of their challenge, and therefore each case is treated differently. The key is to maximise value to senior leaders and to their businesses with relatively small amounts of time on a periodic basis to create a sustainable difference.

What are the terms of business?

David has no terms of business. He works with clients in a way that suits them rather than him and will adopt any reasonable terms of business those clients may require.

Does David do the work himself?

Yes. However in cases where specialists would provide a better answer for a particular situation, David would happily advise on alternative options.