How we think
The reasoning, before the recommendation.
Four instruments govern how the firm reads an organisation: the five problems clients state, the nine-level diagnostic hierarchy, the five levels of consulting, and the five-point maturity scale. Together they turn judgement into something a client can inspect and argue with.
01
The five problems
01Instrument one
The five problems, stated in the client’s words.
Every service exists to answer one of them. The problem, not the service, is the starting point of every proposal.
What it usually is
A recognition problem, usually a positioning problem underneath.
What GoTo brings
Brand and visibility
Brand strategy, identity, public relations, website, photography, video, social media and advertising.
02
The diagnostic hierarchy
02Instrument two
Nine levels, worked from the top down.
The order is causal rather than a ranking of importance. Each level constrains the ones beneath it, which is why fixing level eight while level two is broken produces an expensive nothing.
Level 01
Leadership and decision making
The question it answers
Who decides, how quickly, and on what basis?
A campaign cannot outrun an unmade decision.
The discipline
When a client asks for a website, we work down this list before quoting. The number of times the real problem sits at level two or three rather than level eight is the reason this firm exists.
Why the order is fixed
Because every consultant works the same list in the same sequence, findings from one engagement are comparable with findings from another, and an annual re-diagnostic shows movement rather than a change of opinion.
03
The five levels of consulting
03Instrument three
Value increases as work moves up the levels.
Level one performs the requested task. Level five ensures the improvement continues without us. Most agency relationships never leave level one, which is why they are renewed on price.
- 01DeliverPerform the requested taskBuild a website, design a logo
- 02AdviseRecommend better approachesRecommend a stakeholder campaign instead of a brochure
- 03ImproveRedesign systemsRedesign the customer journey, not only the website
- 04TransformChange organisational capabilityImplement governance, communication systems, AI and performance management
- 05InstitutionaliseEnsure improvements continue without GoToProcedures, training, governance, dashboards, knowledge transferThe goal of every engagement
04
The maturity scale
04Instrument four
Five points, and every score justified in one sentence citing evidence.
A score without evidence is an opinion, and the client will treat the whole report that way.
| Score | Meaning | What it looks like | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Absent | No capability, no ownership, no evidence | Build from zero. Sequence first if it blocks others. |
| 2 | Emerging | Some activity, no standard, individual dependent | Document and assign ownership. |
| 3 | Defined | Documented and understood, applied inconsistently | Enforce and measure. |
| 4 | Managed | Applied consistently and measured | Optimise. |
| 5 | Leading | Measured, improving, a source of advantage | Protect and leverage. |
Book a Discovery Session
The most useful first step is a discovery conversation.
A structured session that produces a written problem statement, whether or not it leads to an engagement. If the problem is not one we should be paid to solve, we will say so.
Enquiries acknowledged within one business day, always.