Nexus Blueprint Courses

The SME Leader's
Performance Pathway

A complete development system for business owners and senior leaders. Eight courses across four stages — each one building on the last, every one applied directly to your business.

Explore the Pathway Free Discovery Call
“Most SME leaders are technically excellent and strategically underprepared. This pathway changes that — systematically, affordably, and permanently.”
The four stages

Where do you want to start?

Every stage works as a standalone engagement. The pathway is cumulative — each stage makes the next one more powerful.

1
Foundation

Lead Yourself

Build the inner platform before leading anyone else. Self-awareness and communication as foundational leadership tools.

From £700
2
Application

Lead Your Team

Apply self-awareness to real leadership challenges. Change that lands, decisions that stick, strategy that can be defended.

From £1,800
3
Methodology

Think Like a Consultant

Acquire the analytical toolkit of a top-tier consulting firm. The most popular entry point for SME leadership teams.

From £2,500
4
Implementation

Perform at Scale

Turn analytical capability into measurable EBITDA improvement. Where the business case gets built and the operations change.

From £5,250
How to enter the pathway: Most SME leaders begin with Think Like a Consultant (Stage 3) as their entry point. It works immediately as a standalone session and creates natural demand for both the coaching work below and the consulting engagement above. Not sure where to start? Book a free 30-minute call — Richard will give you an honest recommendation.
All courses

The full programme

Eight courses. Every one designed to be applied immediately to your real work.

Stage 1 · Foundation

The Self-Aware Leader

Understand your leadership style, blind spots and impact on others. The foundation for everything that follows.

Half day1:1 or groupILM-informedFrom £350
Find out more → Stage 1 · Foundation

Listen Better, Lead Better

Communication as a leadership instrument. Active listening, better questions, and space for others to perform.

Half day1:1 or groupILM-informedFrom £350
Find out more → Stage 2 · Application

Leading Through Change Without Losing Your Team

Practical tools for managing organisational change while keeping people engaged and performing.

Full dayGroupILM-informedFrom £700
Find out more → Stage 2 · 1:1 Coaching

Strategic Clarity

Three focused 1:1 sessions applying consulting frameworks to your most important business challenge.

3 × 90 min1:1Remote or F2F£1,100
Find out more → Stage 3 · Most popular

Think Like a Consultant

MECE structuring, hypothesis-driven analysis, VSM and Pareto — applied to your real challenges in a single session.

Half dayGroups 4–12From £1,500
Find out more → Stage 3 · ILM AI Mentor-led

AI Without the Hype

Practical AI literacy for business leaders. What to adopt, in what order, and how to govern the investment.

Half dayGroupFrom £1,000
Find out more → Stage 4 · AI Advisory

AI Business Case Workshop

Stress-test your AI investment using MECE decomposition, Pareto prioritisation and EBITDA financial modelling.

Half day1–6 peopleFrom £1,750
Find out more → Stage 4 · Consulting Engagement

Business Performance Review

A fixed-price consulting engagement. Diagnose where value is leaking, prioritise what to fix, and govern the implementation.

4–8 weeksFixed scopeFrom £3,500
Find out more →
Investment summary

What the full pathway costs

Every stage is available individually. The pathway is cumulative — and significantly more valuable as a whole than any single course.

StageFrom
Stage 1 — Lead Yourself£700
Stage 2 — Lead Your Team£1,800
Stage 3 — Think Like a Consultant£2,500
Stage 4 — Perform at Scale£5,250
Full pathway£10,250

All prices exclude VAT. Payment is per engagement, not upfront for the full pathway. Typical payback on full pathway investment for a £2m–£10m business: 6–18 months.

Your facilitator

Richard Shaw

I am a management consultant and executive coach with over 25 years delivering transformation programmes across UK Government, the NHS and major commercial organisations. I have led teams, managed large programmes, and made the kind of decisions that have real commercial and operational consequences.

I am one of a small number of UK practitioners formally qualified in both executive coaching and AI business mentoring. Everything I teach in these courses is something I use in live client work. The frameworks are not adapted from textbooks.

I am based in Brighton and work with SME leaders across the UK. Most sessions are delivered remotely, which means location is no barrier.

Qualifications & credentials
  • ILM Level 7 Award in Executive Coaching & Mentoring (highest UK-regulated level)
  • ILM Assured AI for Business Mentor — formally certified to advise on AI adoption and strategy
  • Help to Grow: Management — Government-approved mentor
  • 25+ years Enterprise Architecture: Defra, Home Office, NHS, NMC, Places for People
  • Former Trustee & Treasurer, Journeyman charity
Full profile →

Not sure where to start?

Book a free 30-minute conversation. I will give you an honest recommendation based on what your business needs — not the most expensive option.

info@nexusblueprint.co.uk  ·  Brighton-based  ·  UK-wide

Email Richard Book a Discovery Call