Think Like a Consultant
A half-day workshop for leadership teams. The same structured problem-solving toolkit used by McKinsey, BCG and Bain — applied directly to your real business challenges.
Four frameworks. One session. Real problems solved.
Every exercise uses a challenge your team actually faces. You leave with a working method, not a slide deck to file away.
A structured approach to decompose any business problem without missing critical causes or double-counting effort
A hypothesis-driven method that cuts weeks of analysis down to days of targeted investigation
Two process improvement tools — Value Stream Mapping and Pareto — to identify and prioritise waste immediately
A completed analysis of one real challenge from your business, with financial framing and a 90-day action plan
Four modules — one half day
Each module introduces a framework and applies it immediately to a real challenge. No theory for its own sake.
MECE Thinking
Structure any problem without gaps or overlaps. The Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive principle used at every major consulting firm.
45 min · Concept + exerciseHypothesis-Driven Analysis
Stop boiling the ocean. Form a best-guess answer first, then test it efficiently. Make faster decisions with less wasted analysis.
45 min · Concept + exerciseProcess Analysis: VSM & Pareto
Map your processes to find where value leaks, then use the 80/20 rule to fix the vital few causes first — not everything at once.
45 min · Concept + exerciseApplied Practice
Apply all three frameworks to one real challenge your team brings today. Leave with a structured recommendation your business can act on.
45 min · Facilitated team exerciseWhat the session looks like
| Time | Activity | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Welcome, objectives and workbook orientation | 15 min |
| 09:15 | Module 1 — MECE Thinking: structure any problem | 45 min |
| 10:00 | Module 2 — Hypothesis-Driven Analysis | 45 min |
| 10:45 | Break | 15 min |
| 11:00 | Module 3 — Process Analysis: VSM & Pareto | 45 min |
| 11:45 | Module 4 — Applied Practice: your real challenge | 45 min |
| 12:30 | Action planning, commitments and close | 15 min |
Times adjusted to your start time. Full-day version (7 hours) available for larger teams or deeper application.
This is for you if…
You are an MD, Operations Director, Finance Leader or Head of Digital at an SME or mid-market business
Your leadership team spends too much time discussing problems and not enough time solving them
You want your team to make better, faster decisions without hiring a consultant for every strategic question
You are preparing an investment case, a board presentation or a change programme and need rigorous analysis
You want a shared problem-solving language across your leadership team — so everyone is working from the same toolkit
You want your team to think and present at board level — without the Big 4 invoice
No prior consulting experience is needed. The workshop is designed to be immediately practical for any leadership team, regardless of background.
Richard Shaw — ILM Level 7 Executive Coach & Management Consultant
Everything your team needs
- Participant workbook — structured exercises for every module, printed or PDF
- Slide reference deck — a copy of the session slides to keep
- Post-workshop action summary — your team’s commitments captured and emailed within 48 hours
- 30-day follow-up email from Richard — checking progress on your action plan
- Remote or in-person delivery — available across the UK; in-person preferred for Brighton and Sussex
For in-house delivery, a suitable meeting room with projection or large screen is required. Richard brings all other materials.
Simple, fixed pricing
- ✓ All four modules
- ✓ Participant workbooks
- ✓ Post-workshop summary
- ✓ 30-day follow-up
- ✓ Extended applied practice
- ✓ Deeper financial framing
- ✓ Multiple team challenges
- ✓ Full afternoon workshop
- ✓ Join a mixed group
- ✓ Scheduled open sessions
- ✓ Same framework content
- ✓ Network with other leaders
Bespoke or multi-team pricing available. Travel outside Sussex at cost. All prices exclude VAT.
Richard Shaw
Richard is a management consultant and executive coach with over 25 years delivering transformation programmes across UK Government, the NHS and major commercial organisations — including Defra, the Home Office, NHS Blood and Transplant, and the Nursing & Midwifery Council.
He is one of a small number of UK practitioners who combines formal qualifications in both executive coaching and AI business mentoring — and brings both to every session he delivers.
The frameworks in this workshop are the same ones Richard uses on live client engagements. They are not adapted from textbooks. They are how experienced consultants actually work.
- ILM Level 7 Award in Executive Coaching & Mentoring
- ILM Assured AI for Business Mentor
- Help to Grow: Management — Approved Mentor
- 25+ years Enterprise & Solution Architecture
- Brighton-based, UK-wide delivery
Book a Session
The first step is a free 30-minute conversation. No obligation, no pressure — just an honest discussion about your team and whether this is the right session for you.
info@nexusblueprint.co.uk · Brighton-based · UK-wide
What comes next
Think Like a Consultant sits in Stage 3 of the SME Performance Pathway. It works as a standalone session — and as a springboard to deeper work.