How an engagement runs
From first call to ninety-day handover — the working rhythm we use for SME strategic planning advisory.
Strategic planning for a small or medium-sized business should feel like a project with edges, not an open-ended conversation. This page explains the rhythm we use so you know what you are commissioning before you enquire.
1. Scope call (30–45 minutes)
We listen for the decisions that must be settled, who can approve them, and the calendar constraints around workshops. You leave knowing whether we recommend a full Strategic Planning Engagement, a shorter diagnostic, or a single alignment workshop.
2. Letter of engagement
Scope, fee, deposit, participants, and dates go in writing. Work begins when the deposit clears and materials are shared. Cancellation and rescheduling rules live on the refund page.
3. Discovery
Interviews and document review. We look for where leadership already agrees, where language hides disagreement, and which capacity or cash constraints will shape realistic options.
4. Workshops
Facilitated sessions — usually two for a full engagement — where options are tested and choices are recorded. Laptops stay closed unless we are capturing decisions live. The goal is agreement you can defend later, not unanimous enthusiasm for every line.
5. Write-up and challenge
You receive a draft strategy document. We expect pushback. The final version names markets, priorities, owners, measures, and the first ninety days.
6. Handover and check-in
A short handover session starts the action board. Four to six weeks later we reconvene once to clear blockers — not to restart the strategy from scratch.
What you prepare
A client lead, access to high-level financials, and a list of decisions that cannot wait another year.
What we protect
Confidential commercial detail stays in the engagement. We do not reuse your numbers as marketing case studies without written permission.
What success looks like
Leaders can explain the plan in five minutes, managers know their first moves, and stopped work is named as clearly as new work.
Ready to start?
Browse advisory work or request a planning conversation with the Auckland office.