Lily BrunningStrategic adviser

The Strategic Growth Diagnostic

Find what’s really holding growth back before investing more time, money or energy.

Most founder-led businesses reach a stage where there are more opportunities than capacity to pursue them, and uncertainty about what deserves attention first.

The Strategic Growth Diagnostic is a focused commercial engagement designed to cut through that noise. It looks underneath the visible symptoms to identify what will have the greatest immediate commercial impact.

Sometimes the answer is more marketing; often it is strengthening foundations, refining positioning, simplifying an offer, revisiting pricing, or focusing on a commercial opportunity that has been overlooked.

The outcome is not another report. It is clarity about what deserves your attention next, and the confidence to act on it.

Book a Founder Focus Call

I · Who this is for

Founders at an inflection point.

You have built something with traction: customers, revenue, momentum. But now progress feels slower than it should, and the business is faced with multiple opportunities, competing priorities and no clear view of what deserves attention first. Perhaps the issue you keep trying to fix is not the one actually limiting growth. Perhaps the business has evolved and the market still sees an older version of what you do.

Every business reaches moments where what worked previously is no longer enough. Founders usually recognise the symptoms before they know the cause. The Diagnostic exists to name the underlying commercial priority and make the next move a deliberate one, so time, money and effort go where they will have the greatest impact.

II · Signals it might be time

Founders usually feel the symptoms before they name the cause.

None of these are failures. They are signals that the business has reached a moment where the current approach has done its work, and the real constraint may sit one layer beneath what everyone is already discussing.

  • 01Everything feels important, but progress feels slow
  • 02Growth has stalled despite everyone working hard
  • 03Too many opportunities, no confidence about which to pursue
  • 04Marketing activity isn't translating into commercial progress
  • 05The business has evolved, but the market still sees an outdated version of it
  • 06Prospective clients regularly say, “I didn’t realise you did that”
  • 07Decisions are being made reactively rather than deliberately
  • 08The business has become more complex and priorities feel blurred

III · The process

Four considered steps. Designed to find the highest-leverage next step, not just document the symptoms.

The Diagnostic is a deliberate commercial investment, not a discovery call. It combines independent analysis with commercial judgement to identify what will have the greatest impact, whether that means more activity, stronger foundations, or a sharper commercial focus.

Step 01

Diagnostic session

Approx. 90 minutes

A structured working session. I ask questions designed to understand the business, its commercial model, and the issue you believe is holding you back, then I keep going to see what is sitting underneath it.

Step 02

Independent analysis

Approx. one week

I review everything we discussed away from the room. I look for patterns, test assumptions, apply commercial judgement, and do additional research where it's useful. The aim is to separate the visible symptom from the underlying commercial priority.

Step 03

Findings and direction

60 minutes + report

I present what I've found, explain the reasoning, and walk through a prioritised 90-day direction. You get a clear sense of what matters, why, and what to do first. Questions are welcome, and disagreement even more so. If something doesn't feel right, the aim is clarity. It's common for this conversation to bring new clarity, which is why the final step focuses on turning those insights into a practical plan. 

Step 04

Prioritisation and next steps

Direction + sequencing

We translate the findings into a prioritised view of what to stop doing and what to pursue first. Sometimes the most valuable opportunity is simpler than expected; sometimes it has been overlooked because the business is too close to it. Either way, you leave with clarity, confidence and a sequenced 90-day direction.

IV · What you leave with

Clarity, confidence and a prioritised 90-day direction.

The outcome is a structured view of where the business is, what matters next, and the confidence to act on it, not a report that sits in a folder.

  • Independent strategic perspective on the business
  • A clearer understanding of what is genuinely holding growth back
  • The commercial priority that will unlock the next phase of growth
  • A prioritised 90-day direction with sequencing and rationale
  • Clarity about where time, money and effort will have the greatest impact
  • Greater confidence in the decisions you make next

V · A note on what comes next

The outcome is clarity. 
What comes next is up to you.

The Diagnostic sits in the middle of a clear sequence: the Founder Focus Call comes first, to understand the business and confirm there is a genuine strategic issue to work on. The Diagnostic then identifies the highest-leverage next step and produces a prioritised 90-day direction. After that, some founders move forward on their own, others continue into ongoing advisory, and some bring me in for focused execution support. All three are valid outcomes.

Book a Founder Focus Call

VI · Common questions

About the Strategic Growth Diagnostic.

How does the Founder Focus Call relate to the Diagnostic?
The Founder Focus Call is a short, free qualification conversation. Its purpose is to understand the business, confirm there is genuinely a strategic issue, and decide whether the paid Strategic Growth Diagnostic is the right next step. The Diagnostic is where the real work happens.
How do I know if this is the right time?
If you're at an inflection point where the visible symptom feels clear but the underlying commercial priority does not, the Diagnostic is built for this moment. Most founders recognise the symptoms before they can name the cause. That recognition is usually the signal.
What if I'm not sure what's actually wrong?
That's often the right starting position. The Diagnostic is designed to identify the cause, not to assume it. You don't need a clear problem statement to begin; you need the space and the questions to find one.
Is this a sales call?
No. The Diagnostic is a paid strategic engagement. It produces independent analysis, commercial judgement, and a prioritised view of what to do next. The free Founder Focus Call exists so we can both confirm the Diagnostic is the right fit before either of us commits to the engagement.
How do I know if my positioning still reflects the business today?
Often the signs appear quietly before they're obvious. Prospective clients might say, “I didn't realise you did that,” or enquiries start coming from the wrong types of customers. A simple exercise is to search your business in Google or ask an AI tool like ChatGPT to describe what your company does. If the answer doesn't accurately reflect where the business is today, there's usually a gap between how you've evolved and how the market still sees you.
What happens if we uncover bigger issues?
The scope of support adjusts to what is found. Where deeper commercial work is warranted, I'll say so, and outline what that could look like, whether that's ongoing advisory or focused work on a specific priority.
What happens after the Diagnostic?
You leave with a prioritised 90-day direction and the confidence to act on it. From there, some founders move forward on their own, others continue into an ongoing advisory relationship, and some bring me in for focused execution support. All three are valid outcomes.
Is everything we discuss confidential?
Yes. Anything shared during the Diagnostic is treated as confidential and is only used to shape the work. I don't discuss client situations with third parties without explicit permission.