Stress-test your strategy before someone else does.
Independent strategic challenge for teams that want their strategy to survive scrutiny—and the market.
You’ve got the strategy. Now you need to know it survives scrutiny. Because too often, the first true test comes when it's too late:
65% of executives don’t think their company has a winning strategy.
78% of marketers think their briefs provide clear strategic direction. Only 5% of those briefed agree.
35% of failed startups found there simply wasn’t enough market need for what they’d built.
Maybe your strategy is heading to the board, an investor or an important client. Maybe your team or agency has done good work, but you want an independent view before signing it off. Maybe AI helped you get there faster than usual and you want to know what it might have missed.
Or maybe the decision is simply too important to rely on the people who developed the answer being the same people who test it.
Bright Raven Strategy gives you experienced, independent challenge before the strategy has to perform for real.
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Make sure the argument holds up when the questions get harder.
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Pressure-test the thinking before it gets one shot in the room.
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Get an independent view before the recommendation becomes the plan.
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Check what the process may have missed, assumed or over-simplified.
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Test the commercial logic before committing to execution.
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Surface the risks while they are still cheap to fix.
Four Strategic Bets
Every strategy makes choices under uncertainty. Before you commit, ask: What has to be true for this strategy to work?
Customer
What are you betting people will want, value or do?
Competition
What are you betting competitors will ignore, copy or fail to match?
Capability
What are you betting your organisation can actually deliver?
Context
What are you betting will remain true about the market, category or environment?
Three levels of challenge
Strategy Stress Test
For when you want to know what you might have missed.
Send me the strategy and the evidence behind it. I’ll interrogate the logic, assumptions and supporting case, then give you a clear view of what stands up, where it’s exposed and what needs another look.
You’ll get a concise written assessment plus a 30-minute debrief.
From £400+VAT
Strategy Challenge
For when you want the team to test the thinking together.
I’ll run a structured session to test assumptions, expose blind spots and use your people to play the strategy forward: How might customers respond, what might competitors do, and what happens when circumstances change?
You’ll get a facilitated challenge session plus a short summary of the key risks, assumptions and actions.
Typically £1,000–£3,000+VAT
Strategy Assurance
For when you want every major assumption, risk and dependency examined.
I’ll go deeper into the strategic case, using research, competitive intelligence and scenario challenges to play out how the strategy might perform in a changing market.
You’ll get an independent assessment of the strategy, the evidence behind it and the issues that need resolving before significant commitment.
Cost scoped to brief
“Nick will always bring a new and different perspective to your thinking.”
“If you’re serious about the quality of your work then having really smart people around you, pushing, prodding and inspiring is crucial. Nick’s one of them.”
“Whatever the challenge, Nick identifies and understands it at lightning speed.”
You don’t need another strategy. You need confidence in this one.
I’ve spent 20 years working across strategy, research, customer, brand, proposition and positioning. My job here is simple: get into the problem quickly, ask the questions that are easiest to avoid when you’re close to the work, and give you a clear view before the decision is made.
Read about my experience and history on LinkedIn.
Need to know whether the strategy stands up? Tell me what you’re working on in a free 30-minute call.