Problems we solve · Programme rescue
The programme is in trouble. The status report is showing green.
Milestones slip.
Costs rise.
Internal recovery attempts have not restored confidence.
You’re on the umpteenth get-to-green plan…
… and the board needs answers you can’t find, let alone give.
What’s Really Happening
Projects and programmes can get into difficulty for numerous reasons – getting things moving again can seem hard to impossible.
When a new get-to-green plan has to be created every few weeks, the instinct can be to add resource, accelerate reporting, or bring in a bigger team. It rarely works. What’s usually missing is clarity on goals, knowing which constraints are binding, and whether the original scope is still the right scope.
A 20-minute conversation. No pitch.
01 / Recognition
You may be hearing yourself say…
01
“We need an independent view before the next board decision.”
02
“The reports don’t reflect what people doing the work are telling us.”
03
“Recovery plans keep moving the date without resolving the blockers.”
04
“Does the original scope still make commercial sense?”
This work needs a genuine sponsor and access to evidence. If the need is additional delivery capacity on an unchanged plan, that should be established before proposing a rescue intervention.
The focus here is a specific project or programme and its immediate recovery decisions. A stalled transformation may require broader changes to the organisation’s priorities and operating model than just one stalled project or programme.
02 / Diagnosis
Recovery needs a position people can act on
Simply moving the dates to get-to-green again won’t make things more productive and may even create resentment later on.
The Central Problem
Leadership needs a credible view of remaining value, cost, risk, and feasibility.
A plan that avoids difficult decisions cannot provide it.
01
Recovery means adding more
Extra people and reporting are introduced before anyone establishes which constraints they would resolve.
02
Reported status and operational reality diverge
Confidence rests on milestones that no longer represent the work or the risk remaining.
03
Scope and commitments remain unchallenged
Assumptions survive because changing them needs decisions about value, money, and accountability.
04
No owner for the difficult trade-offs
Sponsors, delivery teams and suppliers work around unresolved choices, increasing the cost of delay.
The first decision is whether the remaining case for the programme justifies the next commitment.
03 / Intervention
Establish the position. Make the decision. Support the recovery.
We don’t arrive with a framework, a reorganisation, or a replacement programme. We start by establishing what is actually happening, then put the evidence in front of you.
01
Independent assessment
We compare reported status with delivery evidence, scope, dependencies and the remaining business case. You get a written assessment of the position, uncertainties and options for the sponsor and board.
02
Reset direction and accountability
We help the appropriate decision-makers choose a course: recover, narrow, restart or stop. We make the consequences, decision owners and conditions for proceeding explicit.
03
Work to reviewable outcomes
If recovery is agreed, we support fortnightly outcomes, remove identified blockers and establish reporting that reflects progress and risk. We might use flow analysis or Cost of Delay where useful. Direct recovery leadership, if required, is scoped explicitly.
The objective is a programme its own leadership can control or a defensible decision to stop investing in it.
04 / Typical Engagement
What working with us looks like
Clear expectations. Defined outcomes. Accountability on both sides.
01
Diagnostic first
We start with a short, structured assessment. We agree scope, duration and executive involvement upfront. Complex work may need a longer assessment; we explain why before you commit. Executive involvement is kept as light as possible but will be more for more complex scenarios and may be front-loaded.
02
Two-week outcomes
We agree a three- or six-month direction, but commit to specific outcomes every fortnight, working with the people sponsoring and delivering the change.
03
Commercial alignment, not just day rates
We combine a baseline fee with payments linked to agreed outcomes. We take responsibility for our delivery, and put our mistakes right at our cost. Your commitments and dependencies are agreed upfront, so accountability works both ways.
04
Senior on every engagement
Every engagement is founder-led, with direct senior involvement throughout. Where specialist expertise or additional capacity is needed, we bring in trusted people with the right capabilities. You retain a single point of accountability.
05
Your strategy stays yours
We bring diagnosis, challenge, and intervention. Accountability for the strategic direction of your business remains with your leadership.
05 / Evidence
What this looks like in practice
Case Study
From no items delivered in 12 months to Programme Flow in 3
SETL Development Ltd
SETL were developing a Transfer Agency on Blockchain hosted on multiple Cloud platforms for the European Asset Management sector.
Programme resets had become a weekly norm, as had lack of delivery – no features or releases had occurred for over 12 months. The problems came down to mismatched priorities, a bottleneck in testing, too many meetings, and a fear of talking to high-level stakeholders about issues before they became serious blockers.
After an initial review, the first step in the intervention was to review the shape and structure of the programme over a three-week period with stakeholders in Europe and the UK; then, based on the evidence, to introduce a standardised priority mechanism, cull over 70% of meetings, and establish regular playback sessions with the customer. After a further two months, work was flowing again and the programme was able to rebaseline from a position of knowledge.
See also – Insurance Digital Transformation: from chaos to delivery confidence
Client Perspective
“Toby identified issues with the programme immediately. Within two months the work was flowing again and we were back on track.
“We had to have some grown up conversations but it was really worth it.”
NP
Chief Technology Officer
Additional Sector Experience
Capital markets · Insurance · Fintech · EV charging · Telecoms · Data centres
06 / FAQ
Questions people ask
We confirm availability and the earliest useful start once we understand the urgency, access required, and scope. We do not promise a start date before that conversation. A short assessment also depends on timely access to the people and evidence involved.
Yes, if the evidence supports that recommendation. We set out the reasoning and alternatives for the sponsor and board. The decision remains yours; our role is to make it informed and explicit.
Where appropriate, we can scope direct leadership of the recovery phase. Every engagement is founder-led, with specialist help brought in as required. Responsibilities, authority, and the point of handover to your leadership are agreed before that work starts.
We work with their knowledge of the programme while forming an independent view of the evidence and options. We clarify responsibilities and decision rights with the sponsor so the recovery does not create another competing layer of governance.
The diagnostic scope and baseline fee are agreed before we start. Any recovery phase is then scoped around agreed outcomes and dependencies.
We combine a baseline fee with payments linked to agreed outcomes. This creates commitment on both sides while keeping the commercial focus on results rather than activity.
If we miss an agreed outcome through our own fault, we put it right. Where delivery depends on information, decisions, or commitments from your organisation, those dependencies and their commercial implications are agreed upfront.
We can also consider bespoke arrangements, including fees linked to measurable savings or other commercial benefits.
07 / Next Step
Tell us what’s stuck
A 20-minute call with Toby Corballis about your situation. Not a pitch, a demo, or a discovery call delegated to someone junior.
We’ll follow up with a short written view of what we’ve heard and where we’d look first.
There’s no proposal unless you ask for one, and “not now” is a perfectly good outcome.
Prefer email? [email protected]
Or call +44 (20) 8088-5705