Before You Book:
What You Actually Need to Know

We spend 30 minutes figuring out if transformation is realistic for your team and whether we're the right people to do it.

You'll get clarity on what's actually holding your technology function back, whether the issue is fixable or points to bigger structural problems, and what the realistic path forward looks like.

I'll get clarity on whether your team is genuinely ready for this level of change, if the leadership dynamics can support transformation, and whether we have capacity to give this the focus it needs.

At the end of the call, I'll tell you one of three things. Either "Yes, I think we can transform this and here's how", or "This is fixable but you need something different than what we do", or "We could help but I don't think now is the right time and here's why."

Three things: recognition that something fundamental needs to change, willingness to commit real time to making it happen, and realistic expectations about what transformation actually involves.

I'm not looking for perfection. Most teams we work with are messy when we start. I'm looking for honesty about where you are and genuine commitment to doing something different.

Red flags that tell me this won't work: leadership that wants the technology team fixed but aren't willing to change how they interact with technology. CTOs who've already mentally checked out. Teams that want results but won't actually apply what we recommend. Organisations that think this is about buying a report rather than doing hard work.

Green flags that tell me transformation is possible: You know something's broken but you're not sure exactly what. You're willing to look at uncomfortable truths about what's not working. You understand that fixing this requires sustained effort, not a quick patch. You're treating this as a strategic investment, not just another expense.

Whoever is driving the decision to fix this. Usually the CEO, sometimes the CTO, occasionally a Board member.

If you're the CEO trying to figure out if transformation is possible, book it yourself. We can loop in the CTO later if it makes sense. Often it's better to have that initial conversation one on one so we can talk openly about what you're actually seeing.

If you're the CTO and you know the team needs external help, book it. We'll figure out how to bring the CEO into the conversation.

If you're on the Board and pushing for technology leadership improvement, book it and we'll work out the right engagement model.

Don't overthink this. The assessment is 30 minutes. We'll figure out who else needs to be involved based on what we discover.

Diagnose: $5,000 AUD plus GST. Two weeks embedded with your team. You get a complete picture of what's broken and exactly how we'd fix it. This investment is credited toward Transform if you commit within 14 days and prepay the remaining $55,000.

Transform: $60,000 AUD total plus GST. Six months of weekly embedded work to rebuild your team's operating system, elevate your CTO, and create lasting capability. If you move from Diagnose to Transform within 14 days, you pay $55,000 (the $5,000 diagnostic fee is credited). This is the core engagement where transformation happens.

Ascend: $5,000 AUD per month plus GST. Ongoing executive alignment after Transform finishes. Keeps momentum steady and ensures the function doesn't slide backwards.

Most people use Diagnose to prove to themselves this will work before committing to the full engagement. Think of it as a $5,000 test drive that costs you nothing if you decide to proceed. Some go straight to Transform if the situation is urgent and the fit is obvious after the assessment.

Because you deserve to know what you're considering before we ever talk.

Most firms hide pricing because they want you emotionally invested before you find out what it costs. They're hoping that by the time you hear the number, you're already sold.

I publish pricing because it filters out teams who genuinely can't invest at this level. That saves everyone time. It also means when we talk in the assessment, we can focus on whether the work is right for your situation, not on negotiating price.

If you look at these numbers and think "absolutely not", you've saved us both 30 minutes. If you look at them and think "that's significant but potentially worth it if the transformation is real", then book the assessment.

Then be honest about that in the assessment and we'll figure out if there's a path forward or if you should wait.

But first, be brutally honest with yourself about whether this is actually a budget problem or a priorities problem.

Most businesses can afford this. What they're really saying is "we haven't decided this is more important than the other things we're spending money on right now." Which is completely fair. You get to set your priorities.

The real question is what the cost of NOT fixing this adds up to. If your technology team is underperforming, what's that costing you every quarter? Delayed launches. Missed opportunities. Leadership time wasted. Team morale dropping. Strategic initiatives you can't even attempt because technology is too unreliable.

For some businesses, that cumulative cost is 10x what transformation costs. For others, the pain isn't quite there yet. Just be honest about where you are.

Diagnose is two weeks embedded with your team, mapping exactly what's broken and how we'd fix it.

You get complete clarity on whether the CTO is the problem or the system around them is the problem. You see where delivery is breaking down and why. You understand what needs to change in how the CEO and CTO interact. You know if the team has the capability to transform or if you need different people.

At the end, you get a transformation map that shows exactly what we'd do over six months, what would change week by week, and what success looks like at each stage. This isn't a 100 page report you'll never read. It's a working document that becomes the roadmap if you move to Transform.

Most people use Diagnose as proof that this will actually work before committing the full $60K. You invest $5,000 to see if we genuinely understand your situation and can fix it. If you decide to proceed within 14 days, that $5,000 is credited and you prepay the remaining $55,000. If you decide this isn't right, you've spent $5,000 to get complete clarity on what needs to happen, which is valuable regardless.

Everything that matters.

Your CTO leads with clarity instead of drowning in reactive work. Your team delivers predictably instead of constantly firefighting. The CEO and CTO actually understand each other and trust is rebuilt. The Board has confidence that technology is on solid ground.

Specifically, within the first month you'll see delivery becoming more predictable and fewer surprise emergencies. By week 8, the CEO and CTO relationship shifts and communication improves noticeably. By month 4, the team starts taking ownership instead of waiting to be told what to do. By month 6, the new operating system is embedded and running without us.

But here's what actually matters most: the change holds. This isn't a temporary fix that fades when we step back. We rebuild the operating system of your technology function so it runs at a high level permanently.

We work virtually in weekly embedded sessions. Each session is structured and outcome focused.

The CTO is involved every week because they're the one we're elevating. The CEO needs to be involved at key moments to ensure alignment stays strong. The wider team participates as needed to implement changes.

Between sessions, your team applies what we've agreed on so momentum keeps building. This isn't consulting where we disappear for weeks and come back with a report. We're in the work with you, week after week.

During the assessment, we'll talk about whether you can actually commit the time this needs. If you're too busy to clear weekly space for transformation, now isn't the right time. Better to know that upfront than three months in.

Maybe. Some teams can.

But if you could fix this internally, you probably would have already. The fact that you're reading this suggests something's blocking you.

Usually it's one of three things. Either you don't have clarity on what's actually broken. Or you know what needs to change but don't have the internal capability to execute it. Or there's a relationship dynamic between the CEO and CTO that makes direct performance conversations nearly impossible.

We bring external perspective, proven frameworks, and the ability to have conversations that are difficult internally. We also bring speed. Figuring this out yourself might work eventually, but how many quarters can you afford to keep operating the way you are now?

Sometimes that's exactly the right move. But not usually.

Most underperforming technology teams aren't failing because the CTO lacks intelligence or technical skill. They're failing because the CTO was never set up to succeed in the first place.

Unclear expectations from leadership. No operating system for how the team works. Constant reactive firefighting instead of strategic focus. A leadership style that worked at a smaller scale but doesn't fit what the business needs now.

If you replace the CTO without fixing those underlying problems, the new person will hit the same wall. You'll burn another 12 months and another six figure salary just to end up back here asking the same questions.

Our default is to elevate the existing CTO by fixing the system around them. If it becomes clear during Diagnose that replacement is the right answer, I'll tell you that directly and help you think through what needs to change before you hire.

We don't act as an interim CTO, but we can help you avoid making an expensive hiring mistake.

Most organisations hire the wrong CTO because they're not clear on what the role actually needs to do. They write a job description that sounds good but doesn't match what the business requires. Then they hire someone who looks great on paper but is completely the wrong fit for the stage you're at.

We help you get clear on what you actually need, stabilise the technology function so the incoming leader has a fighting chance, support the hiring process, and then coach the new CTO through their first few months so they start strong.

This dramatically reduces the risk of your new CTO flaming out within a year, which is what happens to most technology leaders who walk into unclear situations.

Traditional consultancies show up with big teams, charge you for junior people learning on your time, hand you a report, and disappear. Three months later nothing has changed.

Executive coaches focus on developing the individual, which is valuable, but they often ignore the broken system around the CTO. You end up with a slightly better leader still stuck in a dysfunctional environment.

Interim CTOs take over temporarily, which can stabilise things short term, but they don't build lasting capability. When they leave, you're back where you started.

We don't do any of those things.

We embed virtually with your team every week. We work alongside your CTO rather than replacing them. We rebuild the entire operating system of the team while simultaneously elevating the leader. The result is a high performing function that keeps running after we step back.

You get transformation, not reports. You get capability, not dependency. You get results that last.

Because real transformation requires dedicated weekly focus, not sporadic attention whenever there's spare time.

Each team we work with gets a protected weekly slot. This ensures your transformation has consistent momentum and you get the attention required to actually move the needle.

We could scale this by hiring junior people and putting them in front of clients. We choose not to. You get senior expertise every single week, not someone reading from a playbook.

This means we sometimes need to turn teams away or ask them to wait. If we don't have capacity when you complete the assessment, we'll be upfront about timing. During the assessment, I'll tell you about current availability.

Let me be direct about when this typically doesn't work.

It doesn't work when leadership isn't actually willing to change how they interact with the CTO. It doesn't work when the CTO has already mentally checked out. It doesn't work when the team wants results but won't apply what we recommend.

My job is to spot those situations during Assess and Diagnose and tell you if Transform isn't a good fit. Your job is to be realistic about whether you're genuinely ready to commit or hoping for a magic fix that requires no real change.

For teams that are genuinely ready and commit properly, the success rate is extremely high. You'll see progress week by week. If you're not seeing it, we'll talk about it openly rather than pretending everything's fine.

The real question is this: what's the cost of NOT fixing this? What does another year of your technology team underperforming actually cost your business?

You shouldn't trust me automatically. Trust is earned.

What I can tell you is this: I've spent 40 years building and fixing technology teams. I've been the CTO drowning in reactive work. I've been the leader elevating teams from chaos to high performance. I've seen what works and what doesn't, and I've built a business around the narrow focus of transforming underperforming technology functions.

I understand the pressure on leadership when you need technology to deliver but don't know how to fix it. I understand the expectations on CTOs who are stuck in constant firefighting and never get space to be strategic. I understand the cost to the business when technology becomes a bottleneck instead of a driver.

Everything we do is transparent. You'll always know what I'm observing, what I recommend changing, why I recommend it, and how we're measuring whether it's working.

The proof isn't in what I promise. It's in what happens week by week as the team transforms. Book the assessment and judge for yourself whether you trust me to do this work.

There's never a perfect time. There's always something else happening.

A big project finishing. A board meeting coming up. A key hire you're waiting on. Budget planning. The list never ends.

The real question is whether waiting makes things better or worse. If your technology team is underperforming now, will waiting three months improve that? Or will it just compound the problems and make them harder to fix later?

Most people who say "the timing isn't quite right" come back 6 to 12 months later when things have gotten worse and now it's urgent. The transformation is the same either way, but waiting makes it more stressful and more expensive.

Book the assessment anyway. We'll figure out together if now is actually the right time or if there's something specific you should handle first.

You have options.

Some teams are completely self sufficient after six months and don't need anything else. The capability is embedded, the CTO is operating at the right level, the team runs smoothly. They graduate out completely.

Other teams move into Ascend, which is $5,000 per month for ongoing executive alignment. This maintains momentum and ensures the function doesn't slide backwards. It creates a regular rhythm with the CEO, CTO and Board so everyone stays aligned on direction, risk and delivery.

Ascend isn't about micromanaging the technology function. It's about making sure the CTO continues to operate as a peer at the executive table and that technology leadership stays ahead of where the business is going.

We'll decide together what makes sense based on where you are at the end of Transform.