Leadership changes at Amazon, Citi, and countless other businesses are reshaping entire organisations. But why do some transitions re-energise companies whilst others create chaos? Having guided leadership transitions in my career, I've witnessed what separates the successful newcomers from those who stumble. It's rarely about their strategy. It's about forming relationships of trust and intelligently navigating those critical early months. The Make or Break First 100 [...]

Are You Making Financial Decisions in the Dark? If your business is growing steadily with healthy cash flow but you're still feeling uncertain about your strategic financial direction, you're not alone. Many businesses with competent accounting teams and positive growth metrics are missing opportunities - such as improving their supplier cost base, optimising their capital structure or allocating their financial resources to the most important growth [...]

As September arrives and many businesses across the UK begin their 2026 planning cycles, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a client last year. Their finance director had just presented what appeared to be a comprehensive budget—detailed spreadsheets, monthly forecasts, departmental breakdowns. Yet the CEO looked across the boardroom table and asked, "But what does this actually tell us about where we're heading?" That [...]

This month I thought I would provide some thoughts on pricing – an area which often gets overlooked and yet presents an opportunity to create value in every business. The price is right – or is it? Getting your price right is critical to your success. On the optimistic side it means profits to reinvest in the future of your business, like marketing campaigns to win [...]

It’s as much about the journey as the destination Here we are - August holiday season. A time to refresh, spend quality time with loved ones and take a few well-earned resting moments. And reflect. For my part, I was reflecting recently on my own career journey - while doing an airport run to London Stansted. This was a full circle moment for me - it’s [...]

When Football Meets Business Strategy: A Personal Reflection As I sit here drinking my coffee, contemplating Tranmere Rovers' current position in League 2, a story of transformation and strategic revival comes to mind. It's a tale that perfectly illustrates how organisations can navigate challenging times through strategic planning with a sharp focus on the milestones along the way. In 1983, Tranmere Rovers faced similar challenges to [...]

So why did we choose the name Milestones MK? Let’s start with the “Milestones” part first: Reflecting on my successful 30-year executive career, the achievements that stood out most in the mind were the major milestones delivered. Career milestones such as significant capital investment projects, company acquisitions, product launches, new market entries, raising new finance, restructuring, profit enhancement initiatives and leading successful business exits. As well [...]

Happy New Year, and in this chilly January, a very warm welcome to Milestones MK We are absolutely thrilled to launch the business (first New Years resolution – tick!) and have just launched this new website. We hope you like it. They feel like two milestones in themselves – and to add to the fun we started our entrepreneurial adventure by securing the domain names, setting [...]