Situation overview
This situation arises when commercial ambition is clear, but execution is inconsistent.
Pipelines may look healthy, targets are understood, and effort is being applied, yet results fall short of expectation. Conversion is uneven, focus is diluted, or the commercial engine is not operating in a way that supports the wider business.
I am typically brought in to help leadership teams translate commercial intent into disciplined execution. The work is practical and grounded, focused on where value is actually created and where effort is being lost.
What this situation often looks like in practice
While each business is different, common characteristics include:
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Strong top-line ambition but inconsistent delivery against plan
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Sales or commercial activity spread too thinly across opportunities
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Poor visibility of pipeline quality, conversion, or true performance drivers
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Tension between commercial teams and the rest of the organisation
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Leadership frustration that effort is not translating into results
The risk is not lack of opportunity, but wasted effort and missed value.
Selected Case Studies
Rebuilding commercial control in a stalled portfolio business
Context
A portfolio company with a strong brand and respected product had lost momentum. Revenue had plateaued, product launches were slipping, and financial pressure was building. While the business still held real promise, execution had stalled and confidence was fading.
A leading private equity firm asked NorthCo to conduct a full operational review and support leadership in regaining commercial control.
My role
I was engaged to work alongside the leadership team to diagnose the causes of commercial drift and help reconnect strategy to execution.
The remit was not to produce a report for its own sake, but to restore focus, confidence, and forward momentum across the commercial engine.
What mattered operationally
This was not a failing business, but one under strain.
Departments had become siloed, behaviours reactive, and leadership attention pulled inward. Most critically, the organisation had lost its connection to the customer. The brand remained strong, but commercial decision-making was no longer anchored in customer value.
The finance team, under pressure, had become consumed by reporting and bank narrative management rather than enabling recovery. A hidden shortfall existed within the sales forecast, not due to spreadsheet error, but because the underlying thinking behind the forecast had not been challenged.
Operationally, the digital platform had become a convenient scapegoat. While imperfect, it was not the root cause of drift. Blame had replaced action.
Outcome
The work refocused the business on what actually mattered.
Commercial control was restored by shifting leadership attention back to the customer, clarifying priorities, and re-establishing execution rhythm. A simple one-page mission and clear OKRs provided a shared reference point for decisions.
Cost pressure was relieved without stalling momentum through targeted measures and supplier renegotiation. Finance moved back into a supportive role, enabling recovery rather than merely reporting risk.
Operationally, the team moved from deferral to delivery. Customer experience improved through practical service fixes, clearer content, and reduced friction in the buying journey. Trust was rebuilt through action rather than spin.
The business regained momentum, replacing inertia with purposeful execution and a clearer path forward.
Restoring Commercial Discipline in a Scaling Direct-to-Consumer Business
Context
A fast-growing direct-to-consumer sports brand had reached significant scale, generating £18m in revenue, but commercial execution had failed to keep pace with growth. Despite strong demand and brand traction, the business had slipped into a £500k loss. Margin was eroding, cash was tightening, and confidence was weakening with both investors and the bank.
The issue was not ambition or opportunity. It was loss of commercial control as complexity increased.
I was engaged initially to diagnose the situation and then appointed as Interim CEO to stabilise performance and restore disciplined execution across the commercial engine.
What mattered operationally
Growth had outpaced structure.
Stock buying was disconnected from demand reality. Inventory levels were misaligned with sales velocity, putting pressure on cash and margin. Marketing activity was energetic but poorly sequenced, creating volume without sufficient operational readiness. Customer service issues were rising, damaging trust and increasing cost-to-serve.
Most critically, roles and decision rights across the leadership team were unclear. Commercial decisions were being made in isolation rather than as part of a coordinated system linking demand, supply, and cash.
The business did not lack effort. It lacked rhythm, discipline, and integrated commercial thinking.
My role
As Interim CEO, my focus was on reconnecting commercial ambition to operational reality.
This included:
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Tightening stock and buying controls to align inventory with true demand
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Re-aligning marketing activity with sales capacity and fulfilment capability
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Embedding a structured Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) cadence
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Clarifying leadership roles and decision ownership across commercial, operational, and financial functions
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Establishing a consistent weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance rhythm anchored in cash, margin, and customer outcomes
This was not a strategic reset. It was an execution reset.
Outcome
Commercial control was restored without stalling growth.
Forecast accuracy improved. Margin stabilised. Customer service performance recovered as operational pressure reduced. Leadership confidence returned as decisions became clearer, faster, and better sequenced.
Over a two-year period, the business moved from a £500k loss to £2.5m EBIT and was subsequently sold for £22m. Bank confidence was restored early in the process, removing existential pressure and allowing management to focus on building value rather than managing risk.
This engagement demonstrated that disciplined execution, not more growth initiatives, was the lever required to unlock performance.
Additional relevant work
Additional relevant work
Additional commercial focus and execution work includes:
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Review of a high-growth commercial organisation where rapid sales headcount expansion masked productivity concentration and weak renewal ownership. Work focused on clarifying contribution drivers, strengthening frontline sales management, and improving renewal execution to support margin and cash generation.
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Design and delivery of a commercial alignment programme for a high-growth energy solutions business, strengthening cross-functional decision-making, improving execution rhythm, and embedding clearer commercial ownership across finance, sales, operations, legal, and technical leadership.
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Designed and embedded a structured field sales operating model for a national sales team operating with a mix of employed and independent representatives. Aligned field activity with head office priorities and strengthened execution discipline across regions.
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Interim leadership of sales and marketing functions during a period of leadership transition, restoring execution discipline, improving pipeline visibility, and stabilising performance without creating long-term dependency.
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Short-term interim leadership of digital marketing to impose structure, realign agency activity, and support commercial objectives through clearer governance, prioritisation, and light-touch oversight.
Trust and context
This work often sits at the intersection of sales, operations, and leadership. It requires commercial realism, operational understanding, and the ability to challenge assumptions without undermining momentum or morale.
If you want to get your team focused upon a joint mission, I highly recommend you consider using Trev to support you.
“My team consists of some very bright, highly intelligent individuals, but I was struggling to get them all focused upon a joint Mission. I had seen some of the results which Trev was achieving in similar businesses and so approached him. He ran several team events for me over six months, focusing my team’s minds on our mission, attending regular performance reviews and strategy sessions. We had great success with this approach and resulted in a much more aligned and accountable leadership team with clear KPIs. Critically this resulted in a significant profit improvement across the participating business units. If you want to get your team focused upon a joint mission, I highly recommend you consider using Trev to support you.”
Mike Linter – Global Head of Tax and Legal Services UK and Vice Chair – KPMG UK