Insights & advice
What our work has taught us, written down.
These are the documents and research we share with anyone deciding whether to work with us.
The numbers
Why brand is a capital question.
Intangible
92%
of the value of the S&P 500 is intangible, up from 17% in 1975. Ocean Tomo, 2025.
The new bar
12
is the new 5, because deals now need 10% to 12% annual EBITDA growth to return 2.5 times the money invested. Bain & Company, 2026.
Pricing power
94%
of a brand’s pricing power comes from how meaningfully different buyers see it. Kantar BrandZ.
B2B enterprise value
13%
of a B2B company’s enterprise value is its brand, against 18% for consumer brands. Brand Finance, 2025.
- Presenting problem
- Customer acquisition cost has doubled in 12 months; the board wants marketing cut.
- Actual problem
- The pipeline has no criteria for moving a deal from one stage to the next, and 61% of open pipeline has sat at the proposal stage for more than 90 days while still being counted in coverage. Marketing is fine, and the leak is in sales qualification.
- Cost
- $2.1 million in bookings that the plan assumed.
- Fix
- The first six weeks of a turnaround engagement.