Unlocking Value

In this episode – the first in a six-part mini-series on the technology-driven change reshaping professional services – John is joined by Jason Soar, who spent thirty years inside Sainsbury’s before leaving to advise grocery businesses in the UK and the US. 

Jason opens the series from outside the sector on purpose: his industry has already lived through the kind of disruption ours is now facing, and the lessons carry across more directly than you might expect.

Grocery was hit by two waves at once – the discounters the big chains were slow to take seriously, and then the arrival of online shopping. Each forced the industry to change fast, and that pressure quickly showed which businesses were built on solid ground and which weren’t. 

What interests him most is what the disruption laid bare. Selling online demands fast, accurate data, and when that meets a business still run on manual processes, every weak spot shows. He tells the story of an AI tool brought in to manage stock that made availability worse, not better, because the data underneath wasn’t good enough. 

His lesson is simple: understand the real problem first, and fix the basics before laying new technology on top.

Beyond the grocery parallels, Jason and John discuss:

• Why “we have loyal customers” is one of the most dangerous things a firm can tell itself – and why the warning signs tend to be in the data long before anyone acts on them.
• Why surviving this period of disruption is really a leadership test: making time to think years ahead, not just quarter to quarter.
• The idea that even if all these new technologies disappeared tomorrow, you’d be a better business for having got your house in order anyway – and what that suggests about how to approach AI in professional services.
• Why businesses get slower as they grow, how the work fragments into silos, and where the real inertia sets in.
• Using AI to spot the gaps and connections a team can’t see, without asking it for the answer.
• Why he’s “slightly allergic to the word consultant,” and would rather coach a team through the work than leave them a slide deck.

If you lead a professional services firm and you’re weighing where to point technology and AI next, this episode is a useful place to start – the same questions seen from a different industry a few years further down the road.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth

Guest: Jason Soar, Retail Consultant & Advisor, Partner at The Partnering Group

John's guest this episode is Richard Longstreet, the founder of Tarka Talent – a specialist recruitment firm working with consulting businesses across the UK and the US. Tarka places experienced hires across the consulting market and produces an annual salary survey that tracks what consulting firms are actually doing when it comes to hiring.

What has this year’s survey found? To start with, entry-level hiring has nearly doubled in this year's survey, despite widespread assumptions that AI is reshaping the junior end of consulting. And the most in-demand role right now is what Richard calls the “experienced practitioner” – someone in the five-to-nine-year range who’s a safe pair of hands for running projects and owing client relationships. 

Beyond those statistics, Richard and John discuss:

• Why consulting clients have become more demanding buyers of the services they commission – and what that pressure means for the highly leveraged delivery models that larger firms are built around.
• Senior hires: why director and practice lead appointments only succeed about 50% of the time, what firms consistently get wrong in the first year with those hires, and what a realistic timeline for success looks like.
• What AI is and isn't yet changing in how consulting firms hire – including how to run an honest interview process – and which parts of the market are furthest ahead.
• The research Richard is running across the sector right now and what he keeps finding in early interviews: confident views about AI reshaping consulting, but surprisingly few practical examples of it already doing so.
• Richard's own experience of growing Tarka too fast, and what being more deliberate about building a business actually means.

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and hiring decisions are on your mind, Richard's data and experience make for a useful conversation.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Richard Longstreet, Founder of Tarka Talent

In this episode, John is joined by Stephen Johnson, founder and CEO of Roq, a consultancy focused on helping organisations deliver large-scale technology change.

Stephen founded Roq in 2009 and has since grown the business into a 120-person firm working with major enterprise clients. In the conversation, he reflects openly on the realities of scaling a people business over nearly two decades, including the pressures that come with growth, leadership evolution and navigating difficult market conditions.

Stephen shares a practical perspective on what drives long-term success in consulting businesses. He talks candidly about the operational disciplines, leadership behaviours and cultural decisions that have shaped Roq’s growth.

John and Stephen discuss:

• How Roq grew from a start-up launched during the financial crisis into a 120-person consultancy – and the key inflection points that shaped that journey.
• Why culture doesn't happen by accident, and how leaders need to actively shape it as their businesses grow and evolve.
• What Stephen learned from a sudden post-Covid downturn in client demand, including why strong growth can sometimes hide risks that are already building beneath the surface.
• Why trust, honesty and a willingness to challenge clients are central to building long-term relationships and winning repeat business.
• The challenges of scaling leadership teams, including why some people thrive as a business grows while others struggle to make the transition.
• How Roq uses EOS and Traction to create accountability, maintain focus and turn good intentions into consistent action.
• How AI is changing consulting and technology delivery, and why Stephen believes developing junior talent remains critical despite advances in automation.

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to build, grow and sustain a consultancy over the long term – through growth, pressure, leadership change and shifting market conditions. 

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth

Guest: Stephen Johnson, Founder and CEO of Roq

In this episode, John is joined by Duncan Ramsay, a Partner in the commercial team at ECI Partners, where he works closely with management teams to help scale and grow businesses across the portfolio. Before moving into private equity, Duncan spent time at PwC advising investors and businesses on commercial due diligence and growth strategy, giving him experience from both the consulting and investment side of professional services.

Having spent years evaluating, investing in and supporting consulting and professional services firms, Duncan brings a clear investor perspective on what really drives long-term value creation in the sector. The conversation explores what separates scalable firms from those that struggle to grow, why operational maturity matters far more than many founders realise and how AI is beginning to reshape both consulting delivery and the economics of professional services itself.

John and Duncan discuss:

• What investors actually look for in a professional services business, including the importance of revenue quality, repeatability and operational scalability
• Why forecasting, utilisation management and clean operational data become critical as firms grow and why leaving those foundations too late creates major challenges later on
• The difference between relationship-led businesses and transactional consulting models and why customer advocacy is such a powerful driver of resilience and value
• How AI is already changing professional services, from internal delivery workflows through to pricing models, productisation and the future structure of consulting firms
• Why firms that properly codify their methodologies, workflows and intellectual property are likely to have a major advantage as AI adoption accelerates
• What private equity involvement actually looks like in practice, including how investors support management teams through value creation planning, leadership evolution and scaling challenges
• Why specialist boutique firms are increasingly gaining ground in the diligence market and how AI is shifting the value of judgement versus analysis

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and are thinking about growth, scalability, operational maturity or the future impact of AI on your business model, this conversation offers practical advice and perspectives from someone who sees these challenges across dozens of firms.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Duncan Ramsay, Partner at ECI Partners

In this episode, John is joined by Jenny Burns, CEO of Magnetic, an innovation consultancy that helps organisations solve complex problems and create new products, services and experiences at pace. Jenny’s career spans more than 25 years across large corporates and smaller businesses, before an unplanned move into leading and growing her own firm.

Jenny describes herself as “the accidental CEO”, having never set out to run a business but instead following opportunities, taking risks and learning along the way. Her journey includes scaling Magnetic, navigating the sale of the business to a larger consultancy and, more recently, buying it back to restore its independence.

This conversation stands out for its honesty about what leadership actually feels like, particularly in moments of uncertainty and transition. Jenny shares a grounded perspective on building a business – not just as a commercial exercise but as something deeply human.

Jenny and John discuss:

• What it really feels like to step into the CEO role, including the emotional weight and shift in responsibility
• Why smaller businesses are not inherently simpler than large corporates and how leadership “shadow” shapes culture at any scale
• The reality of selling a business, including the intensity, isolation and unpredictability of the due diligence process
• Why Jenny chose to buy the business back and how independence enables a more agile, differentiated position in today’s market
• The ongoing tension between structure and agility and how to avoid over-engineering a growing consultancy
• How personal brand, leadership style and culture come together to shape both client relationships and long-term business value

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and are navigating growth, change or leadership for the first time, this conversation offers a refreshingly candid view of what that journey actually involves.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Jenny Burns, CEO of Magnetic

In this episode, John is joined by Andrew Laird, Chief Executive of Mutual Ventures, a specialist consultancy focused on public service reform and local transformation.

Andrew co-founded Mutual Ventures over 15 years ago with a clear but unconventional ambition: not to build a large consulting firm, but to create a vehicle for doing meaningful, impactful work in public services. Since then, the firm has grown steadily, building a strong reputation for combining central government policy insight with practical, on-the-ground delivery.

Now, as the business enters a more deliberate phase of growth, Andrew reflects on what has changed, what has stayed constant and what it really takes to scale a consultancy without losing the culture and values that made it successful in the first place.

A central theme throughout the conversation is the idea that growth should be a consequence of value, not the objective itself. Andrew shares a candid perspective on the consulting industry, highlighting where it adds real value and the areas where he thinks it falls short, particularly in public services.

Andrew and John discuss:

• Why Mutual Ventures was never built for growth in the traditional sense and what has prompted a more intentional shift towards scaling the business
• How culture, team structure and internal investment underpin sustainable growth, even in smaller consultancies
• What it takes to embed business development across a team and why consulting “sales” is fundamentally about relationships, not selling
• The role of thought leadership in building credibility, creating demand and differentiating in a crowded market
• Andrew’s perspective on the legitimate role of the consulting industry, including the importance of delivering real value and knowing when to step away

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and are thinking about how to grow without compromising what makes your business distinctive, this discussion offers a thoughtful and practical perspective on what to prioritise and what to avoid.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Andrew Laird, Chief Executive of Mutual Ventures

In this episode, John is joined by Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), the body representing the UK’s leading consulting firms.

Tamzen works closely with firm leaders, government and stakeholders across the consulting profession, giving her a broad and well-informed perspective on how the sector is evolving, from growth and talent to AI, hybrid working and the UK’s position on the global professional services stage.

A theme that comes through clearly in the conversation is that the consulting industry doesn’t always tell its story particularly well. Much of the most impactful work happens behind the scenes with clients, and firms don’t often step back to articulate the value they create.

Tamzen and John discuss:

• The current state of the UK consulting market, why growth is returning and why the reality is more nuanced than the headlines
• Why the UK remains one of the most competitive and globally respected consulting markets, and how international demand is shaping firm strategy
• How talent models are evolving, from increased demand for experienced hires to more fluid career paths and the impact of hybrid working on development
• The reality of AI in consulting, where it is starting to create real value, where expectations are still running ahead of reality and why firms need to stay focused on outcomes
• The growing importance of consulting to the UK economy, alongside the opportunities and ongoing challenges for SMEs in accessing work

Throughout the conversation, Tamzen emphasises one core idea: in a profession shaped by constant change, uncertainty and new technology, the fundamentals still matter most. The firms that succeed are those that invest in their people, build trust with clients and stay focused on delivering real value.

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and want a clearer view of where the industry is heading, beyond the headlines, this episode is for you.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive at the MCA

In this episode, John is joined by Jeremie Guillerme, Partner at Reputation Inc, a specialist consultancy focused on helping organisations understand, build and protect their reputation with the stakeholders that matter most.

Jeremie has spent his career advising businesses across corporate affairs, communications and strategy. His work centres on a simple but often overlooked idea: reputation is one of the most valuable assets a company has, yet very few organisations manage it in a deliberate or structured way.

For professional services firms – where value is almost entirely intangible and built on trust – that gap matters even more.

Jeremie and John explore what reputation really means in practice, why it so often falls between the cracks in leadership teams and how firms can take a more intentional approach without overcomplicating things.

They discuss:

• Why reputation is best understood as the collective perception of your stakeholders and how it directly influences commercial outcomes
• The idea that reputation is a “risk of risks,” where operational or cultural issues can quickly become reputation problems if left unchecked
• How an “outside-in” perspective, particularly through structured conversations with clients, can highlight risks and opportunities leaders often miss
• Why consulting firms are especially exposed, including the concept of “reputation by association,” and why choosing the right clients matters more than people think
• How firms can build and protect their reputation in a noisy environment by being clear on what they stand for and selective about what they engage with

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and want a clearer, more practical way to think about reputation beyond brand and communications, this discussion offers a useful perspective on where to focus and what to do differently.

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Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Jeremie Guillerme, Partner at Reputation Inc

In this episode, John is joined by Jonathan Peachey, founder of Factory X and former board member at Next 15, where he spent several years leading M&A and transformation across a group of more than 20 businesses spanning consulting, marketing and professional services.

Jonathan has spent much of his career at the intersection of new technology and established business models. Having worked through multiple waves of disruption – from the early internet to big data – he brings a practical, grounded perspective on what makes AI different and why this moment matters for leaders facing deeply unfamiliar territory.

As Jonathan sees it, leaders may be fundamentally underestimating AI’s potential impact. That’s because AI is not just another tool to help consultants work faster. It’s a tool that changes what clients can do for themselves. And that raises some big questions about where firms add value and how they will compete in the future.

Jonathan and John discuss:

• Why AI is different from previous technology waves and why it poses a more direct challenge to traditional consulting services and operating models
• Which parts of professional services work are most exposed and why execution-heavy work is likely to be hardest hit
• How firms should respond in practice, including where to start and Jonathan’s framework covering commercial, operational and governance priorities
• Why intellectual property matters more than ever and how firms can start turning what they know into something more scalable
• How AI is likely to reshape pricing, business models and valuations and what that means for leaders and investors

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and are trying to work out what AI really means beyond the noise, this conversation offers a clear, practical way to think about where to focus and what to do next.

If you enjoy conversations like this, follow the show so you don’t miss future episodes.

Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Jonathan Peachey, Founder of Factory X

In this episode, John is joined by Chris Allinson, Managing Partner at Yonder Consulting, a firm that helps organisations rethink how they grow and where they compete as markets evolve.

Chris has spent his career working at the intersection of strategy, innovation and insight. He describes his approach with a simple phrase: being “first of the next, not best of the last.” It captures one of the hardest challenges for any consulting firm – how to keep evolving your thinking and your offer while the demands of existing clients keep you focused on today.

Chris introduces the idea of silent drift: not the sudden disruption leaders tend to worry about, but something quieter and harder to notice. The kind of gradual shift where revenue is holding, the team is busy and nothing looks obviously wrong – yet the role your firm plays in clients’ organisations is slowly becoming less central.

They discuss:

• What silent drift is, why firms performing reasonably well are often the most exposed to it, and how leaders can spot the early signs before the shift becomes too hard to reverse
• Chris’s idea of “first of the next, not best of the last” and what it means for consulting leaders trying to stay ahead of their market
• How looking beyond your immediate sector into what Chris calls frontiers can help firms see emerging opportunities earlier
• Why the most effective strategic thinking combines rigorous, data-led insight with the kind of imagination many professional services firms have trained themselves out of
• How consulting firms can challenge their own assumptions early, rather than waiting for a client or competitor to force the change

If you lead a consulting or professional services firm and feel your market shifting in ways you cannot yet fully explain, this conversation offers a useful way to think about what might be happening – and what to do next.

If you enjoy conversations like this, follow the show so you don’t miss future episodes.

Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Chris Allinson, Managing Partner at Yonder Consulting