Understand the problem. Establish what needs to change. Help make it happen.

An initial conversation helps us understand the situation and establish whether Black Swan Thinking is well placed to help.

You don’t need to arrive with a finished brief. It is useful to explain what you are trying to achieve, what has prompted you to seek support and any decision or deadline that matters.

We will discuss whether paid discovery is the right next step. If the challenge needs a different kind of expertise, we will say so.

Please keep confidential or commercially sensitive detail out of an initial enquiry. Appropriate arrangements can be agreed before sensitive material is shared.

Discovery is a paid engagement with an agreed scope and fixed fee. It typically takes place over three to four weeks, allowing time for preparation, discussions and examination of the available evidence.

We look beyond the presenting issue where necessary. A stalled technical programme may depend on a customer decision. A growth problem may reflect an unclear offer or a delivery constraint. Understanding those connections changes what needs doing next.

The work draws on discussions with the people closest to the challenge and a review of relevant material. The precise activities are agreed to suit the situation.

The three-to-four-week period is elapsed time, not continuous on-site support.

Discovery provides a clear account of:

• The challenge as we understand it, including where it differs from the original brief.
• The evidence, assumptions and dependencies affecting progress.
• Priorities for action, with the decisions or further evidence needed.
• Recommendations on the next steps and the support required.

We discuss the findings with you so they can inform a decision. Where something remains uncertain, we make that explicit.

A useful outcome may be a clearer programme of work. It may also be a decision to test a critical assumption, change direction or stop an activity that no longer merits investment.

Discovery does not commit you to further work.

You may have everything needed to proceed with your own team. You may need specialist support elsewhere. Or there may be a defined role for Black Swan Thinking in helping make the change happen.

Further involvement is agreed separately. It might involve shaping a programme, testing commercial propositions, establishing partnerships or helping the organisation develop a capability it currently lacks.

Before that work begins, we agree its scope, responsibilities, fees and intended outcomes.

We work alongside the people who will own the decisions and delivery.

That means involving them in the reasoning, making responsibilities clear and establishing an approach they can use. Where additional expertise is needed, we help define the requirement and agree how it should fit into the work.

The aim is for progress to continue after our involvement ends. The engagement should have a purpose beyond keeping us engaged.

Black Swan Thinking is led by Kate Barnard. Any involvement by additional specialists is discussed and agreed with you.

We check for relevant conflicts before accepting work and agree how confidential information will be handled.

We also distinguish between what the evidence supports, what we recommend and what remains your organisation’s decision. Independent challenge is useful only if you can understand the reasoning behind it.