Our methodology
The Profit Machine Method
Every business is a profit machine — it turns inputs into profit. The question isn't whether the machine works. It's whether it works well, whether you can see it working, and whether it keeps working predictably.
Layer 1
Three cornerstones of a healthy business
If a business is healthy across all three, the machine is working. If not, something is broken — and usually measurable.
Unit economics
Do you make money on every unit you sell? Revenue growth with declining unit economics is a leaky bucket — you're feeding the machine faster, but profit is falling out the bottom.
- •Revenue by volume, price, and mix
- •Margin by customer and product
- •Customer concentration risk
Capital efficiency
Does capital flow through the machine or get stuck? Strong earnings don't matter if working capital is invisible across five systems.
- •Cash conversion cycle by segment
- •Working capital trends
- •Capital generating value vs tied up
Margin consistency
Can you predict your output from your input? When margin varies 30+ points within the same business, you don't have an industry ceiling — you have a consistency problem.
- •Margin variance across segments
- •Discount depth analysis
- •Forecast accuracy by line item
Layer 2
Four ways machines break
When a business underperforms, it's always one or more of these failure modes.
Fragmentation
The machine is blind
Data exists across disconnected systems. Nobody has joined it up. Basic questions take a week to answer instead of an hour.
“A $400M company had $80M in working capital invisible because data lived in five systems. Leadership couldn't answer basic questions about cash conversion.”
Inherited belief
The machine is misjudged
Assumptions that stopped being questioned. The machine is capable of more, but everyone believes the current output is the ceiling.
“Executives believed margins were capped by the industry. Disaggregation revealed 30-point variance — bottom at 15%, top at 45%.”
Handoff leaks
The machine is leaking
Value drains between functions. Order to ship to invoice to cash — each handoff is where revenue gets won but profit gets lost.
“Revenue leakage runs 1-5% of total revenue for mid-market companies. On $50M, that's $500K-$2.5M annually — often invisible across functional boundaries.”
Political silence
The machine is protected
The people closest to the data know it's broken but won't say so. Problems are visible from the inside but invisible from the top.
“Visibility creates accountability. Accountability has owners. Owners have careers to protect. This is exactly why outside assessment matters.”
Layer 3
How we work
Diagnose before prescribe. Each stage has a clear purpose and deliverable.
X-Ray
See the machine
Connect data sources and make the machine visible. We map actual data flows, surface manual workarounds, and produce a first-pass view of all three cornerstones.
Diagnosis
Size the gaps
Disaggregate every average, test inherited beliefs with data, and size each gap in pounds. Not “you have a pricing problem” — but “your bottom-quartile deals are 22 points below median margin, representing £1.8M in annual EBITDA.”
Intervention
Fix the leaks
Build the specific measurement systems that close the diagnosed gaps. Automate manual workarounds, eliminate key-person dependencies, and create systems that trigger action — not just produce reports.
Machine health
Keep it visible
Ongoing monitoring of all three cornerstones. Threshold alerts, leading indicators, and reporting that's management-grade and investor-grade at the same time. The machine stays visible permanently.
Where is your machine leaking?
Take our 2-minute assessment and find out which cornerstones need attention and where your blind spots are costing you money.