SERVICES
Thinking Partners for
leaders and organisations navigating complexity.
We work across four areas – strategic advisory, executive team effectiveness,
individual leadership partnership, and curated leadership gatherings. Each is
designed to create better thinking, clearer decisions and stronger leadership. All grounded in the experience of people who have done the work at the highest
levels.
01
ThinkAhead
STRATEGIC ADVISORY
Figuring out what’s next. Strategic perspective and path forward advisory for organisations navigating complexity whether that’s clarifying direction, pressure testing a plan before committing, examining feasibility, or understanding what didn’t go to plan and what it means for what comes next. Most organisations have capable people. What they often lack is the external perspective and protected thinking time to properly examine where they are and stress test where they’re heading.
WHY YOU WOULD USE THINKAHEAD
- Strategic direction and path forward clarity - where are we heading and why
- Market entry and competitive positioning
- Look back reflection - understanding what happened and what it means next
- Board and executive team strategic alignment
- Independent feasibility assessment - pressure testing plans before committing
- Operating model design and refinement
- Pre-decision scenario planning and risk sense making
HOW IT WORKS
ThinkAhead engagements are scoped around a specific question or decision. We agree what needs to be answered, how we’ll get there and what the output looks like – then we do the work. Typically two to eight weeks depending on complexity. Fast, focused and designed to produce something you can actually use – not a report that sits on a shelf.
02
ThinkTogether
EXECUTIVE EFFECTIVENESS
The effectiveness of an organisation’s executive leadership team is one of the most powerful, and often least intentionally designed, drivers of organizational performance. Most executive teams are made up of highly capable leaders the problem is rarely individual capability. It is that the team itself has never been designed to operate as a cohesive leadership system. ThinkTogether works on three interconnected pillars: How we think and decide, accountability in practice and how we show up.
Why you would use ThinkTogether
- Leadership meetings dominated by reporting rather than real decisions
- Decisions that take too long or keep getting revisited
- Operational issues escalating upward that should be resolved below
- Strategic priorities that are crowded, shifting or unclear
- Executives focused on their function rather than the enterprise
- Reporting that describes what happened rather than what it means
HOW ITS WORKS
ThinkTogether is shaped by years of working inside executive teams – and seeing that when the conditions are right, how a team works together changes everything. The work is tailored to the team, the context, and what’s getting in the way. We begin by building a clear, shared view of how the team is currently operating, then work together to design the conditions for more effective leadership. It happens in real time – in conversations, leadership forums, and the moments where decisions are made. Practical, direct, and focused on what will make a difference. Over time, those shifts take hold. The team becomes clearer, faster and more aligned – able to make stronger decisions and lead the organisation as a whole.
ThinkTogether is not a workshop or an offsite. It’s a sustained shift in how a leadership team operates – designed to hold without us.
03
ThinkImpact
INDIVIDUAL PARTNERSHIP
Individual executive thought partnership. A consistent space to think clearly with someone in your corner. For high stakes decisions, difficult conversations, a significant transition, or simply needing to sense check your thinking with someone who gets it. We work with leaders who are isolated by seniority, navigating something genuinely difficult, or who simply want to be sharper.
Why You Would Use ThinkImpact
- For high-stakes decisions where the cost of getting it wrong is significant
- A significant transition - new role, expanded scope, CEO succession
- Honest challenge from someone with no stake in the outcome
- Difficult conversations or stakeholder situations to prepare for
- A period of sustained pressure where clear thinking is hardest to find
HOW IT WORKS
Regular sessions – monthly or fortnightly – where you set the agenda based on what’s most pressing. In person or online. Cadence adapts to what’s happening in your world. Some leaders run a steady rhythm; others dial up during high-pressure periods and ease off when things calm down. We also offer intensive short-form- ThinkImpact work – two to four weeks of focused engagement on a specific decision.
04
COMING SOON
ThinkExchange
LEADER GATHERINGS
Space to think and have honest conversations with people worth having them with. Designed as a series of curated gatherings, retreats and experience. Small groups, intimate, off-the-record conversations between leaders who share a context , a current season, or a set of questions. The best leadership insights rarely come from keynote stages – they come from small groups of people with real experience, given the time and space to think together properly.
WHY YOU WOULD USE THINKEXCHANGE
- Small curated groups - typically eight to twelve senior leaders
- Off the record - what is said in the room stays there
- Genuine peer connection with people who understand the weight of leadership
- Selected around a shared context, season or set of questions.
- Facilitated conversation designed to go somewhere real
- Not open registration - all gatherings are curated by invitation
HOW IT WORKS
ThinkExchange gatherings are designed depending on the cohort and intent – a dinner, half day, full-day or residential retreat. Each is facilitated by Marianne and/or Shawn, drawing on their extended table of expert collaborators. Gatherings are designed around shared context – from women leaders and new CEOs to Chairs and founders.
05
NEW
The Extended
Table.
The extended table is how we make sure The Thinkery is always bigger than just the two of us.
When you work with The Thinkery, you’re not just getting Marianne and Shawn. You’re getting everyone they trust.
Over decades of working at the top of Australian organisations, we’ve built relationships with some of the sharpest thinkers, most experienced experts and most genuinely useful people we’ve ever encountered.
Strategists, researchers, facilitators, financial minds, governance experts, sector specialists, operational wizards – people who’ve done the exact thing you’re trying to do.
When we think someone at out table can help you better than we can – or alongside us – we make that introduction. Because it’s the right thing to do.
NEXT STEP
Not sure which one fits?
A short introductory conversation is often all it takes to understand whether we’re the right fit for what you’re working through.
Our Services
Helping leaders think better, faster and with more clarity.
ThinkImpact
We provide practical, experience-led guidance across leadership, decision-making and organisational complexity. Below are the areas where leaders most often work with us.
Regular leadership conversations and strategic dialogue
A confidential space for regular leadership dialogue with someone who understands the realities of senior roles. This is where leaders bring whatever’s on their mind—from immediate pressures to longer-term strategic questions. Just trusted thinking partnership.
ThinkImpact is designed for leaders, or emerging leaders, who need a consistent place to think aloud, test ideas, and work through challenges with an experienced peer. Whether you’re working through a strategic decision, preparing for a difficult conversation, or simply need to sense-check your thinking with someone who’s carried similar weight.
The value is in the continuity. The value is in the continuity. Over time, we develop deep context about your world, your challenges, and how you think. This means we can cut through faster, challenge more effectively, and help you identify what others might miss. It’s a thinking partnership that adapts to your rhythm and your needs—from ongoing strategic dialogue to intensive problem-solving when you need it most.
How it works:
Regular sessions (typically monthly or fortnightly) where you set the agenda based on what’s most pressing. In person or online.
ThinkAhead
Structured scenario planning and preparation for what’s coming.
Prepare for what’s coming before you’re in the moment. We help leaders test scenarios, pressure-test plans, and think through second and third-order effects of major decisions. Most leaders are good at responding.
ThinkAhead is systematic anticipatory thinking. Rather than waiting for situations to emerge, we help you work through “what if” scenarios, identify blind spots, and build contingency thinking into your plans. This isn’t about being pessimistic—it’s about being thorough. We help you stress-test your assumptions, anticipate stakeholder reactions, and prepare for multiple possible futures so you’re ready regardless of what unfolds.
These sessions are particularly valuable before major strategic moves, significant transitions, or when operating in uncertain environments. The result is clarity, confidence, and a plan that’s resilient rather than rigid.
How it works:
Structured sessions where we systematically work through scenarios, test assumptions, and prepare for multiple possible futures.
Why Leaders Come to Us
Leaders engage us when they need space to think
Without internal politics, predetermined answers, or performance pressure. Some situations call for ongoing support through ThinkImpact, others require structured preparation through ThinkAhead. Often, leaders use both depending on what’s most pressing.
Previous engagements have included:
- Testing major strategic moves before committing
- Strategy that looks right on paper but isn’t landing
- High-stakes decisions with no clear playbook
- Something feels off but you can’t name it
- A major initiative went sideways and you need to understand what happened
- Preparing for difficult conversations or stakeholder reactions
- Moving into bigger scope, new roles or CEO transitions
- Leadership development and support
- Scenario planning for uncertain environments
- War-gaming competitive threats or market shifts
- Moving from start-up to scale-up
How We Engage
Simple. Direct. Useful.
We design every engagement around what’s most useful for you. There’s no rigid program or prescribed timeframe—just clarity on what you need and how we can best support that.
Engagement models include:
- Ongoing partnership — Monthly or fortnightly ThinkImpact conversations, typically through a retainer arrangement that gives you consistent access when you need it
- Intensive sprints — Focused ThinkImpact work over 2-4 weeks to unpack a specific problem or work through a major decision
- Structured preparation — ThinkAhead sessions for specific upcoming situations, typically 2-6 sessions depending on complexity
- Transition support — 3-6 month partnerships for leaders stepping into new roles or significantly expanded scope
- Hybrid arrangements — Combinations of the above, tailored to your situation
Getting started:
We begin with a short conversation (30-45 minutes) to understand your context, what you’re working through, and whether our approach is the right fit. You’ll know quickly if this feels useful. From there, we agree on the best structure and get to work.
Flexible by design:
Sessions can be in person or online. Cadence can shift based on what’s happening in your world. Engagements can extend, compress, or pause as needed. What matters most is that you get the thinking space and clarity you need, when you need it.