the problem
Your managers are smart and capable. They execute well. But they're missing something fundamental.
They don't understand:
- What you and the exec team are actually worried about
- How decisions really get made (and why some things take forever)
- How to read and understand the metrics and spot trouble early
- What 'be more strategic' actually means in practice
- Why some requests get approved instantly and others die quietly
So they operate in a vacuum. They escalate things they should handle. They miss the political reality. They make decisions without understanding the broader context.
And you're frustrated because what's obvious to you... isn't obvious to them.
This costs you:
- Poor decisions that ripple through the business
- Constant firefighting and unnecessary escalations
- Talented people who plateau because they can't 'read the game'
- £30K-£50K if you need to replace one of them (before their salary)
What Your Managers Will Learn
DAY 1: UNDERSTANDING THE MACHINE
how YOUR business actually works
- your business model: how you make money (and where the risks are)
- what leadership is worried about right now (the real priorities, not the official ones)
- how decisions get made in your company (the written rules and the unwritten ones)
- reporting, KPIs and board meetings: understanding the numbers and prepping for board meetings
- what 'be more strategic' actually means (with examples from your business)
how the functions connect
- marketing, sales, finance, product, HR, operations, customer support: how work flows between teams (and where it gets stuck)
- who your customers actually are and what they need
- where your managers fit in the bigger picture
DAY 2: READING THE GAME
how to spot trouble before leadership announces it
- financial warning signs (in language that makes sense)
- behavioral signals from leadership and peers
- when 'business as usual' isn't usual anymore
how to navigate the reality of corporate life:
- how restructures actually get decided (and what middle managers need to know)
- what happens during M&A (and how to protect your team)
- the unwritten rules of YOUR company (what gets rewarded, what gets quietly punished)
real scenarios from YOUR business:
- we'll look at what's actually happening in 3-5 current situations
- I'll teach them to see what you see and then they'll practice
templates and frameworks they can use
- Business Literacy Toolkit - Reading Financial Statements
- CEO/Executive Pressure Points Decoder
- Political Landscape Map
- Managing Up Communication Framework
- Decision-Making Power Map
- Executive Meeting Decoder
- Strategic Relationship Map
- Escalation Decision Tree
these may change depending on the needs of your business.
this isn't powerpoint training
Most corporate training is people in a room, watching slides and checking their phones.
This is different:
- Maximum 12 participants - small enough to be genuinely interactive
- Real scenarios from your business - not generic case studies from a textbook
- I ask hard questions - questions they can't answer yet, questions that show them what they're missing
- They leave understanding YOUR company - not 'business in general'
I've taught managers for 15 years. I know what clicks and what doesn't. This workshop is designed around how people actually learn.
Investment: £7,500 + expenses
In exchange for this introductory rate, I ask for a testimonial and permission to use your company name/logo on my website (subject to your approval).
After that: Standard rate of £12,500 applies.
I'm Ciara.
I spent 30 years in commercial roles - marketing, sales, commercial, leadership.
For 15 years as a leader, I was the person who pulled new managers aside and explained what was actually happening:
- how to understand the numbers
- what the exec team was really worried about
- how to read the quarterly rhythm
- what the unwritten rules were
I had the same conversation dozens of times: 'Here's how this company actually works. Here's what nobody's telling you'.
This workshop is that conversation - the one I wish someone had given me 20 years ago.
It's what I spent 15 years teaching informally. Now it's structured, comprehensive, and customised for your company.