I’ve spent more than 15 years behind the scenes in some of the toughest commercial environments, from boardrooms to red carpets. I’ve built businesses, gone through an acquisition and worked alongside founders, CEOs, investors and some of the biggest public figures in the world.

People tend to bring me in when something important needs to happen. A business has stopped moving in the right direction, there’s an opportunity on the table that’s too good to waste, a new market to break into, a reputation to protect or a crisis that needs dealing with.

The brief isn’t always the brief either. I’ve been brought in to solve one problem and found another one sitting underneath it. Or spotted an opportunity nobody was really looking for. Things move, people change and the market has other ideas. You work out what matters and go from there.

I’ve never been interested in doing things for the sake of it. If the answer is positioning, fine. If it’s marketing, communications, commercial strategy or something else entirely, also fine. I’m far more interested in whether it’s the right answer and whether it’s actually going to work.

And I’m hands-on. I might lead and deliver the work, work alongside the team already there or bring people in when the time is right. I’ve worked with some clients for years and left others once the job was done and their team was ready to take it from there. There’s no prize for hanging around when you’re no longer needed.

There’s rarely one right way of getting somewhere. It takes experience, good judgement and hard graft.

It isn’t magic. I know because I’ve been there.