Every section, on one page, and in your library.
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80 sections · 3 homepages
01 · Page head, the opportunity ledger, on lilac
In your library as Page head, the opportunity ledger, on lilac.
Six services. One method. One measured outcome.
Tessel Advisory is an independent management consultancy, strategy, operations, digital, transformation, risk and people, with one figure agreed before every engagement and published after it, whatever it says.
Opportunity ledger
01Reprice the core range£4.1m
02Resequence the depots£2.3m
03Exit two lines£0.9m
First build → 01
Outcome
−41%
claims-processing time
Meridian Mutual · 2025
02 · The method, bar and cards, on paper
In your library as The method, bar and cards, on paper.
Four stages, twenty-eight weeks, one account of the work.
01Audit
02Design
03Delivery
04Handover
01
4 wks
Audit
where the money, the hours and the risk go
- Opportunity ledger
- Costed plan
02
8 wks
Design
the answer, tested before it is built
- The design, tested in one site
- The number, agreed
03
12 wks
Delivery
the change, in production
- The change, live
- The run-rate, tracked
04
4 wks
Handover
your team runs it
- Runbooks
- The rehearsal, twice
03 · Practices deck
In your library as Practices deck.
Six ways in. One way of working.
P.01
P.03
Strategy & Growth
P.01
Where to compete, what to charge and which bets to stop: decided against your own numbers, priced, and sequenced into a plan the board can hold you to.
- Market & margin map
- Pricing
- Portfolio calls
- The plan
You leave with
- The margin map: every segment, with its true contribution
- A pricing architecture, tested on live quotes
- A 12-month plan with owners and a first business case
+3.4pp gross margin, twelve months after repricing
Operations & Performance
P.02
Cost, throughput, quality and service: the operation measured where the work actually happens, then redesigned with the people who do it, to a number agreed before we start.
- Process measurement
- Capacity & scheduling
- Supply chain
- Service operations
You leave with
- The operation, measured: a baseline your own team can rerun
- A redesign the team leads wrote with us
- A run-rate improvement, tracked weekly for a year
−23% unplanned turbine downtime, over a year
Digital & AI
P.03
Copilots, models and the data underneath them, built with your team and deployed into the systems you already run: production is the deliverable, not the demo.
- Data foundations
- Copilots & agents
- Model development
- Integration
You leave with
- A system in production, not a pilot
- An evaluation harness with agreed thresholds
- Runbooks your team wrote with us
−41% claims-processing time, one engagement
Finance & Transformation
P.04
Business cases, integrations, turnarounds and the programme office that carries them. Run to a number, reported to the board monthly, and closed on a date.
- Business case
- Post-merger integration
- Turnaround
- Programme office
You leave with
- A business case the CFO signs, not just the sponsor
- An integration or recovery plan with dates the board tracks
- A programme office that runs without us after month six
9 months two businesses to one operating model
Risk, Governance & Regulation
P.05
Model risk, regulatory readiness, controls and audit trails: the governance that lets a regulated firm move, written to be used by your own people and to survive an examiner.
- Regulatory readiness
- Model & decision risk
- Controls & audit trails
- Policy
You leave with
- A register with risk tiers your team maintains without us
- An audit trail from data to decision
- A policy set mapped to the regulation, clause by clause
14 days to audit-ready, from ninety
People & Organisation
P.06
Operating model, roles, hiring and capability: the work that makes us unnecessary, designed so your own team runs what we built within a year.
- Operating model
- Hiring
- Capability
- Handover
You leave with
- An operating model with named roles and decision rights
- A hiring plan and the interview kit
- The handover, rehearsed twice
12 mo to running it without us
04 · Proof bento
In your library as Proof bento.
What 64 engagements add up to.
Tessel connects strategy, operations, transformation and governance in one account, so the board reads one number, not four reports.
P/01
Engagements
64
since 2021, every one closed with its outcome published or on request
Still in place
91%
of the change we delivered is still in place a year after handover
The bench
31
senior practitioners, zero subcontractors, the people you meet do the work
05 · Results wall, photographs, figures and a quote
In your library as Results wall, photographs, figures and a quote.
The outcomes, as they were measured.
In their words
The examiner's word for the register was “unusually legible”. We framed that.
Head of Model Risk · Cobalt Bank
Maintenance regime redesign at Halvard Energy
Halvard Energy · 2024
On the record6 more
Northline Logistics · on-time delivery across the network
Ostro Retail Group · gross margin, twelve months after repricing
Pallas Health · radiology ticket backlog
Fennimore Foods · new revenue in the first year, two lines exited
Aldergate Council · recurring savings, budget balanced in-year
Verano Media · two businesses to one operating model
06 · Casework cards, a scroll stack
In your library as Casework cards, a scroll stack.
Casework
Five engagements, start to finish.
Each one closed on a number agreed before the work began. The problem, the figure and the whole account behind it, one engagement at a time.
01 / 05
Insurance
01 / 2025
A copilot that reads the claim, proposes the route and shows its evidence: built with the claims team, handed to them in twelve weeks.
−41%
claims-processing time
Financial services
02 / 2025
A model register with risk tiers, an audit trail from data to decision, and a policy set mapped to the regulation clause by clause.
14 days
to audit-ready, from ninety
Energy & utilities
03 / 2024
A fixed maintenance calendar replaced by a schedule built on the machines’ own readings, and argued with by the crews who run it.
−23%
unplanned turbine downtime
Logistics & transport
04 / 2024
Forty depots, two disagreeing forecasts, and a network resequenced around the hours the depots actually had.
+9.6pp
on-time delivery across the network
Retail & consumer
05 / 2025
The margin map showed that a fifth of the range was paying for the rest. The pricing was tested on the shelf before it went in a deck.
+3.4pp
gross margin, twelve months after repricing
07 · Sector ledger, the ruled ledger, on gold
In your library as Sector ledger, the ruled ledger, on gold.
08 · Quote carousel
In your library as Quote carousel.
What they said afterwards.
Tessel left us running the system ourselves, which was the point.
Chief Operating Officer, Meridian Mutual
Engagement 2025 · outcome
−41% claims-processing time
The examiner's word for the register was “unusually legible”. We framed that.
Head of Model Risk, Cobalt Bank
Engagement 2025 · outcome
14 days to audit-ready, from ninety
The schedule is argued with now, rather than followed. That is the difference between a tool the floor trusts and one it works around.
Operations Director, Halvard Energy
Engagement 2024 · outcome
−23% unplanned turbine downtime
The roadmap came with prices, owners and a first business case our board approved in one sitting.
Chief Operating Officer, Northline Logistics
Engagement 2024 · outcome
+9.6pp on-time delivery across the network
09 · Questions, with the lead column, on sage
In your library as Questions, with the lead column, on sage.
Asked before every engagement. Answered in writing.
Five of 18. All the questions
How does an engagement start?
With the audit, four weeks, fixed fee, inside your operation. It produces the opportunity ledger, a costed twelve-month plan and the first business case, and its first recommendation can be that you do not need us. In nineteen of sixty-four audits so far, it was.
Do you advise, or do you build?
Both, in order. The audit and design stages advise; the delivery stage builds, in your environment, with your team in the room. We do not hand over a deck and leave; we do not build something your team cannot run.
What is “one measured outcome”?
One figure, with its unit, its baseline and the date it will be read, agreed in writing before the work starts. It is measured afterwards and published either way, twelve are on the site; two are smaller than the client hoped for.
How long does it take?
The method is twenty-eight weeks end to end (audit 4, design 8, delivery 12, handover 4) but each stage is bought on its own. Most clients buy the audit first and decide the rest on what it finds.
What happens when you leave?
The handover stage: an operating model with named roles, runbooks your team wrote, and a rehearsal, twice, the second time with us silent. Then a date after which we stop billing. Ninety-one per cent of what we have delivered is still in place a year later.
10 · Insights, the list
In your library as Insights, the list.
What we publish between engagements.
11 · Page head, on a photograph, statement left
In your library as Page head, on a photograph, statement left.
Growth you can audit. Change that outlives us.
Tessel Advisory agrees one figure before the work starts and publishes it after, whichever way it came out. Six services, four stages, twenty-eight weeks.
12 · Figure band, one ruled row, on paper
In your library as Figure band, one ruled row, on paper.
engagements closed
since 2021
still in place
a year after handover
practitioners
salaried, no subcontractors
sectors
one method in all of them
13 · Service cards
In your library as Service cards.
Six services. One method. One measured outcome.
P.01
Most bought
Where to compete, what to charge and which bets to stop: decided against your own numbers, priced, and sequenced into a plan the board can hold you to.
+3.4pp gross margin, twelve months after repricing
P.02
Cost, throughput, quality and service: the operation measured where the work actually happens, then redesigned with the people who do it, to a number agreed before we start.
−23% unplanned turbine downtime, over a year
P.03
New
Copilots, models and the data underneath them, built with your team and deployed into the systems you already run: production is the deliverable, not the demo.
−41% claims-processing time, one engagement
P.04
Business cases, integrations, turnarounds and the programme office that carries them. Run to a number, reported to the board monthly, and closed on a date.
9 months two businesses to one operating model
14 · Statement, a photograph with the ledger card lifted off it, on gold
In your library as Statement, a photograph with the ledger card lifted off it, on gold.
Opportunity ledger
01Reprice the core range£4.1m
02Resequence the depots£2.3m
03Exit two lines£0.9m
First build → 01
The audit ends on a page, not a presentation.
Four weeks on your own data: where the money, the hours and the risk actually go. It closes on a ranked list of moves with the arithmetic attached, and the first recommendation can be that you do not need us.
Priced
Every move carries the figure behind it, and the range it could land in.
Sequenced
In the order they pay, so the first build funds the second.
15 · Figure band, larger cells, on ink
In your library as Figure band, larger cells, on ink.
Three outcomes, and the twenty-eight weeks behind each one.
claims-processing time at Meridian Mutual
to audit-ready at Cobalt Bank, from ninety
unplanned downtime at Halvard Energy
01Audit
02Design
03Delivery
04Handover
28 weeks at true proportion. Delivery is the widest because it is the only stage that ends with something in production.
16 · Casework cards, held while the cases change
In your library as Casework cards, held while the cases change.
Casework
Five engagements, one at a time.
The client, what changed, and the one figure each engagement was measured by. Published either way.
01Meridian Mutual
02Cobalt Bank
03Halvard Energy
04Northline Logistics
05Ostro Retail Group
Meridian Mutual / 2025
Insurance
01 / 05
Claims triage copilot at Meridian Mutual
A copilot that reads the claim, proposes the route and shows its evidence: built with the claims team, handed to them in twelve weeks.
−41%
claims-processing time
Cobalt Bank / 2025
Financial services
02 / 05
Model-risk framework for Cobalt Bank
A model register with risk tiers, an audit trail from data to decision, and a policy set mapped to the regulation clause by clause.
14 days
to audit-ready, from ninety
Halvard Energy / 2024
Energy & utilities
03 / 05
Maintenance regime redesign at Halvard Energy
A fixed maintenance calendar replaced by a schedule built on the machines’ own readings, and argued with by the crews who run it.
−23%
unplanned turbine downtime
Northline Logistics / 2024
Logistics & transport
04 / 05
Network redesign at Northline Logistics
Forty depots, two disagreeing forecasts, and a network resequenced around the hours the depots actually had.
+9.6pp
on-time delivery across the network
Ostro Retail Group / 2025
Retail & consumer
05 / 05
Range and pricing strategy at Ostro Retail Group
The margin map showed that a fifth of the range was paying for the rest. The pricing was tested on the shelf before it went in a deck.
+3.4pp
gross margin, twelve months after repricing
17 · Sector ledger, an index, the photograph following the pointer, on sage
In your library as Sector ledger, an index, the photograph following the pointer, on sage.
Nine sectors, and the room the work happened in.
64 engagements / 9 sectors
18 · Client belt, drifting
In your library as Client belt, drifting.
19 · Lead article, as a card
In your library as Lead article, as a card.
Boards8 min
Every argument about whether a programme succeeded is really an argument about a figure nobody wrote down in week one. Sixty-four engagements in, here is what writing it down does.
Start a conversation
Tell us the problem, not the brief.
Two paragraphs about what is going wrong is the most useful first message. A partner reads it, and you hear back within two working days.
London · Amsterdam · Lisbon
20 · Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on paper
In your library as Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on paper.
Tessel Advisory64 engagements
Agreed
Published
One figure, settled before the work starts and printed after it, whichever way it came out. That is the whole offer, and everything below is the arithmetic behind it.
21 · Statement, centred, on gold
In your library as Statement, centred, on gold.
Boards bring us the problem before it has a name. We answer it with Strategy & Growth, Operations & Performance, Digital & AI, Finance & Transformation, Risk, Governance & Regulation and People & Organisation.
- Fixed fee, quoted first
- 28 weeks, audit to handover
- 0 reseller agreements
22 · Client belt, still
In your library as Client belt, still.
Written for, and answerable to.
23 · Casework cards, a rail, passing sideways
In your library as Casework cards, a rail, passing sideways.
Casework
Five engagements, side by side.
Each one with the client named, the figure agreed at the start, and what it came to.
01 / 06
Insurance
01 / 2025
Claims triage copilot at Meridian Mutual
Client
Meridian Mutual
Measure
−41%
claims-processing time
A copilot that reads the claim, proposes the route and shows its evidence: built with the claims team, handed to them in twelve weeks.
Financial services
02 / 2025
Model-risk framework for Cobalt Bank
Client
Cobalt Bank
Measure
14 days
to audit-ready, from ninety
A model register with risk tiers, an audit trail from data to decision, and a policy set mapped to the regulation clause by clause.
Energy & utilities
03 / 2024
Maintenance regime redesign at Halvard Energy
Client
Halvard Energy
Measure
−23%
unplanned turbine downtime
A fixed maintenance calendar replaced by a schedule built on the machines’ own readings, and argued with by the crews who run it.
Logistics & transport
04 / 2024
Network redesign at Northline Logistics
Client
Northline Logistics
Measure
+9.6pp
on-time delivery across the network
Forty depots, two disagreeing forecasts, and a network resequenced around the hours the depots actually had.
Retail & consumer
05 / 2025
Range and pricing strategy at Ostro Retail Group
Client
Ostro Retail Group
Measure
+3.4pp
gross margin, twelve months after repricing
The margin map showed that a fifth of the range was paying for the rest. The pricing was tested on the shelf before it went in a deck.
24 · Figure band, tinted tiles, on paper
In your library as Figure band, tinted tiles, on paper.
Three numbers that hold us to the work.
from the first audit to a handover the client runs on its own
to a partner’s reply, including when the answer is no
agreed before the work starts, and printed after it
25 · The method, stage rail, on sky
In your library as The method, stage rail, on sky.
Four stages, 28 weeks, one account of the work.
01
4 wks
Audit
where the money, the hours and the risk go
02
8 wks
Design
the answer, tested before it is built
03
12 wks
Delivery
the change, in production
04
4 wks
Handover
your team runs it
26 · Figure band, ruled rows, on paper
In your library as Figure band, ruled rows, on paper.
Four numbers we would rather be judged on than described by.
engagements closed
since 2021, each with its outcome published or on request
still in place
a year after handover, of the 43 old enough to check
practitioners
senior, salaried, and no subcontractors
we argued against
audits whose first recommendation was something we do not sell
27 · Statement, centred, on ink
In your library as Statement, centred, on ink.
Tell us the problem, not the brief.
Two paragraphs about what is going wrong is the most useful first message. A partner reads it, and you hear back within two working days, including when the answer is that we are not the right firm for it.
28 · Page head, two plates, on lilac
In your library as Page head, two plates, on lilac.
One method, sold in six parts.
Each stands alone and each is bought on its own, but they were designed to run in order, and the roadmap from the first one prices everything after it.
29 · Programme rail
In your library as Programme rail.
The six, laid along the twenty-eight weeks.
Three services sit in the delivery stage because operations, digital and transformation are the same twelve weeks seen from three directions, the floor, the system and the programme office. Strategy opens the account; people close it.
30 · Situation router
In your library as Situation router.
Find your own sentence, and take the service beside it.
Revenue is growing and profit is not, and nobody can say which customers cause that.
P.01
Strategy & Growth
6 weeks
Cost is rising faster than volume and every team has a reason why it is another team's fault.
P.02
Operations & Performance
10 weeks
A pilot proved the idea and nobody can get it past IT review.
P.03
Digital & AI
12 weeks
A deal has closed and the two businesses are still running two of everything.
P.04
Finance & Transformation
12 weeks to set up, 6–12 months to run
An examiner asked how a decision was reached and the answer took a week to assemble.
P.05
Risk, Governance & Regulation
6 weeks
Something we built is live and you do not want us on the invoice next year.
P.06
People & Organisation
12 months, part-time
None of them yours? The audit is the cheapest way to find out which it should have been, and it is the only one you can buy without reading the rest of this site.
31 · Plated columns
In your library as Plated columns.
Three rules we do not bend, whichever service you buy.
P.01
Fixed fee, quoted first
A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it.
P.02
No vendor margins
We hold no reseller agreements and take no referral fees, so a build/buy call is evidence rather than a commission.
P.03
Your environment
Work runs under your access controls, in your repositories, and leaves with your team able to run it.
32 · Page head, a spec card, on sky
In your library as Page head, a spec card, on sky.
Four stages, twenty-eight weeks, one number.
Four weeks inside your operation: where the money, the hours and the risk actually go, measured against your own data, and a costed, sequenced plan the board can hold you to.
4 weeks · £45–65k, fixed · quoted before we start
The method
01Audit, where the money, the hours and the risk go · 4 wks
02Design, the answer, tested before it is built · 8 wks
03Delivery, the change, in production · 12 wks
04Handover, your team runs it · 4 wks
Total28 wks
33 · Week rail
In your library as Week rail.
Twenty-eight weeks, one to a cell.
01Audit
4 wks
02Design
8 wks
03Delivery
12 wks
04Handover
4 wks
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
01
Weeks 01–04 · 4 wks
Audit
where the money, the hours and the risk go
- Week 1: access, data pull, shadowing begins
- Week 2: the margin map and the process measurement
- Week 3: the opportunity ledger, every candidate priced
- Week 4: the sequence, presented to the board
02
Weeks 05–12 · 8 wks
Design
the answer, tested before it is built
- Weeks 5–6: the target: operating model, process or system, on paper
- Weeks 7–9: tested in one site, one queue or one segment
- Weeks 10–11: the business case rebuilt on what the test showed
- Week 12: the outcome and its measure agreed in writing
03
Weeks 13–24 · 12 wks
Delivery
the change, in production
- Weeks 13–16: the first site, queue or system goes live
- Weeks 17–20: rollout, worst-served first
- Weeks 21–23: the run-rate measured against the baseline
- Week 24: published inside the firm, whatever it says
04
Weeks 25–28 · 4 wks
Handover
your team runs it
- Week 25: the operating model and the runbooks, written by your team
- Week 26: first rehearsal: we watch
- Week 27: second rehearsal: we say nothing
- Week 28: the last invoice, and the date we check back
34 · The method, what each stage closes on, on gold
In your library as The method, what each stage closes on, on gold.
What each stage closes on.
01 Audit4 wks
- Opportunity ledger
- Costed plan
where the money, the hours and the risk go
02 Design8 wks
- The design, tested in one site
- The number, agreed
the answer, tested before it is built
03 Delivery12 wks
- The change, live
- The run-rate, tracked
the change, in production
04 Handover4 wks
- Runbooks
- The rehearsal, twice
your team runs it
35 · Ruled rows, plain, on paper
In your library as Ruled rows, plain, on paper.
The audit, how every engagement opens, whichever service it lands in.
A.01
Where the hours go
Process mapping on the floor, measured rather than remembered.
A.02
Where the margin goes
Contribution by segment, product and customer, rebuilt from the ledger.
A.03
The opportunity ledger
Every candidate move priced, ranked, and the ones we advise against marked.
A.04
The sequence
Twelve months, owners named, the first business case board-ready.
The engagement
Duration4 weeks
Fee£45–65k, fixed
TeamA partner and an analyst
ShapeTwo of ours, part-time from yours
You leave with4 weeks
- The opportunity ledger: every candidate, priced
- A 12-month sequence with owners
- The first business case, board-ready
In 19 of 64 audits the first recommendation was something we do not sell, a rota change, a pricing correction, a conversation with a supplier.
36 · Quote band
In your library as Quote band.
They designed themselves out of the engagement, on exactly the schedule they said they would.
Chief Technology Officer, Meridian Mutual
People & Organisation · outcome
92%
37 · Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on gold
In your library as Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on gold.
Every fee is a band, fixed, and quoted first.
A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it. The number on the letter is the number on the invoice, and every letter names the date the invoice stops.
4 engagement models · 6 published bands
38 · Engagement models
In your library as Engagement models.
Four ways to engage, and who each one is for.
Engagement modelM.01
The audit
Four weeks, fixed fee, one recommendation.
How every engagement starts, whichever service it lands in. Priced before it begins from a published band. Its first recommendation can be that you do not need us, in nineteen of sixty-four it was, and you own the output whether or not you engage us again.
Duration4 weeks
Fee£45–65k, fixed
TeamA partner and an analyst
Leaves you withThe opportunity ledger, a costed plan, the first business case
Best forA board that wants the diagnosis before committing to the cure.
Engagement modelM.02
Fixed-fee stage
Design or delivery, priced as a whole.
A stage of the method (design, delivery or handover) bought on its own at a fixed fee from the service’s published band, against the one outcome agreed in writing before it starts. The scope is the plan the audit produced; if the scope moves, the fee is renegotiated in writing, never metered.
Duration6–12 weeks per stage
FeeThe service band, fixed
TeamThe service team, senior, no subcontractors
Leaves you withThe stage’s named deliverable and its measure
Best forMost engagements. Predictable cost against an agreed number.
Engagement modelM.03
Outcome-linked
Part of the fee rides on the number.
Where the outcome is clean enough to bear it (a measurable figure, a stable baseline, a date) up to a third of the delivery fee can be linked to reaching it. We offer this rarely and decline it where the figure could be gamed, because a fee that rewards a number invites the number to be managed.
DurationDelivery stage, 12 weeks
FeeTwo-thirds fixed, up to a third on the outcome
TeamThe service team
Leaves you withThe same deliverable; a fee that moved with it
Best forA client who wants our incentive in writing, on a figure that cannot be gamed.
Engagement modelM.04
Retained, fading
Weekly, then monthly, then gone.
The handover and capability work runs on a monthly retainer that is designed to shrink: weekly presence in the first quarter, monthly by the third, and a last invoice on a date written into the letter. A retainer that does not end is a consultancy with a badge, and we do not sell one.
DurationUp to 12 months
Fee£8–14k monthly, declining
TeamA partner and a service lead
Leaves you withA team that runs it, and no Tessel people in it
Best forA firm that wants the system without the consultancy attached, on a date.
39 · Comparison ledger
In your library as Comparison ledger.
What each service costs, takes and is judged on.
Service
Stage
Duration
Fee
Measured on
P.01
01 Audit
6 weeks
£60–90k, fixed
+3.4pp gross margin, twelve months after repricing
P.02
03 Delivery
10 weeks
£110–160k, fixed
−23% unplanned turbine downtime, over a year
P.04
03 Delivery
12 weeks to set up, 6–12 months to run
£120–180k, fixed, then monthly
9 months two businesses to one operating model
P.05
02 Design
6 weeks
£70–95k, fixed
14 days to audit-ready, from ninety
P.06
04 Handover
12 months, part-time
£8–14k monthly
12 mo to running it without us
Every engagement opens with the audit, 4 weeks, £45–65k, fixed, and the plan it produces prices the stage after it, so nothing in this table is bought blind.
40 · Ruled rows, two columns, on paper
In your library as Ruled rows, two columns, on paper.
What every fee includes, so the band is the whole number.
F.01
Quoted before we start
A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it.
F.02
Expenses inside the band
Travel and accommodation are ours. The number on the letter is the number on the invoice.
F.03
No utilisation targets
Nobody at Tessel is measured on billed days, which is why nobody at Tessel invents a phase two.
F.04
No vendor margins
We resell nothing and take no referral fees. A build-or-buy call from us is evidence, not a commission.
F.05
Change in writing
If the scope moves, the fee is renegotiated on paper, never absorbed, never metered.
F.06
A date the invoice stops
Every letter names the last invoice. Retainers shrink by design.
41 · Sector ledger, sector cards, on paper
In your library as Sector ledger, sector cards, on paper.
The nine, and what is going wrong in each.
S.01
banks, lenders, asset managers and payments
11 engagements
S.02
claims, underwriting, life and reinsurance
9 engagements
S.03
generation, networks, water and renewables
8 engagements
S.04
grocery, home, specialist and consumer brands
8 engagements
S.05
providers, trusts, diagnostics and care groups
7 engagements
networks, freight, ports and fleets
6 engagements
S.07
food, components, textiles and process industries
6 engagements
S.08
councils, health boards and transport authorities
5 engagements
S.09
software, publishers and platforms
4 engagements
42 · Page head, one figure beside it, on sage
In your library as Page head, one figure beside it, on sage.
Every engagement, with the number it closed on.
The rest are under agreements that do not permit it, we will talk about them, we just cannot print them. The whole ledger is on the results page.
The registerSince 2021
12
published with their figure
Of 64 engagements closed. Each published case carries the method behind its number.
52 more on request
43 · Case spread, photograph right
In your library as Case spread, photograph right.
Manufacturing2023
Market entry and portfolio calls at Fennimore Foods
Client
Fennimore Foods
Measure
£12m
new revenue in the first year, two lines exited
A food manufacturer that wanted to enter three markets, and an audit that priced all three and argued for one.
07 / 12 published
44 · Casework cards
In your library as Casework cards.
Every card closes on its measure.
Insurance
2025
A copilot that reads the claim, proposes the route and shows its evidence: built with the claims team, handed to them in twelve weeks.
−41%
claims-processing time
Digital & AI
Financial services
2025
A model register with risk tiers, an audit trail from data to decision, and a policy set mapped to the regulation clause by clause.
14 days
to audit-ready, from ninety
Risk, Governance & Regulation
Energy & utilities
2024
A fixed maintenance calendar replaced by a schedule built on the machines’ own readings, and argued with by the crews who run it.
−23%
unplanned turbine downtime
Operations & Performance
Logistics & transport
2024
Forty depots, two disagreeing forecasts, and a network resequenced around the hours the depots actually had.
+9.6pp
on-time delivery across the network
Operations & Performance
Retail & consumer
2025
The margin map showed that a fifth of the range was paying for the rest. The pricing was tested on the shelf before it went in a deck.
+3.4pp
gross margin, twelve months after repricing
Strategy & Growth
Healthcare
2024
Triage that sorts by clinical urgency rather than arrival order, with every reordering logged for review.
−58%
radiology ticket backlog
Digital & AI
Manufacturing
2023
A food manufacturer that wanted to enter three markets, and an audit that priced all three and argued for one.
£12m
new revenue in the first year, two lines exited
Strategy & Growth
Public sector
2023
A council facing a section 114 notice, a programme office that decided things, and a budget balanced without a single service closed.
£6.2m
recurring savings, budget balanced in-year
Finance & Transformation
Technology & media
2026
Two publishers, two of everything, and an integration sequenced by what the customers would notice first.
9 months
two businesses to one operating model
Finance & Transformation
Energy & utilities
2022
Seven late submissions in a year, a regulator losing patience, and a control framework the reporting team maintains itself.
0
late regulatory submissions in twelve months, from seven
Risk, Governance & Regulation
Insurance
2026
The handover year: their team took the copilot, the runbooks and the evaluation harness, and we stopped billing.
92%
of claims triaged before a person
People & Organisation
Retail & consumer
2026
The pricing work needed a team to keep it true. A year later the team exists, was hired with us in the room, and runs without us.
19
roles hired and running, zero contractors
People & Organisation
45 · Results wall
In your library as Results wall.
The 12, read as one column.
−41%
claims-processing time
Meridian Mutual · 2025
14 days
to audit-ready, from ninety
Cobalt Bank · 2025
−23%
unplanned turbine downtime
Halvard Energy · 2024
+9.6pp
on-time delivery across the network
Northline Logistics · 2024
+3.4pp
gross margin, twelve months after repricing
Ostro Retail Group · 2025
−58%
radiology ticket backlog
Pallas Health · 2024
£12m
new revenue in the first year, two lines exited
Fennimore Foods · 2023
£6.2m
recurring savings, budget balanced in-year
Aldergate Council · 2023
9 months
two businesses to one operating model
Verano Media · 2026
0
late regulatory submissions in twelve months, from seven
Solent Water · 2022
92%
of claims triaged before a person
Meridian Mutual · 2026
19
roles hired and running, zero contractors
Ostro Retail Group · 2026
46 · Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on lilac
In your library as Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on lilac.
One line per engagement.
The whole account, published or on request. We will talk about the ones we cannot print; we just cannot print them.
47 · Full ledger
In your library as Full ledger.
Every row closes on a figure or a request.
YearClientSectorService
Outcome
2026Ashworth CapitalFinancial servicesOperations & Performance
on request
2026Bramble GridEnergy & utilitiesOperations & Performance
on request
2026Caldera FreightLogistics & transportOperations & Performance
on request
2026Hesketh Transport AuthorityPublic sectorDigital & AI
on request
2026Ivory Lane LendingFinancial servicesRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2026Meridian MutualInsurancePeople & Organisation
2026Orrin MarineInsuranceOperations & Performance
on request
2026Ostro Retail GroupRetail & consumerPeople & Organisation
2026Pellinore HomeRetail & consumerDigital & AI
on request
2026Verano MediaTechnology & mediaFinance & Transformation
2025Aldergate CouncilPublic sectorPeople & Organisation
on request
2025Cobalt BankFinancial servicesRisk, Governance & Regulation
2025Fennimore FoodsManufacturingPeople & Organisation
on request
2025Greyfield WealthFinancial servicesPeople & Organisation
on request
2025Halvard EnergyEnergy & utilitiesStrategy & Growth
on request
2025Hollis CreditFinancial servicesRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2025Kestrel ReInsurancePeople & Organisation
on request
2025Lantern SoftwareTechnology & mediaOperations & Performance
on request
2025Meridian MutualInsuranceDigital & AI
2025Northline LogisticsLogistics & transportPeople & Organisation
on request
2025Ostro Retail GroupRetail & consumerStrategy & Growth
2025Pallas HealthHealthcarePeople & Organisation
on request
2025Quill StationersRetail & consumerOperations & Performance
on request
2025Tidewater RenewablesEnergy & utilitiesFinance & Transformation
on request
2025Vesper Care GroupHealthcareOperations & Performance
on request
2024Ardent ComponentsManufacturingDigital & AI
on request
2024Bramble GridEnergy & utilitiesDigital & AI
on request
2024Elmbridge Building SocietyFinancial servicesFinance & Transformation
on request
2024Farrow PaymentsFinancial servicesDigital & AI
on request
2024Halvard EnergyEnergy & utilitiesOperations & Performance
2024Harlow AssuranceInsuranceDigital & AI
on request
2024Lumen LifeInsuranceFinance & Transformation
on request
2024Marlow & FinchRetail & consumerFinance & Transformation
on request
2024Northline LogisticsLogistics & transportOperations & Performance
2024Pallas HealthHealthcareDigital & AI
2024Sable TextilesManufacturingFinance & Transformation
on request
2024St Aldhelm’s TrustHealthcareFinance & Transformation
on request
2024Thornbury Health BoardPublic sectorRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2024Wexford PortsLogistics & transportRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2023Aldergate CouncilPublic sectorFinance & Transformation
2023Caldera FreightLogistics & transportDigital & AI
on request
2023Cobalt BankFinancial servicesDigital & AI
on request
2023Deauville Asset ManagementFinancial servicesOperations & Performance
on request
2023Fennimore FoodsManufacturingStrategy & Growth
2023Halvard EnergyEnergy & utilitiesStrategy & Growth
on request
2023Kestrel ReInsuranceRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2023Lantern SoftwareTechnology & mediaFinance & Transformation
on request
2023Pallas HealthHealthcareStrategy & Growth
on request
2023Pellinore HomeRetail & consumerStrategy & Growth
on request
2023Rowan DiagnosticsHealthcareRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2023Solent WaterEnergy & utilitiesPeople & Organisation
on request
2022Aldergate CouncilPublic sectorOperations & Performance
on request
2022Brenner & VossFinancial servicesRisk, Governance & Regulation
on request
2022Fennimore FoodsManufacturingOperations & Performance
on request
2022Harlow AssuranceInsuranceOperations & Performance
on request
2022Meridian MutualInsuranceStrategy & Growth
on request
2022Northline LogisticsLogistics & transportStrategy & Growth
on request
2022Ostro Retail GroupRetail & consumerDigital & AI
on request
2022Solent WaterEnergy & utilitiesRisk, Governance & Regulation
2022St Aldhelm’s TrustHealthcareOperations & Performance
on request
2021Ardent ComponentsManufacturingOperations & Performance
on request
2021Ashworth CapitalFinancial servicesStrategy & Growth
on request
2021Marlow & FinchRetail & consumerOperations & Performance
on request
2021Verano MediaTechnology & mediaStrategy & Growth
on request
A published outcome links to its case, including the method behind the figure. An outcome on request is one the client’s agreement does not let us print; it is not one we would rather not.
48 · Statement, in a card, on sage
In your library as Statement, in a card, on sage.
Two that underdelivered.
Two of the published outcomes above are smaller than the client hoped for when the number was agreed. They are in the ledger with the same weight as the rest, because a firm that publishes only the engagements that went well has published a brochure. Ask and we will tell you which two, what was agreed in week one, and what we would do differently.
What publishing means
W.01The number agreed before the work started
W.02The number measured after, on the agreed method
W.03Both printed, whichever way they came out
49 · Page head, one figure beside it
In your library as Page head, one figure beside it.
Advice you can hold us to.
31 practitioners, no subcontractors, and no vendor agreements. We take a fixed fee, agree one number before the work starts, and design every engagement to end.
Independent, and it costs us
19 of 64
audits whose first recommendation was something we do not sell
50 · Statement, centred, on paper
In your library as Statement, centred, on paper.
Who we are
31 practitioners who would rather be measured than admired. One fixed fee, one number agreed before the work starts, and the result published after it.
+27
London, Amsterdam and Lisbon. Every one of us senior, none of us subcontracted.
51 · People, compact
In your library as People, compact.
The people in the room at the pitch are the people in week nine.
9 named of 31. The team, in full
AO
T.01
Ada Okonjo
Founding partner
Fifteen years in insurance operations, latterly as a COO.
Runs the audits, and argues with the boards
Since 2021
MH
T.02
Marek Halloran
Founding partner
Principal engineer on payment systems at scale.
Owns whatever is in production, including at three in the morning
Since 2021
PR
T.03
Priya Raman
Partner, operations
Plant director, then head of network operations, in logistics.
Measures the operation where it happens, not where it is reported
Since 2022
ID
T.04
Ines Duarte
Partner, risk & governance
Model risk at a systemically important bank.
Writes the register an examiner can read
Since 2023
TL
T.05
Tobias Lindqvist
Partner, people & organisation
Built and handed over three internal transformation teams.
Designs us out of the engagement
Since 2024
HW
T.06
Hannah Weiss
Partner, finance & transformation
Group FD through two integrations and one turnaround.
Starts every programme with the number and ends it on a date
Since 2023
SA
T.07
Samuel Adeyemi
Practice lead, data
Data architect in regulated healthcare.
The eight weeks nobody puts in the press release
Since 2022
LV
T.08
Lotte Vermeer
Practice lead, pricing
Head of pricing at a European retailer.
Tests every price on a live quote before it goes in a deck
Since 2024
RC
T.09
Ruth Calloway
Chief operating officer
Ran the operations of a 200-person professional-services firm.
Keeps the firm’s own numbers as honest as the ones it publishes
Since 2022
52 · Signal ledger
In your library as Signal ledger.
Signals in, one account out.
Four stages, twenty-eight weeks, each closing on a named deliverable, and each bought on its own, because the roadmap from the first prices everything after it.
01
Audit
4 wks
02
Design
8 wks
03
Delivery
12 wks
04
Handover
4 wks
SIGNALS /
ON THE RECORD /
01
Audit
02
Design
03
Delivery
04
Handover
28 WKS
AUDIT, HANDOVER
53 · Ruled rows, in a card, on gold
In your library as Ruled rows, in a card, on gold.
Five positions, each with a price attached.
V.01
Independent, and it costs us
No reseller agreements, no referral margins, no vendor certifications on the wall. It loses us the easy revenue and it is the only reason a build/buy call from us means anything.
V.02
One number per engagement
Agreed before the work starts, measured after, published either way. Two of our published outcomes are smaller than the client hoped for; they are on the site because that is what publishing means.
V.03
Senior people, on the work
Thirty-one practitioners and no subcontractors. The person in the room at the pitch is the person in the room in week nine, because a firm that swaps them has sold you a brochure.
V.04
Designed to end
Every engagement has a handover stage and a date. Ninety-one per cent of what we have delivered is still in place a year after we left, that figure, not the invoice, is the scoreboard.
V.05
Fixed fee, quoted first
A band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet, and we say so rather than meter it. Nobody at Tessel has a utilisation target, which is why nobody at Tessel invents a phase two.
54 · Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on sky
In your library as Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on sky.
The people at the pitch are the people in week nine.
31 practitioners across 3 offices, all salaried and none subcontracted. 9 of the 31 are named below; the rest you meet in the room, and they stay in it.
55 · People, expanded
In your library as People, expanded.
The partners and service leads, and what each is the person for.
AO
T.01
Ada Okonjo
Founding partner
Strategy & Growth
London
Ada ran claims and underwriting operations for fifteen years before deciding that the advice her firm bought was worse than the advice it gave itself. She founded Tessel in 2021 on one rule, agree the number before the work, and still leads most audits personally. She is the partner in the room when a board is told which line of business to stop.
Since 2021
MH
T.02
Marek Halloran
Founding partner
Digital & AI
London
Marek built and ran payment infrastructure that could not go down, and brings that habit to everything Tessel ships: a system is not delivered until it has an owner, a rollback and a runbook. He co-founded the firm with Ada and leads the Digital & AI service.
Since 2021
PR
T.03
Priya Raman
Partner, operations
Operations & Performance
Amsterdam
Priya ran a distribution network of forty depots before joining Tessel, and has never trusted a process map drawn in a meeting room since. She opened the Amsterdam office in 2022 and leads the Operations & Performance service, six weeks on the floor, then a redesign the team leads wrote with her.
Since 2022
ID
T.04
Ines Duarte
Partner, risk & governance
Risk, Governance & Regulation
Lisbon
Ines spent a decade answering examiners’ questions at a systemically important bank, and now writes the registers and audit trails that make those questions quick to answer. She opened the Lisbon office in 2025 and leads the Risk, Governance & Regulation service.
Since 2023
TL
T.05
Tobias Lindqvist
Partner, people & organisation
People & Organisation
Amsterdam
Tobias has built three in-house teams that made their consultants unnecessary, twice as the client, once as the consultant. He leads the People & Organisation service, which is measured on the firm’s own absence: ninety-one per cent of the change Tessel has delivered is still in place a year after handover.
Since 2024
HW
T.06
Hannah Weiss
Partner, finance & transformation
Finance & Transformation
London
Hannah has sat on the client side of three transformation programmes as a finance director, two integrations and a turnaround, and joined Tessel to run them the way she wished they had been run for her: one number, one plan, one monthly report, and a close date the board tracks.
Since 2023
SA
T.07
Samuel Adeyemi
Practice lead, data
Digital & AI
London
Samuel leads the data foundations work inside every Digital & AI engagement (ownership, definitions, quality gates and lineage) because that is where every model he has seen fail actually failed. Before Tessel he was a data architect in regulated healthcare.
Since 2022
LV
T.08
Lotte Vermeer
Practice lead, pricing
Strategy & Growth
Amsterdam
Lotte ran pricing for a European grocery chain and has a low tolerance for pricing strategies built on surveys. She leads pricing inside the Strategy & Growth service: what each segment will bear, tested on real quotes with the client’s own sales team.
Since 2024
RC
T.09
Ruth Calloway
Chief operating officer
The firm
London
Ruth runs Tessel itself, the hiring, the utilisation, the fixed-fee model that makes the firm’s incentives match its clients’. She publishes the firm’s own figures internally every month, on the same basis it asks of its clients.
Since 2022
T.10–
…and 22 more practitioners
Consultants and analysts across the offices. All salaried, none subcontracted, none on call from an associate list: the person who starts your engagement finishes it.
56 · People, by service
In your library as People, by service.
By practice: the measure each is judged on, and who is in it.
P.01
Strategy & Growth
Outcome
+3.4pp gross margin, twelve months after repricing
T.01Ada OkonjoLondon
T.08Lotte VermeerAmsterdam
P.02
Operations & Performance
Outcome
−23% unplanned turbine downtime, over a year
T.03Priya RamanAmsterdam
P.03
Digital & AI
Outcome
−41% claims-processing time, one engagement
T.02Marek HalloranLondon
T.07Samuel AdeyemiLondon
P.04
Finance & Transformation
Outcome
9 months two businesses to one operating model
T.06Hannah WeissLondon
P.05
Risk, Governance & Regulation
Outcome
14 days to audit-ready, from ninety
T.04Ines DuarteLisbon
P.06
People & Organisation
Outcome
12 mo to running it without us
T.05Tobias LindqvistAmsterdam
Running the firm
T.09
Ruth Calloway
Chief operating officer
Keeps the firm’s own numbers as honest as the ones it publishes.
57 · Offices, with people
In your library as Offices, with people.
Where they sit, and who is in each room.
O.01
London
GMT / BST
4 Ravenscourt Yard, W6 0UG
The audits, strategy and the boards
Ada Okonjo
Marek Halloran
Hannah Weiss
Samuel Adeyemi
Ruth Calloway
O.02
Amsterdam
CET
Keizersgracht 241, 1016 EA
Operations, people and the EU work
Priya Raman
Tobias Lindqvist
Lotte Vermeer
O.03
Lisbon
WET
Rua do Alecrim 12, 1200-017
Risk, governance and regulation
Ines Duarte
58 · Page head, one plate, on gold
In your library as Page head, one plate, on gold.
Salaried, senior, and designed to make ourselves unnecessary.
31 practitioners, published salary bands, no bonus and no utilisation target. 5 roles are open, and each one says what it is not before it says what it is.
59 · The run
In your library as The run.
How we hire: the loop, in order, with the times.
01
Your CV and one page
The page is about a number you moved and how you know. We read every one; a partner, not a screener.
02
A 40-minute call
With the partner for the service. You ask most of the questions.
03
The case, on real data
Three hours with an anonymised ledger from a closed engagement. We want to see how you check a number, not whether you get the answer we got.
04
A day with the team
Paid. You sit in on live work and we sit in on you.
05
In writing
An offer in writing, within a week
From a published band. No negotiation theatre: the band is the band.
60 · Roles index
In your library as Roles index.
The open roles, with the closing date beside each.
5 open
None of them yours? Send the CV and one page anyway, the page is about a number you moved and how you know. A partner reads every one.
61 · Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on sage
In your library as Page head, centred, nothing beside it, on sage.
Written from the work, including the parts that did not sell.
No newsletter-shaped opinion. Every piece here comes out of an engagement, and several of them argue against something we could otherwise have billed for.
62 · Lead article
In your library as Lead article.
Boards
8 min
Every argument about whether a programme succeeded is really an argument about a figure nobody wrote down in week one. Sixty-four engagements in, here is what writing it down does.
63 · Insights, the archive
In your library as Insights, the archive.
Every piece, and who it was written for.
64 · Subscribe band
In your library as Subscribe band.
One piece a month, and nothing else ever.
No sequence, no product announcements, no “checking in”. If a month has nothing worth writing, you get nothing.
That is with us.
One piece a month, from the next one.
65 · Page head, one plate, on sky
In your library as Page head, one plate, on sky.
Twelve chairs, forty minutes, and the workings.
Roundtables under Chatham House rules, briefings with a question sheet, and one webinar a season. Nobody presents a service; every figure shown comes with how it was measured.
5 upcoming · London · Lisbon · Amsterdam · Online
66 · Calendar, upcoming
In your library as Calendar, upcoming.
The next 5, in date order.
24Sep 2026
Agreeing the number before the work
Twelve seats. How three boards wrote down one figure before a programme started, what it cost them in week one, and what it saved them in week forty.
Roundtable
London
08:00–10:00 · 4 Ravenscourt Yard · 12, by invitation and application
Hosted by Ada Okonjo
08Oct 2026
The EU AI Act, in numbers
Forty minutes and a question sheet. Sixty-one systems, four high-risk, and which obligations turned out to be cheap: from one readiness engagement, with the workings.
Briefing
Lisbon
16:00–16:40 · Rua do Alecrim 12 · 40
Hosted by Ines Duarte
22Oct 2026
Measuring the operation where it happens
The nineteen-step inbound process that was documented as eleven, and what three networks did once they could see the eight. Bring your own process map; we will compare it to a Tuesday.
Roundtable
Amsterdam
08:30–10:30 · Keizersgracht 241 · 12, by application
Hosted by Priya Raman
05Nov 2026
Copilots fail in the handover, not the model
Four of the five abandoned systems we reviewed were technically fine. What a real handover contains, with the runbook and the rehearsal shown.
Webinar
Online
13:00–13:45 · Link on registration · Unlimited; recording sent to registrants
Hosted by Samuel Adeyemi
19Nov 2026
Integrate by what the customer notices
Two businesses to one operating model in nine months: the twelve milestones, the order they went in, and the one that slipped.
Briefing
London
08:00–08:40 · 4 Ravenscourt Yard · 40
Hosted by Hannah Weiss
67 · Calendar, past
In your library as Calendar, past.
Already run, and on the record.
11.06.26
Roundtable
The savings programme that decides
London · Hannah Weiss
Recording on request
68 · Page head, one figure beside it, on gold
In your library as Page head, one figure beside it, on gold.
The instruments, offered as they are.
The templates, checklists and worksheets we carry into an engagement, anonymised. One field to have one sent; nothing else is asked of you, and nobody follows up.
Given away
6
instruments, from 5 services
69 · Instruments
In your library as Instruments.
6 instruments, from 5 services.
Template
P.01
The opportunity ledger
The sheet every audit ends on: every candidate move, its cost, its benefit, its owner, and a column for the ones we advise against.
- Candidate, cost, benefit and payback columns with the arithmetic shown
- A 'not this' column, the moves argued against, and why
- The twelve-month sequence tab, with owners
XLSX · 4 tabs · 210 KB
Model
P.01
Margin map rebuild
Contribution by product, store and basket, rebuilt from the general ledger rather than the management pack. The structure, not your numbers.
- Ledger-to-contribution mapping with allocation rules made explicit
- The three cuts (product, site, basket) as separate tabs
- A reconciliation tab back to the statutory margin
XLSX · 6 tabs · 480 KB
Worksheet
P.02
Process measurement sheet
What we carry onto the floor: a step log with time, touches, waits and rework, designed to be filled with a stopwatch and a pencil.
- Step log with start, stop, wait and rework columns
- The 'undocumented step' flag and its reason field
- A summary tab that turns six weeks of logs into one page
PDF + XLSX · 2 files · 350 KB
Checklist
P.05
Regulatory inventory checklist
The questions that found sixty-one systems where the firm had counted fifteen, for the EU AI Act, adaptable to DORA and Consumer Duty.
- The inventory questions, by system owner
- Tier classification with the obligations each tier carries
- A register template the risk team can keep
PDF + XLSX · 2 files · 290 KB
Worksheet
P.03
Evaluation threshold worksheet
Agree the threshold before launch or you will agree it after. One page for the metric, the baseline, the floor, the owner and the date it is reviewed.
- Metric, baseline, floor and ceiling with the reasoning
- Named owner for the threshold and for the data
- The review calendar and what happens on a breach
PDF · 2 pages · 120 KB
Checklist
P.06
Handover rehearsal script
The two rehearsals, the one we watch and the one we say nothing in, as a script, with the failure modes we have seen and what each one means.
- Rehearsal one: the walk-through with prompts
- Rehearsal two: the silent run and its scoring
- Twelve failure modes and the fix for each
PDF · 9 pages · 180 KB
70 · Page head, on sky
In your library as Page head, on sky.
The words we use, and what we mean by them.
Consulting has a vocabulary that means nothing and a vocabulary that means something specific. This page is the second kind: where a word has a figure behind it on the site, the entry says where.
71 · Glossary index
In your library as Glossary index.
32 terms, each with the page it is used on.
A
Audit
The four-week diagnostic every engagement opens with: where the money, the hours and the risk go, measured against the client’s own data, and a costed plan. Its first recommendation can be that the client does not need us.
Audit trail
A record that lets a decision be reconstructed later from the data that produced it, who, what, when, on which inputs. The thing every examiner asks for.
B
Band
The published fee range for a service or the audit. Quoted fixed before the work starts; a band that cannot be quoted is a scope we have not understood yet.
Baseline
The value of the outcome figure before the work, measured the same way it will be measured after. Without one, a result is a claim.
Build or buy
The call on whether to build a capability or purchase it. Ours is evidence rather than a commission, because we resell nothing.
C
Capability
A team able to run and improve what was delivered without us. The People & Organisation service is measured on it.
Contribution
Revenue less the costs that vary with it, the margin that tells you whether a product, store or customer is paying for itself after the costs it actually causes.
Copilot
A system that proposes an action to a person and shows the evidence for it; the person decides. Scoped to one job each.
D
Data foundations
Ownership, definitions, quality gates and lineage, the eight weeks that decide whether a model holds. Nobody puts them in the press release.
Decision rights
Who decides what, written down. An operating model without them is a diagram of a team.
Design stage
Weeks 5–12 of the method: the answer on paper, tested in one site, queue or segment before it is built, and the outcome agreed in writing.
E
Engagement
One piece of work with one client, closed on one measured outcome. Sixty-four since 2021.
Evaluation threshold
The number a system must reach before launch and hold afterwards, agreed in writing with a named owner. Argue it in week one or you will argue it in week forty.
F
Fixed fee
A price for a scope, quoted before the work starts and not metered. Our only fee model, in four shapes.
H
Handover
Weeks 25–28: the operating model, the runbooks, and the rehearsal, twice, the second time with us silent. Then the last invoice.
L
Lineage
The map from a source field to the figure it ends up in, every transformation shown. The artefact that pays for the rest of a data foundation.
M
Margin map
Contribution rebuilt from the ledger by product, site and basket rather than by the categories in the management pack. Usually finds a fifth of something paying for the rest.
Method
The four stages every engagement follows (audit, design, delivery, handover) twenty-eight weeks end to end, each stage bought on its own.
N
Not this
The section on every service page that says what the service is not. A page that only sells is a brochure.
O
On request
The outcome of an engagement the client’s agreement does not allow us to print. Fifty-two of sixty-four. We will talk about them.
Operating model
Named roles, their decision rights and the rhythm they work to. Not an org chart.
Opportunity ledger
The audit’s main output: every candidate move, priced, ranked, with the ones we advise against marked.
Outcome
The one figure an engagement is judged on (with its unit, baseline and date) agreed before the work and published either way.
P
Pilot
A trial designed to answer ‘can this work?’ under conditions chosen to make it work. We argue against them.
Programme office
One plan, one risk register, one report, and a director who can stop a workstream. Ours is handed to the client by month six.
Published
An outcome the client has approved in writing for the site, with how it was measured. Twelve of sixty-four; two smaller than hoped.
R
Run-rate
The weekly or monthly value of an improvement once it is live, tracked against the baseline. A saving that exists only in a business case is not a saving.
Runbook
What the client’s team does on the Monday after we leave, written by them with us reading over their shoulder.
S
Sector
One of nine we work in; the counts are derived from the ledger and shown on the sectors page.
Still in place
The share of delivered change still running a year after handover, 91% of the 43 engagements old enough to check. The firm’s own scoreboard.
T
Thin slice
One job, end to end, in production, with a named owner, what we build instead of a pilot.
W
Worst-served first
The rollout rule: the queue, store or route with the worst service goes first, so the hardest cases prove the change rather than the easiest flattering it.
72 · Link rows
In your library as Link rows.
Missing a word? Look in these two, or send it to us.
73 · Page head, on lilac
In your library as Page head, on lilac.
Asked before every engagement. Answered in writing.
The 18 questions we are asked most, in 4 groups, answered the way we would answer them in the room. Every figure in an answer is one the site holds somewhere else.
74 · Questions, one group, on paper
In your library as Questions, one group, on paper.
The engagement
5 questions
How does an engagement start?
With the audit, four weeks, fixed fee, inside your operation. It produces the opportunity ledger, a costed twelve-month plan and the first business case, and its first recommendation can be that you do not need us. In nineteen of sixty-four audits so far, it was.
Do you advise, or do you build?
Both, in order. The audit and design stages advise; the delivery stage builds, in your environment, with your team in the room. We do not hand over a deck and leave; we do not build something your team cannot run.
What is “one measured outcome”?
One figure, with its unit, its baseline and the date it will be read, agreed in writing before the work starts. It is measured afterwards and published either way, twelve are on the site; two are smaller than the client hoped for.
How long does it take?
The method is twenty-eight weeks end to end (audit 4, design 8, delivery 12, handover 4) but each stage is bought on its own. Most clients buy the audit first and decide the rest on what it finds.
What happens when you leave?
The handover stage: an operating model with named roles, runbooks your team wrote, and a rehearsal, twice, the second time with us silent. Then a date after which we stop billing. Ninety-one per cent of what we have delivered is still in place a year later.
75 · Questions, one group, on sage
In your library as Questions, one group, on sage.
Fees
4 questions
How is the audit priced?
Fixed fee, quoted before we start, from a published band, £45–65k. Four weeks has a price, not a meter. The plan it produces prices everything after it, so no later stage is bought blind.
Why fixed fees rather than day rates?
Because a day rate pays the consultant to be slow. A fixed fee against an agreed outcome pays us to be right. Nobody at Tessel has a utilisation target, which is why nobody at Tessel invents a phase two.
Do you take a share of the outcome?
Where the client wants it and the figure is clean enough to bear it, part of the fee can be linked to the agreed outcome. See the engagement models on the fees page. Most clients prefer a plain fixed fee, and so do we.
What does a full programme cost?
It depends on the service and the scope, and the bands are published: from £60–90k for a six-week strategy engagement to £160–240k for a twelve-week delivery. The audit tells you which apply before you commit to any of them.
76 · Statement, one row, on paper
In your library as Statement, one row, on paper.
Still have a question?
Ask it in the first message. A partner reads every one, and you hear back within two working days, including when the answer is no.
77 · Questions, one group, on sky
In your library as Questions, one group, on sky.
Data, security and independence
4 questions
Whose data does the work touch, and where does it stay?
Yours, and with you. Work runs in your environment, under your access controls, in your repositories. We do not take data off your estate, and a first conversation needs no NDA because nothing specific is shared in it.
Which vendors do you resell or recommend?
None. We hold no reseller agreements, take no referral fees and carry no vendor certifications. It costs us the easy revenue and it is the only reason a build-or-buy call from us is evidence rather than a commission.
Are you independent of the firms you audit?
We do not audit statutory accounts and we do not take equity, options or success fees from any client. The one link between our fee and your outcome is the one written in the engagement letter.
How do you handle confidentiality on published cases?
Every published figure and quote is approved in writing by the client. Fifty-two of our sixty-four engagements are not published for that reason; we will talk about them, we just cannot print them.
78 · Page head, one plate, on lilac
In your library as Page head, one plate, on lilac.
Tell us the problem, not the brief.
The most useful first message is two paragraphs about what is going wrong. We will tell you whether it is a four-week audit, something smaller, or not our work at all.
79 · Contact form
In your library as Contact form.
Received
That is with us.
A partner reads every first message, not a coordinator, and you will hear back within two working days, including if the answer is that we are not the right firm for it.
What happens next
01A partner reads itNot a coordinator, and not a sequence.
02A reply within two working daysIncluding when the answer is no.
03A 40-minute callYou describe the problem; we say what it would take.
04A scoping noteFixed fee and a date, before anyone signs anything.
80 · Direct index
In your library as Direct index.
If you would rather email a person.
O.01
London
4 Ravenscourt Yard, W6 0UG
United Kingdom
The audits, strategy and the boards
O.02
Amsterdam
Keizersgracht 241, 1016 EA
Netherlands
Operations, people and the EU work
O.03
Lisbon
Rua do Alecrim 12, 1200-017
Portugal
Risk, governance and regulation