Why founders become the bottleneck
Brilliant operators often become the single point of failure in their own companies — and the last to see it.
In 2003, I was watching the Second Gulf War on TV, freezing in a townhouse in London, sick of eating the same spaghetti bolognese. They were using drones — like they had in the first Gulf War — and somewhere in that cold, tired moment, I had a thought that felt almost stupid: imagine if a drone could deliver a pizza.
I couldn’t shake it. Not the pizza — the idea underneath it. That robotics were about to be everywhere, and almost nobody around me believed it yet.
So I started building. A VTOL drone with a fixed wing and ducted fans in the wings — something that didn’t really exist as a category yet, because nothing in 2003 was built for consumer drones. Every part of it was a fight. I’d spend $4,000 and four weeks building something, and lose it in an hour of testing. In Portugal, mid-flight, the GPS reset and the drone dived straight into the ground as hard as it could go, trying to get back to where it thought it was supposed to be.
Eight years. About $100,000. I came close to quitting most days.
Today, anyone can buy a drone for $50. I saw it coming a decade before almost anyone else did, and I put real money and years into making it real.
Track record
Twenty-five years redesigning businesses, institutions, and industries — mining, professional sport, technology, manufacturing, finance. Some became billion-dollar companies. Some were built where there was no playbook.
Trusted by People Making Important Decisions
My work is often confidential. Where clients have given permission, I’ve included a selection of their reflections. Other engagements remain private.
If something is going wrong in one of our businesses and we cannot work out where it is, Nathan is the person I call. If he can’t find and solve it, no one can.
Over the years I’ve worked with thousands of consultants, coaches and advisors. Nathan is one of only three people I’ve seen consistently produce exceptional results.
I hired Nathan because I wanted to build a successful business. What gives me confidence is knowing that when things become difficult, he’s able to solve problems that very few people can.
Working with Nathan, it’s like he can see around corners.
Nathan is the smartest guy I have ever met.
The people I work with don’t hire me because they need more information. They hire me because they need judgement where the cost of being wrong is enormous.
Recent thinking
Ideas I am willing to stand behind for years — not volume, conviction.
Decision quality under pressure
High-stakes decisions are not hard because information is missing. They are hard because the cost of being wrong is personal.
Leadership under pressure
Pressure does not create character. It reveals whether the organisation has a decision-maker or a performer.
If you are facing an important decision and need judgement where the cost of being wrong is enormous, I would be pleased to hear from you.