The picture is not clear
Performance has shifted, the explanations conflict or the same problem keeps returning.
I establish what is actually happening, identify what matters and give you a clear view of what should be dealt with first.
Paul Littlejohn · Strategic adviser
Every leader needs a wingman.
I help leaders make better decisions under uncertainty.
Strategic advisory. Executive away days. Practical decision-making courses and workshops.
Independent judgement, alongside yours.
RAF fighter pilot. USMC F/A-18 instructor. Management consultant. COO.
Book a 30-minute callWhen to bring in a wingman
When to bring me in.
Bring me in when the situation carries real consequences and the answer is not obvious.
An important commitment lies ahead
You are considering an expansion, partnership or investment. The consequences matter, but the information is incomplete.
I test the assumptions, examine the downside and give you an independent view before you commit.
The direction is clear. Execution is not.
A transformation, growth plan or important project has stalled between functions.
I turn the direction into decisions, priorities, owners and a practical sequence of action.
The team sees different answers
Your leaders disagree about what is happening, which risks matter or what should happen next.
I examine the competing views, establish what the evidence supports and recommend a course of action.
These situations cost time, money or room to move. Once the business has committed, changing course becomes harder.
Why Paul?
I have taken strategy all the way through to results.
I have spent nearly thirty years making decisions and delivering in complex organisations.
I have designed strategies, operating models and change programmes. I have led transformations, run operations involving more than 10,000 people and been accountable for commercial and operational results. I know the whole chain, from working out what should happen to making it work.
That experience was built on sixteen years as an RAF fighter pilot. On exchange with the United States Marine Corps, I flew the F/A-18 Hornet, instructed other fighter pilots and conducted carrier operations from USS Eisenhower.
Fast-jet operations taught me to get to grips with unfamiliar situations quickly, distinguish what matters from what merely demands attention and act without waiting for certainty.
You know your business. I know how to enter a complex situation, find what matters and turn an independent view into practical action.
Selected results
Selected results from Paul Littlejohn’s career
Savings delivered through consulting work for Europe’s largest tour operator
Operating costs reduced over three years at dnata Airside
Reduction in customer complaints within twelve months
Uplift in profit per sale in a UAE destination business
Revenue opportunity unlocked through digitisation
Experience
Organisations I have worked with.
Strategic advisory
How we work together.
We agree what I am there to do, how involved I need to be and what a useful result looks like.
Independent Review
An independent view of one important situation.
I get up to speed quickly, speak with the people closest to it and test the assumptions against what is actually happening.
You get my assessment, my recommendation and clear priorities and next moves.
Targeted Project
A defined piece of work that needs senior attention.
I help set it up, lead it or get it back on track, working across the business where needed.
The scope, result and end point are agreed at the outset.
Ongoing advisory
An experienced operator who already knows the business.
I stay alongside the owner or CEO as the situation develops and new decisions arise.
Because I already understand the context, we can get straight to what has changed and what needs to happen.
Interim Leadership
Senior operating leadership for an agreed period.
I step into the business when a significant gap, transition or period of change needs active leadership.
This is for situations that need someone to take responsibility, not simply provide advice.
In practice · An anonymised Independent Review
Seven issues. Two that set the order.
A growing UAE aviation business was considering new revenue, partnerships, investment decisions and commercial channels. Too many decisions still returned to the CEO, while major commitments were being considered without a shared financial baseline.
First, establish the financial baseline.
Create one forward view of revenue, cost and cash, with clear decision gates for major commitments.
Second, move operational ownership away from the CEO.
Give the person leading aviation operations responsibility for the whole operating picture.
The review set out an executable sequence: what happens now, what waits, what needs more evidence and what the CEO no longer needs to carry.
Away days & learning
The Mission & Become Decisive.
Private executive away days and practical courses for making better decisions under uncertainty.
Executive away day
The Mission
One day inside a fighter squadron.
A private, full-day experience for four to six leaders in Dubai. Your team trains in networked, full-motion F/A-18 simulators, receives a live mission brief, flies, manages crew handovers and debriefs what happened.
The day closes with a practical conversation about making decisions with incomplete information, managing risk and responding as the situation changes.
Explore The Mission
Become Decisive
Learn to decide well under uncertainty.
Become Decisive teaches four practical disciplines for seeing the situation clearly, defining what good looks like, choosing the next move and testing the downside.
Take the online course at your own pace, or bring the teaching to your team through a commissioned workshop.
Explore Become DecisiveWorkshops & speaking
Bring the work to your team.
Commission a practical decision-making workshop, including formats delivered over two or three evenings with time to practise between sessions.
I also speak to executive audiences about judgement under pressure and uncertainty.
Book a 30-minute callLet’s discuss the situation
Bring me the situation.
If you are carrying an important situation and experienced judgement could materially change what happens next, let’s discuss it.