The Maxelia Architecture: Maturity Journey J-curve on the left, MTL Framework triangle in the centre, three Compasses (Sentiment, Transformation, Leadership) on the right.

Most transformation programmes fail not because the strategy is wrong, but because three different views of reality are not in alignment: the market's view, the organisation's view, and the leader's view. Maxelia operates three sister diagnostic instruments that triangulate the three views and produce a single integrated diagnostic.

The strategic premise

Every transformation needs three answers. Where + Why, How + When, Who.

Most consultancies answer one of the three. They leave the other two to comms agencies, executive coaches, or to the leader's own intuition. Maxelia answers all three with one coherent diagnostic methodology, anchored in a single underlying framework (the MTL Framework).

01

Where + Why

Where do we stand today, and why are we transforming? How is the market reading us? What sector pressures, customer drivers, or regulatory headwinds are shaping the case for change?

Calibration

Sentiment Compass

02

How + When

How are we getting there, and on what timeline? Where do we sit on the maturity curve today, what stage are we trying to reach, and what is the phased roadmap to walk through?

Navigation

Transformation Compass

03

Who

Who is leading us there? Am I, the leader, equipped to take this organisation through the change? What does my leadership profile look like, separated from my self-image of it?

Leadership

Leadership Compass

The three instruments

Three sister diagnostic instruments. Shared visual grammar.

All three share the same hexagonal radar across six dimensions, scored 1-5 against rubric anchors. All three produce a one-page output that can be shared with executive teams. All three generate a development pathway. All three feed each other diagnostically.

Calibration · Outside-in (the Where + Why view)

Sentiment Compass

Where do we stand, and why are we transforming?

Tied serviceMarket Intelligence
Free LiteSentiment Compass Lite, 6 questions, free
Paid entry£4,000-£7,500

Free, jargon-free, calibrated on twenty years of operating experience. Five minutes, six dimensions, a readout you can use straight away.

Take the free assessment →

Navigation · Strategic

Transformation Compass

Where are we on the transformation journey?

Tied serviceStrategic Advisory
Free LiteTransformation Compass Lite, 12 questions, free
Paid entry£2,500 diagnostic, £7,500-£15,000 roadmap

Free, jargon-free, calibrated on twenty years of operating experience. Five minutes, six dimensions, a readout you can use straight away.

Take the free assessment →

Leadership · Personal

Leadership Compass

Am I leading transformation effectively?

Tied serviceLeadership Development
Free LiteLeadership Lite, 6 questions, free
Paid entry£350 profile, £500-£800 per month mentoring

Free, jargon-free, calibrated on twenty years of operating experience. Five minutes, six dimensions, a readout you can use straight away.

Take the free assessment →

The narrative arc

Eight questions every serious leader is asking. In a sequence with internal logic.

The three Compasses sit on a complete strategic narrative. Most boutique advisory firms answer two or three of these eight questions. The four to six that fall through the gap are precisely where transformation programmes die.

Why are you going?
Brand layer
Vision and Mission
Where do you stand today, externally?
Calibration
Sentiment Compass current state
Where do you stand today, structurally?
Navigation
Transformation Compass current state
Where are you going?
Navigation
Transformation Compass target state
How are you getting there?
Methodology
The MTL framework
Who is taking you there?
Leadership
Leadership Compass
What to expect along the way?
Trajectory
The J-curve
What does success look like?
Endpoint
MTL Stage 5, Continuously Innovating

Three entry paths

The system can be run in either direction. Depending on the trigger.

Each entry sequence is valid. Each unlocks a different commercial conversation. All three converge on the same eventual diagnostic picture.

The most common entry

Outside-in

Investors are not understanding the proposition. Press coverage is mistaking the firm for a competitor. A board strategy review has exposed comms gaps. The buying trigger is external.

  1. 01Sentiment Compass reveals the gap between intended and received proposition.
  2. 02Transformation Compass reveals the underlying strategic weaknesses causing the reception gap.
  3. 03Leadership Compass reveals the personal patterns that allowed the strategic weaknesses to persist.

The strategic-buyer entry

Inside-out

The transformation programme is stalling. The team suspects Stage 3, Strategically Aligned with direction but no momentum. They want a structured diagnostic.

  1. 01Transformation Compass reveals where the organisation actually sits, often confirming the suspicion with precision per dimension.
  2. 02Leadership Compass reveals which leadership patterns are the binding constraint on progression.
  3. 03Sentiment Compass reveals whether the market has noticed yet.

The founder-led entry

Personal-first

The leader has taken on a transformation role and is privately uncertain whether they are equipped. The buying trigger is personal, often before it has been articulated publicly.

  1. 01Leadership Compass gives the personal diagnostic privately, without organisational visibility.
  2. 02Transformation Compass extends the diagnosis to the organisation the leader is responsible for.
  3. 03Sentiment Compass extends it further to how the leader and the organisation are being read externally.

The cross-feeding diagnostic

A finding on one Compass usually reveals a related finding on another.

Reading the three Compasses together produces a diagnostic story that no individual Compass produces alone. Your reception gap on Differentiation might be caused by a Vision weakness in your own leadership, showing up as a Pilot Purgatory pattern in the MTL because nobody on your team can articulate what you are actually trying to build. That sentence cannot be produced by any single instrument. It is the joint output of all three.

Comprehension gap
Communication framework absent
Communication dimension weak
Credibility gap
Operations Excellence muscle weak
Conviction dimension weak
Differentiation gap
Enterprise Architecture story not articulated
Vision dimension weak
Relevance gap
Customer insight thin
Empathy dimension weak
Trust gap
Leadership and Culture thread weak
Trust dimension weak

The Strategic Triangulation engagement

All three Compasses, eight to ten weeks, £6,000-£10,000.

The three Compasses can be sold individually, or as a single bundled engagement. The bundle is priced at the sum of the components, with a small concession for commissioning all three together. The pricing is not the value argument. The synthesis is. Clients commissioning the three individually do not get the cross-Compass synthesis readout that connects the findings into one coherent diagnostic story. The bundle delivers it.

This is the engagement that boutique consultancies typically charge £25,000-£50,000 to deliver, because their methodology is bespoke each time. Maxelia delivers it at one-third to one-fifth the price because the methodology is productised. The price difference is real and is the firm's structural commercial advantage.

Four phases over eight to ten weeks

Phase 1 · 3-4 weeks

Sentiment

Sentiment Audit. Outside-in reception data captured against six dimensions, scored against the rubric, and triangulated with internal proposition statements.

Phase 2 · 1-2 weeks, parallel

Navigation

Transformation Compass Diagnostic. Six-dimension maturity scoring with cross-functional input. Where the organisation sits today, where it is heading, what is blocking progression.

Phase 3 · 1-2 weeks

Leadership

Leadership Profile with 360-degree input across six dimensions. The leader's own readiness, scored against rubric anchors and validated by their team.

Phase 4 · 1 week

Synthesis

Cross-Compass readout. Single integrated deliverable showing all three radars, the cross-feeding diagnostic, prioritised actions, and the recommended onward engagement.

Get Started

Start with one Compass. Or commission all three.

Each free Lite gives you a calibrated readout in five minutes. The Strategic Triangulation gives you the integrated picture in eight to ten weeks. Both produce a one-page output you can share with your executive team.

Or commission directly

Emailcontact@maxelia.co.uk