James McGilvray, The Practitioner. Impactflow.

impactflow

Working with leaders and executive teams to fast track complex multiparty planning and decision‑making

James McGilvray

The Practitioner

  • Supply chain integration
  • AI adoption
  • Procurement planning
  • Framework bids
  • Resilience mapping

Your challenge

Take control in two weeks.

impactflow

About me

  • My home is in the gaps
  • How I work
  • Why it matters
Open

About me

My home is in the gaps.

the top floornext doorthe shop flooracrossthe tabledown the lineoverseasthe one nobody's askedYour challengeusually here

I work between organisations, sectors and points of view, where a decision belongs to many people at once.

I specialise inthe shop floorunderstanding eachparty’s perspective,the top flooracrossthe tabletranslating between themand getting everyone moving together.
the longer storywhere I’ve done this

How I work

For twenty years, one discipline has run through my work: structuring information so it can be found, trusted and used again.

ABC4foundtrustedused again
I design the systems that hold it,built so the same question always returnsthe same, verifiable answer.

Why it matters

The tools do the heavy lifting

structuredheldretrievable

So my time goes to the people

the hour with each party · the gaps

the top floornext doordownthe line

And every client gets the same depth

the same depth, every room

consistent · Introducing Impactflow

The process

  • Introducing Impactflow
  • How you’ll experience it
  • Framing
  • Listening
  • Analysis
  • Interpretation
  • Brief
  • Beyond
Open

Introducing Impactflow

Impactflow brings many parties to one collective position.

1 framing2 listening3 analysis4 interpretation5 brieftwo weeksyour go-ahead

It’s now a method in five steps, and in two weeks it gives you the foundation to take control.

I first built it for forty-two stakeholder interviews in a study of AI adoption for Innovate UK.

How you’ll experience it

You give me an hour and your introductions. I do the work in the gaps. Two weeks from your go-ahead, we walk through your collective position together.

Your challengean hourthe top flooracrossthe tableoverseasyourintroductionsthe gapstwo weekstogether

here’s how, in five steps

1 · Framing

Initial research

the challengewho’s involvedthe organisation

Together we sharpen your position

Your challengethe top floornext doorthe shop flooracrossthe tableoverseasdown the line? ? ?questionspartiestiming
the framing hour · the first hour’s on me

Proposal→your go-ahead

two weeks from heretwo weeksyour go-aheadframing
the proposalthe interviewstructureListeningthe lensAnalysiswhat the analysis looks for,agreed before anyone is heard
What goes wrong

1 · Framing · what goes wrong

The hardest part

Each room starts from its own version of the problem, so the first meeting is spent agreeing what the meeting is for.

the problemthe problemthe problemthe problem?what’s this meeting for?

2 · Listening

The Opening

with you, and the parties if you choose · your introductions · the process, set out

you

I hear each party in depth

an hour each · six to eight · week one

the top floorit has to add upnext doorwhat’s in itfor us?the shop floorit has to workon the flooracrossthe tablewe’ve heardthis beforeoverseaswe hear lastdown the lineit landson usthe one nobody's askedsince you ask…

Every conversation follows the interview structure built at framing

in their own words

What goes wrong

2 · Listening · what goes wrong

The safe version

Put everyone in one room and you hear what’s safe to say in front of everyone.

agreedagreedfine by usmakes senseagreedagreed…

3 · Analysis

Mapped against the lens we set at framing

wantsofferswhat mustbe in placewho theynameeach traced to who said it

Held as your baseline position

where views meet · where they part

where views meetwhere they partyour baseline position

Every new voice builds on it

shared positions gather into groups

a new voicegroupgroupgroup

the groups that can act together

What goes wrong

3 · Analysis · what goes wrong

The pile

The notes grow faster than anyone can hold them side by side, so the last conversation heard becomes the conclusion.

the last conversation heardtheconclusion

4 · Interpretation

I bring what I heard in the room

where the energy is · what went unsaid

wantsofferswhat mustbe in placewho theynamewhere the energy iswhat went unsaid

The findings, weighed across the group

the system suggests · I judge

the system suggestsI judge

A roadmap from your baseline

convenehearanalyseinterpretreconvenethe work between meetings
What goes wrong

4 · Interpretation · what goes wrong

The inside view

Summarised from the inside, the position leans the way its writers already lean, and nobody can trace how it got there.

5 · Brief

The collective position

5 · Brief

The plan

the groups that can act together · first steps dated

The proof

every point traced to who said it

we walk through it together

and the full working, if you want it

In the open: the method at work on a public question, every source on show.

What goes wrong

5 · Brief · what goes wrong

The shelf

A position with no plan, or a plan nobody agreed to, ends up on a shelf.

positionplanplan (final)plan (final 2)position, agreed?next steps

Beyond

Back to the room, together

you + everyone heard · the findings · the way forward

youthe findingsthe wayforward

A lead for each group

I frame again with each lead · from the group’s foundation

the roomtheir challengetheir challengetheir challenge

The same cycle, at scale

new voices · convene→hear→reconvene

It begins with your challenge

What goes wrong

Beyond · what goes wrong

The long corridor

The meetings keep coming round, because the work between them never gets done in depth.

meetingmeetingand round again

Connect

  • It begins with your challenge
  • Book your framing hour
Open

It begins with your challenge

Your challenge
  • A complex project or decision.
  • A deadline, or a moment that won’t wait.
  • A distributed set of people whose views you need.

That’s where I come into my own.

take control in two weeks

Book your framing hour

the first hour’s on me

Pick a time · UK time

other times→

Easiest said out loud: tap the mic on your keyboard and talk it through in a minute.

talk to it

see the output for yourself

impactflow · Impactflow Limited · Registered in England and Wales · Company number 12929079 · Privacy