Get the important decision right.
A focused, productised session on the one high-stakes decision in front of you. You bring the decision you are wrestling with. You leave with the real issue named, the trade-offs weighed, the risks surfaced, and a clear written recommendation you can act on. Not open-ended coaching. One decision, made well.
The Decision Kit
Work the decision yourself with the same method and prework I use in sessions.
The Decision Review Session
Ninety minutes one-to-one on your decision, with a written recommendation.
Coaching and advisory
An ongoing thinking partner, available once we have worked together.
The wrong call is the expensive one.
The cost of a session like this is small. The cost of getting a funding round, a pivot, a sale, a hire, or a career move wrong is not. It is usually many times larger, and it lands on you, in money, time, and the life you were trying to build. A few hours of real judgment before you commit is the cheapest insurance you will buy all year.
A working session, not a chat.
Ninety minutes, structured, on your decision. Prework before so we use every minute deciding, not catching up. The same rigorous method every time, drawn from the Captaincy framework, so you always know what you are getting.
Who it is for: founders, executives, investors and senior professionals carrying one high-stakes decision, often under time pressure, and tired of going in circles on it.
- Name the real decision and the issue underneath it
- Map the genuine options, not just yes or no
- Weigh the trade-offs and the risks you have been avoiding
- Separate the fear that is data from the fear that is noise
- Pressure-test where AI and others are quietly steering you
- Land on a clear recommendation you can act on
Everything you need to decide well, in one package.
The Decision Scorecard
Your decision scored across ten dimensions before we meet, so we both walk in knowing exactly where it is strong and where it is exposed.
The 90-minute working session
One-to-one, on your decision, run on the Captaincy method. The thinking, the trade-offs, the call.
A written recommendation
A clear written summary, the analysis, and a recommendation process you keep and come back to. Not notes. A document you can act on.
The relevant frameworks
The specific Captaincy tools and frameworks for your decision, so the value outlasts the hour.
Leave clearer, or your money back.
Complete the prework, show up, and do the work. If you do not leave with a clearer decision than you came in with, I refund the session in full. The only condition is that you turn up and engage. That is how confident I am that this works, and how serious I am about not wasting your time or mine.
Four steps, no mystery.
Book a free fit call
A short call to make sure this is the right fit. I scope your decision and quote by complexity. No obligation, no script.
Confirm and complete the prework
Once we both agree it fits, you confirm the session and complete a focused questionnaire on the decision.
The working session
Ninety minutes on the decision itself: the real issue, the options, the trade-offs, the risks, and where AI and others are shaping your thinking.
Your written recommendation
The summary, the analysis, and a clear recommendation, in writing, to act on and return to.
Judgment you can trust, not another answer.
Earned judgment
Thirty years making high-stakes calls, from intern to General Manager, then as an advisor and investor with skin in the game. Lived, not theorised.
A framework I own
Captaincy is a distinctive methodology for deciding well under uncertainty and pressure. The intellectual property underneath the work, not a generic process.
Built for the AI era
The work takes AI seriously: where to trust it, where it quietly steers you, and how to stay the one who actually decides.
Productised, not open-ended
A clear structure, a clear output, a clear recommendation. You know exactly what you are getting before you book.
Commercial and human
A good decision has to work on the numbers and in your life. We hold both, not just the spreadsheet or just the feelings.
Your call, not mine
I sharpen the thinking and give a clear recommendation. You stay the author of your own decision.
In their words.
“Michael was providing me with the tools to understand my situation, a wise sounding board to reflect my own thoughts and appreciate the importance of my own agency. I became captain of my ship, confidence grew with humility and a clarity of what was important to me. I made the career change without anxiety, I navigated a few serious life events during my journey and am now confident in my job.”
“When I first moved back to New Zealand, I was navigating a major career and life transition, and Michael was an incredibly valuable sounding board. He provided thoughtful, non-judgmental advice that helped me see things more clearly and approach decisions with more confidence. His ability to listen, ask the right questions, and offer practical perspective made a real difference.”
Independently referenced on Founders Signal, where Michael is listed under JTJ Services.
Start with the Decision Kit.
The same method I use in the Decision Review, packaged so you can work the decision on your own, for the price of a book, not an advisor.
Work through it and you will have done the hardest part: naming the real decision and seeing where it is exposed. If you then want a second brain on it, you arrive at the session already prepared.
Nearly ready. Leave your email and you will be first to know, no spam.
- The Decision Workbook: the structured prework I use with session clients, step by step
- The ten decision dimensions, in depth: what each one catches and how to strengthen it
- A video of Michael walking the whole method on a real decision
- The Captaincy frameworks and prompts to keep for every future decision
Executive coaching and advisory.
Some people want a thinking partner on call, not just for one decision. Once we have worked together, an ongoing relationship is available: regular sessions, judgment when the consequential calls come, and a steady hand on the bigger picture over time. Scoped on the fit call.
“Over six months, Michael and I met weekly and worked through his Captaincy framework. His approach wasn’t about squeezing more into an already full life. He helped me step back, gain perspective and realign my priorities around the things that matter most. Michael helped me navigate several high-pressure, emotionally charged situations with greater perspective and composure. More than anything, he helped me respond thoughtfully rather than simply react. Two years later, we still speak regularly. If you appear successful on the outside but feel overwhelmed or out of balance, I cannot recommend him highly enough.”
“I have worked with Michael for the last three or four years, most recently through his new short-form programme. What I have always valued about working with Michael is the quality of his listening. He listens properly, picks up on what is really being said, and helps slow things down enough to think clearly. At the same time, the conversations never drift. He is very good at keeping things moving towards the decisions that actually need to be made.”
Before you book.
What does it cost?+−
There is no fixed price tag, because every decision is different. We scope yours on a free fit call and I quote by complexity. The right way to weigh the cost is against the cost of getting the decision wrong, which is usually many times larger, not against the clock.
Why a fit call first, instead of just booking?+−
Because this only works when it is the right decision and the right fit. The call lets me understand what you are deciding, make sure I can genuinely help, and quote properly. If it is not a fit, I will tell you, and point you somewhere better.
Is this coaching or consulting?+−
Neither, exactly. It is decision advisory. I bring an operator's judgment and an outside perspective to one important decision and give you a clear recommendation. For an ongoing relationship, executive coaching and advisory are available once we have worked together.
What if it doesn't help?+−
Complete the prework, attend, and do the work, and if you do not leave with a clearer decision, I refund the session in full.
What kinds of decisions is this for?+−
High-stakes calls where getting it wrong is expensive: a funding round or pivot, a major hire or co-founder question, a promotion or transition, a business sale, going independent, or a significant life and work redesign.
What is the Decision Kit?+−
A $49 USD self-serve package for working a decision on your own: the structured prework workbook, a deep-dive on the ten decision dimensions, and a video of me walking through the method. It is the right starting point if you are not ready for a session. It is nearly ready; leave your email on this page and I will tell you the moment it is live.
Do I need to know the Captaincy framework first?+−
No. Captaincy is the method underneath the work. You will experience it in the session without having to study it.
Carrying an important decision?
Book a free fit call, or start free with the Decision Scorecard. Either way, you will leave clearer than you came.