Felix Riley
Special Advisor

Special Advisors.  Presidents have them, Prime Ministers have them, and CEOs have them.  Executives need to be able to think away from the daily noise and demands of their operations, but they also need that thinking sense-checked, challenged - and supported.  

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Edward De Bono, inventor of the term 'Lateral Thinking,' said, "Humour is by far the most significant phenomenon in the human mind."  Before a career in business, I was a comedy writer and De Bono is right:  we think differently - very differently.  But from my subsequent time in business, ​I also know what it is to set out with grand plans and ambitions only to occasionally get stuck in a rut, to think defensively, to over-worry about outcomes - to even become paralysed by events.  And I know how destructive such thinking is.  That's why I became a Special Advisor:  To be the person I wish I had had in my life when I was running my businesses.

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What is my approach to the role of Special Advisor?  I get my clients from a 'playing not to lose' mindset to a 'playing to win' mindset.  I do this in three steps - agitation, imagination and motivation: 

1. Agitation.  I ask the difficult questions that take my clients out of their comfort zones, to break through the thinking they find themselves stuck in.

2. Imagination.  Then we put every idea on the table with a brainstorm that arrives at bigger and bolder decisions.

3. Motivation.  Finally, if needed, I give my clients the confidence required - the shot in the arm - to go and execute on their new plans.

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My approach has generated millions of pounds in growth for my clients.  It's hard running companies and organisations.  Leaders need and deserve support.  That's where I come in.