Customer Success and Professional Services organisations that grow and keep their margin.
I design and run the operating model behind enterprise services: capacity, utilisation, governance, customer health, and the handoffs between presales, delivery and Customer Success. The aim is growth that does not erode margin or the customer’s trust.
Four axes of a services operating model.
These four decide whether a services organisation can keep growing without burning out the people who built it.
| Axis | What good looks like | What I install | What I measure | What it protects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Roles, geographies and seniority match demand. | Capacity model with utilisation targets per role. | Utilisation · bench · forecast accuracy. | Margin and predictability. |
| Governance | Steering cadence and decision rights are explicit. | Programme + portfolio governance model. | Steering attendance · decision velocity. | Escalations are resolved before they become a crisis. |
| Customer health | Early signal of churn or escalation risk. | Health framework + early-warning routes. | Health score · NRR · executive engagement. | Retention and expansion. |
| Sales handoff | Presales, SOW and delivery work from the same scope. | SOW templates · solution review gates. | SOW change rate · margin variance. | Profitable, deliverable contracts. |
What I work on.
What I review and fix from the first week in a CS or PS leadership role.
Delivery economics
Margin, utilisation, mix, blended rate, and the unit economics of every engagement type.
Capacity & utilisation
Demand curve, role mix, bench policy, geography strategy, and forecast discipline.
Governance cadence
Programme, portfolio, and customer steering. Decision rights and accountable owners.
Customer health
Health framework, executive engagement, renewal risk, referenceability, and NRR signal.
Escalation models
Tiered escalation paths, executive sponsorship, and red-programme recovery playbooks.
Presales / SOW alignment
Solution review gates, SOW templates, deliverability checks, and risk sign-off.
Renewals & expansion
How CS and PS share the work that leads to renewal and, where it fits, expansion.
Organisation design
Structures that absorb growth without breaking governance, margin or culture.