Over the last decade, I’ve worked with more than 1,000 teams, from high-growth startups at Imperial College London to global brands like Google and American Express.

My content on the Business Model Canvas has reached over 325,000 views on YouTube, helping leaders worldwide rethink how they create, deliver, and capture value.

Time and time again, I see the same situation.
Talented teams working hard.
But on the wrong things.

Why?

Because the plan isn’t clear.

It’s buried in slide decks.
It lives in the leader's head.
The team can’t see it or follow it.

When that happens, they loses focus, waste energy and miss the biggest opportunities.

I believe strategy works best when it’s inclusive.

The most successful leaders don’t try to have all the answers. They make sure their whole team can see the big picture and they encourage everyone to contribute their best ideas.

That’s why I use visual tools like the Business Model Canvas.

They make strategy simple, visual and actionable for everybody. They turn passive team members into active co-creators of the future. That way, your team is truly with you and committed to the same future you are. When that happens, you're ready to do the best work of your life.

Leaders bring me in when:
→ Growth has slowed down 
→ The old playbook no longer works 
→ Teams are pulling in different directions
→ People are busy, but not getting results
→ A big launch or change is coming (it's high risk)
→ There’s no proof customers will buy the next idea

I was personally trained by Alex Osterwalder.
He's the creator of the Business Model Canvas.
It's a visual strategy tool trusted by millions globally.

"I enjoy working with Nick. I'm confident you will too."
– Alex Osterwalder, Founder & CEO, Strategyzer

Where do we start?

It’s called The Business Model Power Hour.

In 60 minutes, we will:

→ Map your business on one page
→ Identify what’s working and what’s not
→ Decide what to prioritise for the next 90 days
→ Create a plan your team can see and follow

Clients often tell me it’s the most valuable hour they’ve ever spent on their business.

Most then move on to do a 12-Week Sprint.

This is where we:

→ Stress-test your business model
→ Adapt to what customers want now
→ Build evidence for your big decisions
→ Align culture with strategy

By the end, you’ll have a plan that works in today’s market and a team ready to deliver it.

If you want clarity, alignment and a plan your whole team can use tomorrow, then click the link in my Featured section below.

Nick Himowicz

Have you ever noticed how the Business Model Canvas looks a bit like a tennis court?

I don’t know whether the layout was intentionally inspired by tennis but I’m not sure it matters.

What does matter is the effect.

The canvas feels familiar the moment you see it.

→ A centre
→ Two sides
→ Clear boundaries

Even if you’ve never used it before, it doesn’t feel alien.

Familiarity lowers the cognitive barrier. When something feels easy to pick up, it’s easier to adopt which might be one of the reasons why millions of people use it to start, grow, and pivot their companies.

This reminds me of the Tesla story.
The Model S was radical on the inside:
→ Electric drivetrain
→ Software-first
→ Over-the-air updates

But on the outside, it looked like a normal car.

This wasn’t accidental.

By making it look familiar, Tesla made it easier for people to say yes.
Only after mass adoption did Tesla feel able to release something that looked like it came from another planet (the Cybertruck.)

There’s a pattern here.
Early stage = new inside + familiar outside.
Later stage =  distinctiveness becomes the advantage

So the real question isn’t about canvases or cars or tennis courts.

What stage are you at?

Are you building something genuinely new and struggling with adoption?
You might need to make it feel more familiar, not more impressive.

Or are people already adopting your product at scale?
Maybe now is the moment to do something unmistakably out of the ordinary.

Familiarity can help people say yes.
Difference helps them remember why they chose you.
The trick is knowing which one you need right now.

Side-by-side comparison of the Business Model Canvas layout and a tennis court diagram, highlighting their similar structure.

Hi, I'm David. I'm The Strategy Coach for CEOs, C-Suite executives, and founders at the world's top organisations. I've worked with more than 50 CEOs and hundreds of executives over nearly 30 years. 

I write about strategy, leadership, and culture in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Review, Strategy+Business, Fast Company, and Forbes. I'm quoted in the Wall Street Journal, FT, Times and the Guardian.

This is how I can help you:

👋 Executive Coaching and Advisory.

Typically, you are new in role or transitioning, facing:

▶️ Exciting growth opportunities
▶️ Complex customer dynamics
▶️ A missing or incoherent strategy
▶️ An underperforming leadership team
▶️ Investors with high expectations
▶️ A bureaucratic, undiverse culture

You want to be inspiring, inclusive, and compassionate. 

But where do you start? And how do you master the mindsets and practices required?

▶️ Learn about my services at: https://strategyshift.co.uk/services/

In retained contracts (6 months+) I provide: catalyst sessions, exercises, blueprints (e.g. for vision, strategy, culture), role-plays and rehearsals, invitations to peers and other professionals. 

Clients include: the BBC, Microsoft, the Guardian, CBRE, Oak Foundation, NBC Universal, ManpowerGroup.

👋 Topics include:

▶️  Strategic thinking and doing.
▶️  Board/Exco impact and dynamics.
▶️  Decision-making.
▶️  Integration of strategy and culture.
▶️  Overcoming inner obstacles to growth.
▶️  Dealing with challenging stakeholders.

👋 Expect big results:

☑ Organisation: profitable growth, new capabilities, greater resilience.

☑ You: greater fulfillment, financial reward, reputation, wellbeing.

👋 Perspectives

I believe passionately in sharing my expertise, ideas, and learning. 

▶️ Writing: https://davidlancefield.com/writing/. 

Sign up to my:

▶️ Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter: https://davidlancefield.com/newsletter/

▶️ Lancefield on the Line podcast in which I interview the world's best executives, enterpreneurs, and management thinkers: https://davidlancefield.com/lancefield-on-the-line/

👋 About me

I'm curious, creative, courageous. Intellect with intuition, reflection with action, compassion with clarity.

I’ve taken risks and overcome challenges in my professional and personal life — including the care of a disabled child — in pursuit of growth and opportunity. 

▶️ Former senior partner in Strategy&/PwC.
▶️ Guest lecturer at the London Business School.
▶️ Distinction in MSc Economics (Warwick) and Meyler Campbell Mastered coaching. 

Reach out to me at david@davidlancefield.com

David Lancefield

"We've got to act now, otherwise we'll be swept away" is usually lazy thinking, argues Prof Julian Birkinshaw, Dean of Ivey Business School at Western University.

Beware of the hype - especially from the consultants (!) - when it comes to digital transformation, esp. involving AI.

A fascinating, stimulating conversation for the first episode of my Lancefield on the Line podcast for 2026.

We talk about:

- Myths that distort the digital disruption narrative.
- Data revealing incumbent companies’ hidden resilience.
- Building a digital mindset across established organisations.
- Balancing present performance with future opportunity.
- Why “fast-second” often beats first-mover advantage.
- Inspiring innovation with symbolic leadership actions.
- Low-cost experiments that signal serious intent.
- Managing change without rushing major decisions.
- Generative AI’s real impact on business schools.

I love how Julian is practising what he researches as he pursues an AI-enabled strategy for his business school.

Leadership right there.

Check it out below via the link.

Strategy advisor & Exec Coach | Helping CEOs/CXOs perform at their best (transitions, first 100 days, decisions). | Founder, Strategy Shift I HBR Contributor I LinkedIn Top Voice 24/25 I LBS Guest Lecturer I Podcast Host

Who will you surround yourself with in 2026 and beyond?

My focus is on being with INTERESTING AND INTERESTED people.
Less time with TOXIC TAKERS.

Here's what I mean:

Interesting can mean many things. Ideas, perspectives, provocations. 
Or their background, style, or outlook on life.

Interested, frankly, means being curious about me and those around me.

You can tell when you’re with people like this. 
There’s a fizz in the conversation. They ask questions of you and you of them. You look forward to it.

It’s not transactional. Or silent. But stimulating, uplifting.

And TOXIC TAKERS bring negativity, conflict, and emotional drain to others, especially those who are self-centred.

Who will you surround yourself with this year?

Photo: with my parents and brother-in-law who are certainly interesting and interested, in front of some cows (not sure how I'd describe them 😀 )

"The best things come to those who wait", we're often reminded.

But we struggle with patience.
We worry about missing out.
Or being forgotten.
Failing ourselves and others.

The reality of any substantial endeavour is that the journey is full of ups and downs.
You have to overcome obstacles - the practical and the inner.
Practise new skills.
Learn from failure.

And then, often by surprise, you have a breakthrough.
As if it were waiting for the right time to show you.

So, keep going.
Back yourself. 
Check you're on the right path.
Surround yourself with people who lift you.
And get your head down, and do the work.

(Note to self, too).

Image from the Natural History Museum 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition

When does principled leadership tip into being dogmatic?

That's the question when I watched the England Cricket team manager and captain - Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes - talk about the heavy defeat to Australia in the Ashes.

They introduced Bazball, a fearless approach to cricket with high scoring rates, attacking bowlers, and positive intent.

It worked for a while - transforming the confidence and performance of a struggling England team.

But it hasn't worked with the best teams in the world - and in this Ashes series - where you need a more thoughtful, disciplined approach.

Why play reckless shots when you're there to build an innings, and you have time to do so?

This is what I saw and read which spoke to a dogmatic leader:

- Poor preparation (as if they thought they were good enough).
- Insistence on this Bazball approach to the whole team, even when it doesn't suit everyone.
- Little recognition of the mistakes they made.
- Lack of willingness to change their Bazball approach.
- Bringing in people ('yes people' as they've been described) around you who are similar to you; the England team didn't have strong technical batting and bowling coaches (and it showed).

The best quote from McCullum after the defeat: 

"I will not be told what to do by the ECB" (his employer).

I see a lot of leaders in sport and business become dogmatic, especially after enjoying success. They start creating what looks and feels like a cult. 
It becomes their downfall, soon enough.

Effective leaders adapt their mindsets and practices to:

- The SYSTEM they're in (employer, customers, competitors).
- The SEASON they're operating in (the maturity of the team, its performance status).
- The TALENT at their disposal (rather than force-fitting their system to the talent).

What's your best example of a dogmatic leader?

Are you living life on autopilot?

Busy days. Full calendar. The weeks move fast.
You're successful on the outside. 
But wonder if there's more to life. If you could get more control - more agency - over your life.
What might you do? Who might you become?

I want to help people reclaim their identity, get more agency/authorship, and start working and living to their full.

To that end, I’m running a short anonymous global survey for executives, experienced professionals, and coaches to understand:

What shifts in midlife that creates “autopilot”.
What drives it (work, life, internal patterns)
What gets in the way of acting on it
What helps people regain agency and authorship

It takes 5-10 minutes.

Link below in the comments.

The benefit to you?

- This self-assessment might give you an immediate insight or nudge in the right direction.
- I'll share the findings (and recommendations) from this survey if you leave your email.

Do share it with a colleague, client, friend, or family member if you feel it might be relevant to them.

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The Battle

Nick Himowicz

David Lancefield

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Engagements

Likes

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