Commercial capability and sustainability for mission-based organisations
Commercial capability that protects the mission, not just the bottom line.
I support mission-based, patient and user-centred organisations to build commercial capability across the organisations and teams, so sustainability becomes everyone's job and the purpose stays protected.
Free no-obligation chat See how I workWhat I do
Purpose and sustainability, held together
I work with mission-based organisations: the ones that exist to serve patients, service users, members or a community, and what these organisations share is a purpose that has to be protected while the organisation remains financially sustainable. I support organisations to remain or become financially sustainable.
The delivery and functional commercial part still applies, for example tendering, diversification, contract negotiation, efficiencies, commercial processes and systems. But the organisations that stay sustainable are the ones where commercial capability sits with everyone, not just the chief executive or a lone business development lead. That is what I build with you.
Commercial capability
What it is, and why it protects the mission
Commercial capability is the ability to stay sustainable held across the organisation, not just by the chief executive. It is knowing where the money comes from, what things cost, the 'market', what your buyers, commissioners and funders value, and where the risks and opportunities sit, and treating that as everyone's responsibility rather than the job of one or two people.
It is the term the public sector already uses. The Government Commercial Function, the standard GovS 008 and the NHS commercial capability programme all treat it as a real, assessable property of an organisation, not a soft skill. That is how I treat it too: something you can measure, build and keep.
For a mission-based organisation, being commercial is how you protect the mission. Staying solvent, staying relevant, spending every pound where it delivers the most value. A commercial function that rests on one or two people is fragile, and it treats income as something separate from purpose. The organisations that last treat commercial judgement as everyone's job, and as a way of defending what they exist to do. I support you to get there without asking you to become something you are not.
How I work
Four stages. Take one, take some, or take all four.
The stages connect, but they are not a single package you have to buy end to end. Some clients take a single stage. Some take all four. You choose what fits the problem and the budget.
Stage one
Assess
I look at the organisation from the inside and the outside. Inside: the numbers, the contracts, costs, income, the strategy, recent board papers, service and product development, culture and innovation, interviews with the board, teams and staff, a map of how one real commercial decision moves through the organisation, capability and capacity. Outside: the market you work in, your buyers, commissioners and funders, the competition, and the wider risks and opportunities, brought together in a quantified and qualified organisational and 'market' assessment the board can act on.
You get: a commercial capability assessment, internal and external, with a prioritised set of actions you can take forward with or without me.
Stage two
Design
Working with your board and leadership, we agree on the implementation of the report, or elements of this, from workforce development to business planning. The target skills and behaviours, the priorities, the early wins, and how we will measure progress so it is visible rather than just felt.
You get: for example, a business capability development plan with clear measures and named owners.
Stage three
Build
We work on real commercial tasks together that deliver, for example, a revenue opportunity, a live tender, a service redesign, a pricing or cost review. The output gets delivered, and the capability transfers because your teams and staff are working with me, not watching me do it. Alongside the result, your organisation retains the learning, the processes and systems that support future decision making and, for example, tenders, costing, commercial decision making and business planning.
You get: the functional result you needed, and a team that can replicate it without my support.
Stage four
Sustain
We put in the governance processes, including business planning and performance measures aligned to roles and responsibilities that embed the plan and the commercial capability, and I reassess progress against the actions we set at six and twelve months.
You get: proof of movement, and a way of working that keeps the capability alive.
What I deliver
Examples of what I can deliver for your organisation
Applying and embedding commercial capability is complex and takes time. Work usually falls into six areas, and any of them can sit inside a stage or stand on its own.
See what I deliver in full, and how it is packaged →Case studies
The same approach, taken to the depth each organisation needed
Each engagement used a different combination of stages, from a single assessment to a full four-stage programme.
Recent and past clients include Locala Health and Wellbeing CIC, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, Anthony Nolan, Haringey GP Federation and One Norwich Practices.
Read the case studies →Contact
Let's have a free, no-obligation chat
Contract renewal approaching, financial pressure building, a bid to win, or a service to mobilise. Tell me a little about your situation and I will come back within one working day. No pitch, and no obligation.
tim@beeleyfoxadvisory.co.uk · 07941 871505