Practical business advice, with a fresh set of eyes.
Every business has a story. Some are tidy. Some have a plan, a spreadsheet, a few war wounds and a suspiciously large number of “temporary” fixes that have somehow become permanent.
Perceptual Consultants helps business owners, leaders and teams step back from the daily noise and work out what is really going on.
Built, grown, sold, advised, and still close to the coalface.
Andy began his career in IT, managing a wide-area network for airport retail locations across Europe on behalf of a major international airline. It was a good training ground: multiple countries, complex systems, tight deadlines, and very little room for “she’ll be right” unless it actually would be right.
He later became a director of a UK manufacturing business, helped grow its controls and export activity, and was part of the journey through to a successful sale in 2015. After that he joined a Swiss blue-chip corporation, working on global business strategy for flagship products.
Today, Andy advises selected clients while also running an online New Zealand retail business. That matters. It keeps the advice connected to customers, stock, margins, suppliers, cashflow and the glorious daily nonsense of actually running something.
The useful version of experience
- Airport retail IT across Europe
- UK manufacturing director experience
- Export, controls and commercial growth
- Global strategy in a Swiss blue-chip environment
- Owner-led e-commerce growth in New Zealand
Not just “I once saw a dashboard”. Actual business scar tissue.
Two small stories explain more than a polished CV.
The common thread is simple: look carefully at the system, question the obvious answer, and find the practical path that avoids unnecessary drama.
The airport till challenge
During the euro changeover, the obvious plan was to manually reconfigure airport tills overnight. The better answer was hiding in the system: set the euro as default in advance, treat the old currency as foreign until midnight, test early, and avoid the midnight drama.
That is the kind of problem Andy likes: not working harder, but seeing the system clearly enough to avoid work that never needed to exist.
The supermarket illusion
UK supermarkets all claimed to be cheapest. A little suspicious, given maths had not resigned. The trick was in the basket comparison: your trolley was compared elsewhere exactly as bought, even when specials caused you to buy things you otherwise would not.
It was annoying. It was also clever. Mildly offensive, but clever.
What you will not get
- A 90-page deck that looks expensive and says very little
- Jargon hiding where clear thinking should be
- Advice that ignores cash, customers or the people doing the work
- A template answer looking for a victim
What you should get
- Sharper questions
- Clearer options
- Plain-English recommendations
- Practical next steps
- A useful conversation before anything becomes a project