You’re booked. See you on the call.
20-minute working conversation with Michael Williamson. Your calendar invite is in your inbox — Zoom link inside. Below: what to expect, what to prepare, and the frameworks we’ll likely touch.
20-minute introduction call
- WhenSee the time confirmed in your inbox
- WhereZoom — link inside your Calendly invite
- WithMichael Williamson, Founder of Formalus
Need to reschedule? Use the link in your Calendly confirmation email — no need to email us.
Direct to the founder, not an SDR.
The call is with Michael directly. No qualification gauntlet, no handoff. Operator-to-sponsor, twenty minutes.
Michael Williamson
Founder, Formalus
Twenty-five years leading customer-facing transformation. GM, VP, and Chief Product & Marketing Officer across Vodafone Group, O2 Telefónica, Symantec, Staples, Equifax and Helvar. P&L accountability for over £24bn of customer revenue. Operator-grade depth, brought to the mid-market.
Read the full bio →Four things will happen in twenty minutes.
A working conversation, not a sales pitch. You do most of the talking. We end with a clear next step — even if that step is “no engagement needed yet.”
A working conversation
Not a pitch. We’ll discuss where your transformation sits, what’s been committed, and what’s at stake. No deck.
You’ll be asked about
Your current platform programme. Where the team sits today. What was committed to the board. Where you might be exposed.
We’ll find the right next step
L0 free assessment, L1 paid audit, L2 specification, or simply a useful reference. No pressure either way.
It ends with clarity
Whether we work together or not, you leave knowing where your transformation sits — and what the right next move looks like.
Three things to have loosely in mind.
Nothing to write up. No briefing document. No prep call before the prep call. Just three things to think about so the call uses the twenty minutes well.
Your current programme
Where it sits today — pre-decision, mid-build, or recently live. What was committed to the board, and what’s at risk.
One specific question
If you have one. The best calls usually start with: “Here’s what’s worrying me about X.” Otherwise we’ll work from your situation.
Nothing formal
No deck required. No prep document. Twenty minutes, working through your context. Notes optional.
Three frameworks we’ll likely touch.
You don’t need to read these before the call — but a quick scan helps. Each one names something most transformations leave unspecified until it costs them.
The Architecture Map
Four quadrants describing where your transformation sits. Most boards inherit a position rather than choose one. The map names it — and what each position exposes you to.
See the map →Six Dimensions of Commercial Lifecycle Architecture
The six layers beneath every customer journey — from lead intelligence to renewal, with governance as the integrating layer. Each one defined before any platform is selected.
See the methodology →Six Costs of Technology-First Transformation
Rework. Scope creep. Low business benefits realisation. Project delays. Low user acceptance. Board credibility. The six costs that compound when the architecture above the platform is missing.
See the category →You’ve taken the upstream step.
Most mid-market transformations drift in the same place. The architecture above the platform was never defined. The platform gets selected. The implementation partner builds what it was briefed to build. And the gap between the business case and the delivered outcome gets explained at the board — eighteen months later.
This conversation is the upstream version. Twenty minutes now, while the choice still costs nothing, is what most sponsors wish they’d had before the spend was approved. You’ve put yourself ahead of the curve — not behind it.
Architecture Before Technology. The platform wraps around the business, not the other way around.
Worth a glance.
Not required. The call will work fine without any of it. But if you’d like to arrive a step ahead, these three pieces are the best primer.
Commercial Lifecycle Architecture
The six layers, the three laws, and the diagnostic logic underneath every engagement.
Read the methodology → The LadderL0–L3 services
What each tier unlocks. Investment ranges. Decision logic for entering at the right level.
See the services → The WritingInsights
Architectural writing for mid-market sponsors. Why programmes drift. What the data shows.
Browse insights →