The Story Behind Capability Core

I grew up watching my family's engineering company thrive. It was a solid business in the 1970s — about 50 employees, known for quality work and loyal clients.

But then came the oil crisis.

Overnight, energy prices spiked. Supply chains faltered. The economic downturn hit hard. And bad advice from trusted advisors compounded the damage.

The business that once supported so many families crumbled.

We lost everything. My family had to sell the house, the cars — even simple things like a Switch card became out of reach. For a long time, the scars of that collapse shaped how I thought about business resilience.

In the 1990s, my father — a highly skilled engineer — started a new company. This toolmaking business was smaller but showed real promise.

Clients included Jaguar Racing and Rank Xerox. Repeat orders came in, and the future looked bright.

But the company was built on my father's rare skill set. It was difficult to find engineers of his calibre to scale the operation.

Then tragedy struck.

He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Later, confusingly, it became non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Despite brutal treatments, he kept the business running as long as he could.

Six months later, he passed away at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

My uncle tried to keep the company afloat, but without my father's expertise, it had to be sold.

These experiences showed me what happens when organisations lack visibility into their own capability weaknesses — and what can happen when they rely too much on key individuals or outdated practices.

I built Capability Core to give business leaders the tools we never had:

• ✅The ability to see hidden risks early
• ✅Evidence-based insights to guide transformation
• ✅A clear path to resilience and growth

Because no leader should have to watch their life's work unravel without warning.