Solved in the Room

Hitting the ground running & measuring the unmeasurable

This document summarises our Spring 2026 problem-solving discussions. It brings together the collective intelligence, experiences and commentary of this exclusive community of UK business leaders.

Co-authored by the Accomplish More community and Acora

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Across both discussions, a set of consistent themes emerged that cut across seniority, sector and function.

On starting a new senior role, the group’s strongest advice was to resist the pull towards immediate action and instead invest in understanding first. Capability mapping, a high-level view of what the organisation does and who owns what, proved more valuable than process mapping as an early tool, because it is collaborative, non-threatening and quickly reveals where accountability is unclear. Setting clear boundaries early, establishing governance structures and distilling a concise narrative about why you are there were identified as the behaviours that prevent new leaders from being locked into a subservient dynamic they will struggle to escape.

On measuring intangible value, the group reached a shared and somewhat liberating conclusion: there is no single framework, and pretending otherwise is part of the problem. The more productive question is not “how do we measure everything?” but “what is the most credible evidence available for this type of benefit?” Risk reduction is best framed as insurance. People and culture change is best tracked through pulse surveys with clear baselines. Strategic and reputational value is best communicated through structured storytelling that makes the cost of inaction personal and vivid.

In both discussions, the group’s most useful moments came not from theory but from direct personal experience: the contracts that were cut because a team’s value was intangible and therefore invisible; the security investment justified not with a financial model but with “now I can sleep at night”; the CIO with 4,000 staff who knew a junior colleague’s name because he’d been briefed. These are the moments that shift thinking.