How to read this playbook
This is the workshop built out — not the agenda, but what the agenda produces when you actually run it. Each of the five blocks below is populated end to end: the facilitation flow (minute by minute), the framework filled in, and a worked output for Rainbow showing the kind of artifact the room should walk away with.
How this playbook uses "Rainbow"
Rainbow is the codename for taking a signature bespoke advisory capability and turning it into a productized, tiered, repeatable service. The agenda's own language — pain point → segmentation → productization → operational readiness → future innovation — is a classic service-productization sprint, and that is the spine of this playbook.
To make the method visible it is instantiated concretely as "Rainbow Readiness" — a diagnostic-led advisory for mid-market leaders (£50m–£500m revenue) about to commit to a major transformation, with no fast, reliable way to know whether their organization is actually ready to absorb it. Every worked box is illustrative and fully editable — re-skin it for the capability your workshop is productizing.
Run-of-show
A clean, non-overlapping timing, with facilitator ownership as placeholders to assign. Every workshop is different — set your own start time and block lengths below and the whole playbook (this table, the block headers, the header chip) re-times itself. Your timing is saved in this browser.
| Time | Block | Focus | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:15–10:35 20 min | Defining the Client Pain Point | Empathy & value props | [Lead A] |
| 10:35–11:00 25 min | Persona & Worldview Mapping | Market segmentation | [Lead B] |
| 11:00–11:20 20 min | Service Productization | Product roadmap | [Lead A] |
| 11:20–11:40 20 min | Operational Readiness & Integration | Scaling infrastructure | [Lead B] |
| 11:40–12:00 20 min | Pink Space Ideation | Future innovation | [Both] |
Note on "Pink Space": the house name for unconstrained, over-the-horizon ideation — the "what could this become in 3 years" space, cousin to blue-sky / white-space thinking.
The golden thread
The workshop only works if each block consumes the output of the last. Here's the chain of custody for a single insight as it travels the room:
- Pain point — "Leaders commit to transformation blind to whether their org can absorb it." → becomes the problem statement.
- Persona — We locate who feels that pain most acutely and can act on it: the newly-appointed COO/Transformation Director at a scaling mid-market firm. → becomes the target segment.
- Productization — We package the fix into a tiered offer that segment will actually buy: Diagnostic → Roadmap → Embedded. → becomes the product.
- Operational readiness — We pressure-test whether we can deliver it repeatably and at scale: tooling, talent model, unit economics. → becomes the delivery blueprint.
- Pink space — We ask what this becomes once it's real: data network effects, a benchmark index, a platform play. → becomes the innovation horizon.
Facilitator discipline: at every handoff, physically carry the previous block's headline output onto the next canvas. If a block can't name what it inherited, the thread is broken.
Defining the Client Pain Point
Objective
Leave with one sharp, evidence-anchored problem statement — the single pain Rainbow exists to kill — plus the value we create by killing it.
Output artifact
A completed Pain–Value canvas: 1 problem statement, 3 pains, 3 gains, 1 "if we're right…" hypothesis.
Facilitation flow
Lead A states the rule: no solutions yet. We are only allowed to talk about the client's world and what hurts in it.
Individually, everyone writes real observed client pains on stickies — one per sticky, phrased in the client's voice ("I keep…", "I can't…"). Aim for 5+ each.
Affinity-cluster on the wall. Dot-vote the cluster that is most frequent × painful × unserved.
Convert the winning cluster into one problem statement using the template, and name the value of solving it.
Problem-statement template
"[Persona] trying to [job-to-be-done] is blocked by [pain], which today they work around by [costly workaround]. It matters because [consequence]."
Pain–Value canvas — Rainbow Readiness
Problem statement: A newly-appointed transformation owner trying to de-risk a board-mandated transformation is blocked by having no fast, credible read on whether the organization can actually absorb the change, which today they work around by commissioning a slow, bespoke, six-figure assessment or simply pressing "go" and hoping. It matters because ~70% of large transformations under-deliver, and the failure is visible 18 months too late.
| Top 3 client pains | Top 3 gains if solved |
|---|---|
| "I'm accountable for a number I can't yet defend." | Board-ready confidence in weeks, not quarters. |
| "Every readiness review is bespoke, slow and expensive." | A repeatable, benchmarked answer at a fraction of the cost. |
| "I find out we weren't ready only after we've spent the money." | Early warning — fix the gaps before they compound. |
"If we're right…" hypothesis: If we can give transformation owners a credible readiness verdict in under 3 weeks, they will pay for it as the mandatory first gate of any major programme.
Facilitator power questions
- Whose pain is this, exactly — and would they recognize these words?
- What does the client do today instead? (The workaround is the real competitor.)
- Is this a vitamin or a painkiller? If nobody's bleeding, park it.
Persona & Worldview Mapping
Objective
Turn "the client" into a specific, buyable segment — a primary persona with a worldview, plus the buying-centre around them.
Output artifact
One primary persona card + a segmentation grid naming the beachhead segment and why it's first.
Facilitation flow
Lead B posts Block 1's problem statement. "Who is the person in this sentence?"
In pairs, fill the persona card. Push past demographics into worldview: what they believe, fear, are measured on, and who they answer to.
Around the persona, name the economic buyer, the champion, the blocker, the user. Different pains for each.
Plot candidate segments on the grid (pain intensity × ease of reach). Choose one beachhead and defend it.
Primary persona — "Priya, the Accountable Owner"
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Newly-appointed COO / Chief Transformation Officer, mid-market firm (£50m–£500m rev), 6 months in seat. |
| Job-to-be-done | Deliver a board-mandated transformation without becoming the cautionary tale. |
| Worldview / belief | "Consultants sell me confidence I can't verify. I need proof, fast, that I can put in front of a sceptical board." |
| Measured on | Programme milestones hit, spend vs. business case, retention through change. |
| Fear | Discovering — publicly, late — that the org couldn't absorb what she committed to. |
| Where she looks | Peer CxO networks, a trusted NED, LinkedIn, one or two brand-name advisors. |
Buying centre
| Role | Who | What they care about |
|---|---|---|
| Economic buyer | CEO / CFO | Protecting the transformation investment; downside insurance. |
| Champion | Priya (COO/CTO) | A defensible answer, fast; personal credibility. |
| Blocker | Incumbent Big-4 partner | Protecting the larger bespoke engagement. |
| User | Transformation PMO lead | Something actionable, not a shelf-ware deck. |
Segmentation grid — beachhead decision
| Segment | Pain intensity | Ease of reach | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-market, PE-backed, mid-transformation | High — PE clock is ticking | High — PE portfolio intros | ✅ Beachhead |
| Large enterprise | High | Low — long cycles, incumbents | Later |
| Public sector | Medium | Low — procurement drag | Park |
Beachhead rationale: PE-backed mid-market firms have an owner with urgency, a value-creation plan with a deadline, and a warm introduction path through the PE sponsor — highest pain, easiest reach.
Facilitator power questions
- Would Priya pay with her own budget, or does she need the CFO? (Find the money.)
- What does she believe that makes our pitch land — or bounce?
- If we can only win one segment this year, is this the one that unlocks the next?
Service Productization
Objective
Convert a bespoke capability into a product: a named, tiered, priced offer with a fixed scope and a clear "what you get."
Output artifact
A 3-tier product ladder (Good / Better / Best) + a 3-horizon roadmap.
Facilitation flow
Lead A restates persona + willingness-to-pay signal from Block 2.
Force the bespoke service into 3 fixed tiers. For each: name, scope, deliverable, price band, entry point. Ruthlessly cut anything bespoke.
Which tier is the low-friction land? Design the "yes" that opens the door to the rest.
Now / Next / Later — what ships v1, what's fast-follow, what's aspirational.
Rainbow Readiness — product ladder
| Tier | What it is | Deliverable | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|
| ① Pulse the wedge | 2-week diagnostic — fixed scope, 8 dimensions of readiness, benchmarked. | Readiness scorecard + red-flag memo + board slide. | £15–25k |
| ② Roadmap | Pulse + a prioritized 90-day gap-closure plan with owners & sequencing. | Scorecard + intervention roadmap + exec workshop. | £45–75k |
| ③ Embedded | Roadmap + fractional readiness lead through the first programme gate. | Ongoing advisory + quarterly re-score. | £20k+/mo |
The wedge: Pulse is the low-risk "yes" — small enough for Priya to approve without a CFO fight, fast enough to matter, and it produces the evidence that sells tier 2 and 3. Land with Pulse, expand into Roadmap/Embedded.
Roadmap — three horizons
| Now (v1, this quarter) | Next (2 quarters) | Later (12 mo+) |
|---|---|---|
| Pulse tier, hand-run by senior team; standardized scorecard & 8-dimension model. | Roadmap tier; partial tooling of the diagnostic; first PE-portfolio rollout. | Embedded tier at scale; self-serve intake; benchmark dataset as an asset. |
Facilitator power questions
- What are we refusing to do? A product is defined by its edges.
- What's the smallest version Priya says yes to on Friday?
- Where does bespoke sneak back in — and how do we design it out?
Operational Readiness & Integration
Objective
Stress-test delivery. What has to be true — in people, process, tooling, and economics — for the product to scale without eroding quality or margin?
Output artifact
A readiness heat-map (what's ready / at-risk / missing) + the top 3 things to build first.
Facilitation flow
Lead B posts the product ladder. "We just sold 10 Pulses this quarter. What breaks?"
Walk the 4 lanes — Talent, Process, Tooling/Data, Economics. RAG-rate each capability.
Name the single binding bottleneck to scale. Everything else is secondary.
Pick the 3 investments that move the most red to green.
Rainbow Readiness — operational heat-map
| Lane | Capability needed | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Talent | Senior diagnostic leads (scarce, expensive) | 🔴 At risk — the constraint |
| Trained analyst pool to run standardized scorecard | 🟠 Partial | |
| Process | Fixed 2-week delivery playbook, repeatable | 🟢 Ready (drafted) |
| Quality gate / peer review to protect brand | 🟠 Partial | |
| Tooling & Data | Diagnostic instrument + auto-scored benchmark | 🔴 Missing |
| Client intake & reporting templates | 🟢 Ready | |
| Economics | Target gross margin ≥55% at Pulse price | 🟠 At risk until leads are leveraged |
Binding constraint: senior diagnostic leads. The whole model collapses back to bespoke if every Pulse needs a partner. Scale = leverage.
Build first (top 3)
- Productize the instrument — turn the 8-dimension model into a tooled, auto-scored diagnostic so analysts run 80% of it.
- Leverage model + academy — 1 lead : 3 analysts; a 2-week certification so the pool scales.
- Quality gate — a lightweight peer-review checkpoint that protects the brand as volume rises.
Facilitator power questions
- What's the one thing that, if it broke, stops everything? Fund that first.
- Where are we still paying partner rates to do analyst work?
- At 10× volume, what quietly destroys the margin — or the brand?
Pink Space Ideation
Objective
Lift out of delivery mode. Given everything the product generates — data, relationships, reputation — imagine what Rainbow becomes in 3 years. Diverge wide, then place one bet.
Output artifact
3–5 Pink Space concepts + one chosen "horizon bet" with a first experiment.
Facilitation flow
"Constraints off. It's 2029, Rainbow is famous. What is it now?" Every "no, because" is banned; only "yes, and".
Provocation cards — What if the data was the product? What if clients ran it themselves? What if it became a standard? Generate wild concepts.
Group into 3–5 concepts. Give each a headline and a one-line "why it could be huge".
Pick the concept with the best upside × learnability. Define the smallest experiment to test it in 90 days.
Pink Space concepts — Rainbow
| Concept | The idea | Why it could be huge |
|---|---|---|
| The Readiness Index | Every Pulse feeds an anonymized benchmark. Publish an annual "State of Transformation Readiness" index. | Owns the category; each engagement makes the dataset — and the next sale — stronger. Data network effect. |
| Rainbow-in-a-box | Self-serve diagnostic PE firms run across a whole portfolio. | Recurring, high-margin licence; scales past the talent constraint entirely. |
| The Readiness Standard | Rainbow score becomes the covenant lenders/boards require before releasing transformation capital. | Embeds us into the deal — a toll on every transformation, not a project. |
| Predict & prevent | Model that forecasts programme failure from readiness signals + live delivery data. | Moves from diagnosis to insurance — a fundamentally bigger value pool. |
Horizon bet: The Readiness Index. It's the flywheel that makes every other concept possible. First 90-day experiment: instrument the next 10 Pulses to a common schema, publish a one-page anonymized benchmark, and test whether "see how you compare" raises Pulse→Roadmap conversion.
Facilitator power questions
- What by-product of delivery is quietly more valuable than the delivery itself?
- If a competitor wanted to kill us in 3 years, what would they build?
- Which bet, if it works, makes the talent constraint irrelevant?
Facilitator prep & materials
🖨 Print the 5 wall canvases⬇ Facilitator deck (PPTX, 9 slides)
Facilitators
One leads, one captures & times.
Wall canvases
One per block, pre-printed A0.
Visible timer
Blocks are tight — hold time hard.
Carry-forward wall
Each block's headline stays visible.
Pre-reads to send participants
- This playbook (or a 1-page version) — so no one arrives cold on the flow.
- 3–5 real client anecdotes / quotes to seed Block 1's empathy work with evidence, not opinion.
- Any existing win/loss or pipeline data on the candidate segments for Block 2.
Common failure modes to guard against
- Solutioning in Block 1 — the room jumps to the product before the pain is sharp. Enforce the no-solutions rule.
- Persona as demographics — "45-year-old exec" tells you nothing. Push for worldview and fear.
- Bespoke creep in Block 3 — "it depends" is the enemy of a product. Force fixed scope.
- Optimism in Block 4 — teams love the sale, hate the delivery math. Make someone argue it breaks.
- Pink Space as roadmap — Block 5 is not "next quarter." If it's fundable now, it's not big enough.