NOT Instagram Worthy Results
And How Strategic Intelligence Really works
Strategic Intelligence Is — and Is Not
Strategic Intelligence is a tool for risk mitigation and smart decision-making, adapted from Fortune 500 methods tailored for small business. It helps you uncover the real story behind your business and make choices grounded in data, not hype.
It is not a guaranteed, bulletproof growth strategy. It doesn’t give you a checklist or a to-do list to blindly follow. It is a new way of thinking—a dynamic process of interpreting your unique business intelligence in real-time.
It is not a static, once-a-quarter glance at a report. It’s an ongoing mindset shift paired with coaching support, helping you navigate change, test assumptions, and adjust your roadmap as you gain clarity and confidence.
Below are some real client stories—not Instagram-worthy wins- by traditional social media marketing standards- but wins, nonetheless. These are examples of businesses that made courageous, intelligent decisions thanks to Strategic Intelligence, whether that meant pausing growth, pivoting, or even exiting on their own terms.
🥣 The Food Manufacturer Who Didn’t Scale
What they expected: They aimed to expand operations and grow their wholesale distribution rapidly.
What they found: Market volatility and rising ingredient costs made scaling risky and potentially unprofitable.
What they decided: To pause expansion and focus on maintaining small-batch, sustainable production.
How it was best for them: This choice protected their profitability and stability, avoiding costly losses.
💵 The Retailer Who Wasn’t Charging Enough
What they expected: Increasing customer volume would solve their financial struggles.
What they found: Pricing was too low, causing hidden losses despite strong sales.
What they decided: To raise prices strategically based on a detailed financial audit.
How it was best for them: Revenue increased by 42% within months, improving cash flow without new customers.
🏗 The Coach Who Was the Bottleneck
What they expected: Hiring administrative help would free up time for growth.
What they found: Their own role was the system bottleneck limiting capacity.
What they decided: To redesign offerings and workflows to better leverage time and resources.
How it was best for them: They doubled client capacity without added burnout or weekend work.
🪢 The Partnership That Couldn’t Be Saved
What they expected: Their thriving consulting business would continue to grow smoothly.
What they found: Deep misalignment on risk tolerance and decision-making authority threatened the partnership.
What they decided: One partner bought out the other to resolve ongoing conflicts.
How it was best for them: The split avoided further financial and personal damage, allowing each to move forward independently.
Who The Strategi Intelligence Brief is Truly For:
This is for business owners who:
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Are ready to stop guessing and start understanding their business with real data.
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Value clarity over hype, and truth over quick fixes.
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Are courageous enough to make the right decision — even if it’s not the flashiest or fastest path.
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Want a strategic partner who teaches them how to think about their business, not just what to do.
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Know that growth isn’t the only measure of success — sometimes stability, pivot, or even exit is the smartest move.
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Are committed to investing time in learning and applying proven tools over a 90-day engagement.
This is for business owners who are ready to move from guessing to knowing. If you’re seeking clarity, actionable insights, and a strategic partner who equips you with the tools to make informed decisions, the Strategic Intelligence Brief™ is designed for you.
I am amazed at how Dawn spent so much time and detail looking at my business numbers and knowing right where to “dig in” to figure out what was going on. After our conversation, I have a very clear picture of next steps and what I need to do to get my company back on track and I know it’s doable. She showed me based on the numbers what levers I needed to pull and change to make the difference in losing money daily to making money on every sale. This was priceless as I have been trying to figure out what I needed to do and could not find help with this.
Mathea Ford
-Mathea Ford
This isn’t the next bright idea. It’s the system big business has used for decades—finally scaled for yours.
🔍 Strategic Intelligence Pillars™
Where Insight Meets Action
Your business success depends on more than ideas and dashboards. Strategic Intelligence unites four key pillars—designed to work together to create clarity, confidence, and sustainable growth.
🧩 Mechanics: Profit & Capacity Intelligence
Financial and operational intelligence foundations
– How clearly do you understand your numbers, margins, systems, and capacity?
We reveal where money is leaking, margins are thin, and what operational shifts will move the needle. No more mystery—just actionable clarity.
What We Review:
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How you actually make money decisions — cash flow, pricing, profit leaks
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Your real delivery capacity vs. what you think you can deliver
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What truly works vs. what you hope works
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Identifying time, energy, and resource waste
What You Learn:
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Spotting your money habits and financial patterns under stress
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Seeing operational reality clearly vs. assumptions
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Recognizing growth barriers before they become obstacles
How It Fits:
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Your money management and delivery capacity determine what risks you can take and how much you can grow
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This combined insight shapes your financial, operational, and marketing strategies
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Reveals what’s actually possible in your business right now
Quick insight:
We analyze how your financial and operational choices cascade through your business — helping you spot opportunities and constraints early.
🎯 Mission: Customer Intelligence
Customer and competitive intelligence capabilities
– How well do you gather, interpret, and act on what your market and customers are telling you?
You assume customers love your offer—but do you know why they stay… or why they leave?
We uncover your strongest value points and gaps in the customer experience. Then, we show you where loyalty is built—and lost.
What We Review:
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Why customers buy (not just what you think)
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Competitor advantages
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Missed market opportunities
What You Learn:
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Distinguishing what you sell vs. what customers want
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Identifying risk areas for customer loss
How It Fits:
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Knowing customer desires guides sales and investment decisions
Quick insight:
You assume customers love your product — we map why they stay or leave.
✨ Magic: Pricing & Positioning Intelligence
Market and pricing intelligence sophistication
– How aligned is your offer positioning and pricing with your brand, value, and capacity?
Your pricing feels like guesswork.
We’ll help you implement value-based pricing that reflects your real capacity, market demand, and profit goals—so every sale supports sustainability.
What We Review:
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How aligned your offer positioning and pricing are with your brand, value, and capacity
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Sophistication of your market and pricing intelligence
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Why customers buy, competitor positioning, and missed opportunities
What You Learn:
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How your pricing may currently feel like guesswork
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How to implement value-based pricing reflecting real capacity, market demand, and profit goals
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Why the difference between what you sell and what customers want matters
How It Fits:
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Aligning pricing and positioning with your true value unlocks sustainable, profitable growth
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Market intelligence guides smart investments and sales strategies
Quick insight:
Your pricing might feel uncertain — we help turn it into a strategic asset that supports long-term success.
🧠Mindset: Decision Intelligence
Strategic thinking and planning intelligence
– Do you make decisions reactively or from intelligence cycles and long-term vision?
You plan once a year—and panic by Q2.
Predictable planning cycles. Real-time pivots. Confident decisions without the chaos.
What We Review:
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Connections between money, operations, and customers
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Which changes solve root problems vs. symptoms
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Focus areas for biggest impact
What You Learn:
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Turning insights into a clear action plan
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Viewing your business as a connected system
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Preventing problems instead of firefighting
How It Fits:
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Everything clicks here — decisions based on real numbers, capacity, and customer needs
Quick insight:
We embed annual intelligence cycles into your decision-making process.
You won’t just understand what is wrong—you’ll know exactly why, and what to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
🧠What exactly is Strategic Intelligence?
Strategic Intelligence connects all the moving parts of your business—financials, operations, customers, market, and decision-making—into a system you can actually use. It’s not a plan. It’s not a spreadsheet. It’s the insight you need to make the right move, right now.
🧠How is this different from business coaching or consulting?
Coaching motivates. Consulting often prescribes. The Brief diagnoses. You’ll get real data and decision tools, not mindset reframes or generic strategies. It’s a high-level intelligence service built around your business.
🧠Is this consulting or training?
This is actually business intelligence training. Using your own business to learn in. While we start with analyzing your current situation, the real value is learning the strategic intelligence system you’ll use forever. You’ll master tools like the Breakthrough Number™ and ADFP diagnostic so you can generate Fortune 500-level business intelligence on your own, month after month.
🧠Is this just for larger businesses?
No. This was created specifically for small businesses who don’t have a CFO or strategic ops lead. If you’re between $200K and $5M, or running lean and wearing all the hats, this is designed for you.
🧠Do I need to have my numbers organized before I book?
Not at all. In fact, most business owners are either tracking too much of the wrong stuff or not tracking enough of the right stuff. Part of the Strategic Intelligence Brief™ is determining what you should actually be measuring vs. what you think you should be measuring.
If you have basic financial reports, some customer data, or general business records, that’s enough to start. I’ll show you exactly which metrics matter for YOUR business and how to track them going forward. The Breakthrough Number™ system helps you cut through metric overwhelm to focus on what actually drives your business.
🧠Will this give me a plan I can actually use?
Yes. You won’t get a PDF that sits on a shelf. You’ll get a real-world, decision-ready 90-day roadmap built from what your business actually needs—not what a template says you should do.
🧠How does the 90-day implementation work?” After your Strategic Intelligence Brief, you’ll receive four strategic guidance calls strategically spaced over 90 days. This gives you time to implement, test, and gather real results between sessions, ensuring data-driven adjustments rather than theoretical planning.
🧠What if I’m not sure this is the right fit yet?
Start with the free Strategic Intelligence Assessment. It will help you see where your gaps are and whether you’re ready for the Brief. There’s no pressure—just clarity.
🧠I’m already tracking metrics and KPIs- how will this help me?
There’s a massive difference between tracking metrics and having strategic intelligence. Most businesses track data but don’t know how to interpret the patterns or use them for strategic decisions.
For example, you might track revenue, but do you know your Breakthrough Number™? You might measure customer acquisition, but do you understand why customers actually buy from you vs. your elevator pitch version? You might have operational metrics, but can you predict where your next bottleneck will appear?
Strategic Intelligence isn’t about more data – it’s about thinking strategically with the data you have. The ADFP framework and other tools I teach transform your existing metrics into actionable business intelligence. You’ll move from ‘here’s what happened’ to ‘here’s what’s going to happen and exactly what to do about it.’
🧠Can this help if I’m in a turnaround or urgent phase?
Absolutely. Strategic Intelligence is especially powerful when you’re under pressure. It shows you the fastest path out of the chaos—with data-backed decisions that reduce overwhelm.
🧠Why $3,500? Isn’t that a lot for a one-time session?
It’s not just one session. You’re investing in learning the strategic intelligence system that Fortune 500 companies use – becoming permanently more intelligent about your business decisions.
Strategic Intelligence Assessment™
Discover exactly where your business needs intelligence enhancement
Free diagnostic tool that reveals your Strategic Intelligence gaps across the Four M’s framework (Mindset, Mechanics, Mission, Magic). Get personalized analysis and roadmap for your next strategic moves.
[Take Your Strategic Intelligence Assessment™]
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NOTICE
The Strategic Intelligence Assessment™, Strategic Intelligence Brief™, Strategic Intelligence Annual Plan™, Four M’s Framework™, Breakthrough Number™, ADFP Market Intelligence Diagnostic™, Capacity Planner™, Strategic Intelligence Insights™, and all related Strategic Intelligence methodologies, tools, frameworks, and components are proprietary intellectual property developed by Dawn Kennedy. These materials are protected under U.S. copyright law and common law trademark rights. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use is prohibited.
© 2025 Dawn Kennedy. All rights reserved.