An honest preface,
before you begin.
A few words about who this work is for, who it is not for, and what happens if your
application opens the door.
This is not a contact form. It is the first act of the work.
Your application will be read personally by James Fox. There are no assistants, no
screeners, no automated triage. What you write will be considered with attention, and
with an interest in what sits beneath the surface of what you say.
The leader who has reached the limits of the surface tools.
Most leaders who arrive here have already done substantial surface work — the books, the
frameworks, the executive coach. They have begun to sense that what remains is not a
strategy problem.
If you are looking for tools or techniques, this is not the practice for you. There are
excellent practitioners for that work, and James will gladly point you toward them.
The work assumes a baseline of psychological resourcefulness.
This work is not appropriate during acute psychiatric crisis, active substance dependence,
or the immediate aftermath of severe trauma. Each of those calls for clinical care, and this
is not a clinical service. Depth psychological consultation is rigorous, occasionally
destabilising, and assumes a steadiness the client brings with them.
If you are uncertain whether this is the right time, say so in the application. That itself is
useful information.
A 50-minute assessment, by invitation.
If your application suggests a possible fit, you will be invited to schedule a 50-minute
assessment. The fee is $500, paid at booking, and is not refunded or credited.
The assessment is the first session of the work, not a sales call. James will use the time to test
whether an engagement makes sense — for both of you — and, if it does, which form it
should take: The Threshold™ or The Inner Authority™. The programme fee is a separate
matter, payable on acceptance. If the fit is not there, you will still leave with a clearer sense of
the territory you are in, and what kind of work it requires.
Not every applicant is invited to the assessment. Not every assessment leads to an
engagement. This is by design.
Specificity over polish.
The questions are designed to surface what strategic language usually obscures — the
actual pattern, the actual cost, the actual readiness. General answers are rarely useful.
Take your time. There is no advantage to speed.