Every luxury brand has the unquestioned potential to boost profitability, free cash flow, and pay down debt beyond their wildest imaginations. Yet, most remain trapped by a single question—one that could unlock billions.

It is said that things become easier with experience. After 10+ years of creating over €3.5 billion in free cash flow used to grow market share, target mergers and acquisitions, pay down debt, and much much more for global organisations, finding hidden value has, for me, become second nature, thanks to a voracious curiosity and relentless pursuit of answering one burning question: Why do some brands thrive while others plateau or struggle?

Take this luxury organisation use case featured in this article: "Our gross profit margin increased double-digit in the previous year, our customer base expanded in all markets, and significant progress was made in improving underlying profitability in the financial year ending 2023."

As a strategic detective who always finds treasure within organisations, including those where everything is rosy, one could imagine it should be easy for me. But I can say that that is not the case first-hand. I think a mixture of pride, hubris, reluctance, and internal resistance to change plays a significant role.

It is why my relentless pursuit to answer why some brands thrive while others plateau or struggle led to the development of a unique approach delivered on a single question:

"What would your organisation consider a fair fee to pay per billion in added free cash flow?"

This question is not a negotiation tactic. It nicely frames whether there will ever be a fit between what my strategic detective skills will find and internal acceptance because, on the surface, it's beyond what most brands even aspire to reach. The question remains whether it's one billion, one hundred million, or simply one million. Buying services, products, and capabilities is easy; paying a fee for free cash flow is telling.

It's one of my guiding principles, helping me reveal whether a brand is fit and ready to embrace the hidden gems that will serve as the missing keys to decisively unlock its hidden treasure to infinite growth.

Uncovering the Hidden Value: A Case Study

The board shared with me their two charts (above and below):

And asked, "If you're so good, then tell us, what do your instincts tell us we're missing?" On the surface, very little. But as a strategic bloodhound, I'm not interested in what I can see but what I can't see.

It's like being asked, where do you get your creativity, inspiration, or even motivation to do the incredibly challenging job you do? My experience and an incredible passion for spreading my knowledge to help others everywhere. I find a scent and pull! It's impossible to know what I'll find at the end.

I replied, "If you permit, allow me to show you!" I said.

With unfettered access, I rolled up my sleeves and jumped in. In less than 48 hours, I sat back in their boardroom. Our conversation started with me sharing their brand's customer sentiment chart, but "re-mapped":

The new view showed how, after finding a carefully designed customer touchpoint and timing process, re-mapped changed a single customer variable to reveal what the board should have been seeing. This new view shared (above) is statistically robust, cleaner to criticism, and verifiable by multiple methods and independent approaches.

This single new unseen view of their brand sharpened the board's understanding. To further reveal;

• How it hid 1.6X in value (free cash flow).

• And why their customer disconnect rate was close to 70% (customer loyalty).

None were known, nor were they part of their growth strategy plans; both transformative with tiny initiatives and adjustments to existing plans to generate significant net free cash flows. My question, "What would your organisation consider a fair fee to pay per billion in added free cash flow?" must be discussed upfront.

One of the most impactful things I've learned over the past ten years is that if you want to create different results and outcomes, you must free your mind and allow yourself to see and believe new things.

As a strategic detective, I will likely find the opposite of what you are currently informed or understand as accurate. But it is also why my relentless pursuit to answer why some brands thrive while others plateau or struggle led to my unique approach that delivers against that single question.

In 10+ years, my success in delivering free cash flow for organisations has been 100%.

This is who I am; this is my brand.

My name is Morten J. Sørensen. I'm a strategic detective driven by an insatiable curiosity. I constantly seek answers to why brands thrive while others falter. Where are the overlooked clues? Where are the hidden opportunities? I pick up scents everywhere, and my bloodhound instincts kick in. They led me to discover the simple changes and adjustments that yield extraordinary results for organisations worldwide.

It's your call to action. If your brand is brave enough to have its billion-dollar answers found, drop me a line, and I'll hand you the keys to unlocking your brand's hidden billion-dollar cash flow in ways you've never imagined or seen before.

Are you ready to unlock the hidden potential? Contact me today to discover your billion-dollar answer.