Narrative and Risk Advisory for CEOs, Boards and Ministers
Discreet advisory for business leaders, Partners and founders in high-stakes situations. Executives before and after transitions.
I help senior leaders manage narrative and reputational risk upwards (boards), outwards (media & customers) and downwards (talent). When judgement replaces performance.
Strategic Narrative and Leadership Risk Advisory
Is your narrative working for you?
People hire me in scenarios that demand strategic clarity, situational awareness, and emotional precision, not generic off-the-shelf "confidence training".
Defining Moments
Crisis, C-suite transitions, Senior career changes and promotions, IPOs, board presentations, or national conference keynotes.
Complex Strategically Important and Politically Sensitive Messaging
Layoffs, restructurings, or controversial initiatives. Shaping strategic communications that acknowledge complexity without losing control of the narrative.
Signature Leadership Initiatives
Launching a new corporate strategy or a high-profile TED-style talk (including Global SLT meetings and AGMs).
Helping you change how you are seen when your role, company or reputation shifts
Shifting from founder to CEO, a move to a more senior corporate role, pivoting your firm’s strategy, repositioning your value proposition.
When You’re Too Close to Your Own Story
I strip away noise, self-indulgence, and emotional clutter to get to the story within you that actually moves people.
Peter Botting
Real P&L experience: Ran and turned around a group of three manufacturing companies with 135 staff
Delivered results under extreme pressure (ask why I own a bulletproof vest)
Why some leaders win The Room, and others don't
Clients have improved win rates, reduced churn and secured major contracts by getting their message right.
- Imagine you could improve ONE of your key P&L numbers by 2%, 7% or even 11%...
- What if you could change more than one?
- What if you could improve your bid/win ratio by 5%? Your margin by 2%?
- What if you could recruit and retain more "A players"?
One client doubled their turnover to £2bn in 5 years and slashed their unwanted employee churn rate.
At the senior level, communication mistakes are expensive
Everybody wants to be a leader. Everybody wants to be a success.
But not everybody wants to do the work to become or remain a successful leader.
They think, "I want to be the leader, I want the rewards - the money, the office, the car, the lifestyle."
They do not think, "I wish I had the early starts, the 10-hour days, the risk of failure."
They are jealous of where you are. They are not jealous of how you got there.
They are jealous of what you have got.
They are not jealous of how you got it.
Work in private, "effortless" in public.
Success = persistent hard work + talent + learning.
Helping you focus and succeed faster
- Cut the time to the top - accelerate your learning and growth.
- Navigate and avoid leadership potholes.
- Become a better communicator and leader, faster.
- Achieve more as a leader.
- Stay as leader for longer.
Want to accelerate, boost and protect your career?
You can: 1. stay as you are, 2. get kind validation from friends and family, or... 3. create noticeable change with feedback and counsel.
N.B. People do not hire me to be nice to them. They hire me because they want to be better. Fast.
Request a conversation if you want:
- High-stakes storytelling with message rigour
- More powerful delivery
- To polish your on-stage presence (theatre, podcast, All Hands)
One more thing: Your work is not limited to
weekdays 9-5. Neither is mine. I fit in with YOU.
"Everyone needs a coach"
- Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google
What Clients Say
Rainer Hettinger
Siemens Nixdorf
"Thanks a million Peter – or should I say $400 million?"
Marcus Webb
Chief Storytelling Officer
"Peter is one of the best practitioners of “tough love” I’ve ever seen. He’s direct and uncompromising. He “gives it to you with the bark off,” as they say – but you’ll love every minute of working with him."
Tim Montgomerie
Founder of ConservativeHome
“The genius political consultant Peter Botting.”
Featured In
Discussing the MP selection process with Isabel Hardman on the BBC's "Week in Westminster".
Over 15000 words published in City A.M. on storytelling, leadership, interviews and careers.
Featured in books by Isabel Hardman (interview preparation) & Lionel Zetter (political persuasion).
Storytelling for Politics
I played key roles in:
- the Anti-Slavery Day and Human Trafficking legislation;
- conceived and set up the U.K. Anti-Slavery Day Media Awards;
- the landslide-winning (69%/31%) No2AV campaign in the 2011 United Kingdom National Referendum;
- advised Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his "historic" peace speech to the U.N. General Assembly;
- advised James Cleverly on his leadership speech at Conservative Conference 2024;
- conceived and founded what is now Policy Exchange - the ideas factory that fuelled David Cameron;
- advised people preparing for hustings, debates, selections and elections. 175+ were selected and elected as Members of Parliament.
Storytelling for Startups
Founders. Do you want to raise money, recruit and retain "A" talent, build teams and secure new clients?
How do you attract and retain winning teams of "A-talent" who choose your unknown startup over Big Tech?
Are potential investors saying "keep in touch" instead of talking term sheets? You could organise 5 more pitches a week... Or you could fundraise faster and more efficiently.
Investors love winners, but hate losing. Your pitch and story need to trigger their imagination - what "could be".
You, your idea, team and business case; your market, scalability, and burn rate, your elevator pitch, pitch deck and, above all, your delivery and your story of "what could be" - these all count. These are all stories.
Raising capital, pitch deck narratives, investor presentation coaching, and team alignment workshops - all of these are based on storytelling.
Do you want to tell your story better?
The Stories Behind SAP
SAP is an unusual German corporate beast. A modern German startup that became a unicorn.
As part of a team of ten, I worked for this - then cheeky - upstart almost every week for four years.
I was there when it had only one building, and I was there the day it made it onto the DAX.
Behind SAP's success are numerous revolutionary ideas, as well as innovative employment and management practices.
Practices since copied by Silicon Valley startups - free food, relaxed working conditions, no clocking in or out and a flat management structure.
If you are approaching a moment where misjudgement would be expensive, a confidential conversation may be useful. No bots, just Botting.
People bring me in when the utility of feedback outweighs the vanity of validation.
peter@peterbotting.com
07775 504299
c/o Peter Botting, Marsham Court, Marsham Street, London. SW1P 4JZ
Copyright 2026 Peter Botting Ltd, all rights reserved.