Services
A Strategic Conversation provides dedicated time to examine a matter that warrants deeper consideration and an independent perspective.
The engagement begins before the conversation through a considered intake process, allowing me to understand the situation, its context and the question as it currently presents.
The conversation itself is exploratory and rigorous rather than formulaic. It may test assumptions, examine competing considerations, identify patterns or relationships, interrogate the framing of the question, explore possibilities and consequences, or bring attention to information that has been obscured by proximity, complexity or competing demands.
The objective is not necessarily to arrive at a singular recommendation. Depending on the matter, the value may lie in clarifying the question, recognising an underlying issue, distinguishing between possibilities, establishing a position, identifying an appropriate course of action or determining that further information is required before acting.
Suitable for: significant decisions, new directions, complex situations, creative or strategic questions, negotiations, partnerships, transitions, launches and initiations, or ambitious ideas requiring serious interrogation.
90–120 minutes, with preparation and a concise post-session Advisory Note.
From $1,000
Strategic Conversation
A focused advisory engagement for a consequential question, decision or undertaking.
Advisory Partnership
An ongoing independent advisory relationship for people carrying sustained responsibility, complexity or ambitious work.
Advisory Partnership provides continuing access over time.
It is designed for executives, founders, creative and cultural leaders, artists and independent practitioners whose work generates consequential questions that benefit from continuity of thought and an adviser who develops a deeper understanding of the surrounding context.
Unlike a series of isolated consultations, an ongoing relationship allows knowledge to accumulate. Previous decisions, recurring patterns, changing circumstances, relationships, organisational histories and longer trajectories remain available to the inquiry.
This creates greater depth in the advisory relationship: new questions can be considered in correspondence with what has come before rather than repeatedly reconstructed from the beginning.
Engagements remain advisory. DISXERN Advisory does not become embedded within the organisation or practice, assume operational responsibility or undertake implementation on the client’s behalf.
The structure and frequency of the relationship are established according to the nature of the work and level of access required.
Advisory Partnerships are individually scoped and offered on a monthly retainer.
Further Information
First Nations knowledge and expertise
My perspective as a Wiradjuri woman is inseparable from the knowledge and experience I bring to DISXERN Advisory, including three decades of artistic practice and executive leadership across independent, institutional and government contexts.
Where relevant, this expertise can inform consideration of leadership, governance, organisational practice, representation, relationships and accountability involving First Nations people and work.
DISXERN Advisory does not provide cultural brokerage, community consultation or cultural authority on behalf of other First Nations people or communities.
Applied esoteric techniques within Advisory
Applied esoteric techniques may be incorporated within Strategic Conversations and Advisory Partnerships where they are relevant to the matter under consideration and the client has elected to include them.
Their application is specific rather than generalised. A technique is used because it can contribute something particular to the inquiry.
This may include astrological elections, where a significant action or initiation would benefit from consideration of timing, or other established esoteric techniques where appropriate.
Where specialist preparation or technical work is required beyond the scope of the advisory conversation — for example, the development of a specific election — this can be scoped separately within the engagement.
Confidentiality, discretion and conflicts
DISXERN Advisory is designed to accommodate work that may be commercially sensitive, confidential, in development or not yet available in the public domain. Information shared within an advisory engagement is treated with discretion and held in confidence.
Formal non-disclosure agreements can be established in addition where the nature of the engagement requires them.
Potential conflicts of interest are considered before an engagement is accepted and throughout an ongoing Advisory Relationship. This includes circumstances where the interests, activities or relationships of prospective clients may intersect with those of existing clients or engagements.
The advisory roster is deliberately limited to preserve the independence and integrity of each relationship. There may therefore be circumstances in which DISXERN Advisory is unable to accept an engagement due to an existing relationship, actual or potential conflict of interest, or the nature of information already held in confidence.
What DISXERN Advisory is not
DISXERN Advisory provides independent perspective and advice. It is not a substitute for the specialist professional services required to execute a decision, nor is it an implementation consultancy.
The advisory does not provide project management, embedded operational support, delivery planning, research reports, evaluation, grant or application review, routine mentoring, coaching or implementation.
First Nations expertise within DISXERN Advisory does not constitute cultural authority on behalf of other First Nations people or communities, nor does engagement with DISXERN Advisory substitute for appropriate cultural consultation, community engagement or the direct involvement and remuneration of relevant First Nations people and cultural authorities.
Applied esoteric techniques are an elective additional overlay for aligned clients and do not replace professional, legal, financial or other specialist advice where this is required.
The work is intended to strengthen discernment and agency. Responsibility for decisions and actions remains with the client.