Craig Leonard: Turning Experience Into a Specialist Consulting Business
Many experienced professionals reach a point where a quiet but persistent question surfaces:
“Could I take what I’ve spent decades learning and build something of my own with it?”
For most, the expertise is not the problem. The challenge is knowing how to focus it, frame it, and take it to market.
Craig Leonard’s story is a good example of what happens when someone does just that.
A Career Built on High-Stakes Situations
Craig spent a significant part of his career in the Metropolitan Police, working in environments where managing volatile and difficult situations was not theoretical,it was the job.
Over time, he developed and implemented a practical framework for handling challenging interactions. One that helps people stay composed, de-escalate tension, and reach better outcomes when situations threaten to spiral.
It worked. And it stayed with him after he left the force.
Spotting a Real Commercial Problem
After retiring from the Metropolitan Police thinking about what to do next on a part-time basis, something became increasingly apparent.
Businesses with frontline staff (pubs, restaurants, transport operators, customer-facing teams) face this kind of pressure every day. Staff deal with aggression, conflict, and difficult behaviour as a routine part of the job, often without a structured framework for handling it.
Training in this area tends to be generic. Most of it is theory-heavy and disconnected from the specific realities of frontline work.
Craig had something different: a framework developed in the field, tested in genuinely high-stakes situations, and directly applicable to the challenges these businesses face.
That insight became the foundation for Silverback Consulting UK.
Turning Experience Into a Focused Offer
Making the move from experienced professional to independent consultant is rarely straightforward. The expertise is real, but translating it into something a prospective client can quickly understand and buy is a different skill entirely.
Craig worked with Adrian at Boost through a PIVOT strategy session — a structured conversation designed to help experienced professionals extract what they know, find the right focus, and build a credible route to market.
Through that process, Craig identified his initial niche: workshop delivery for organisations with frontline staff, built around the practical framework he developed during his policing career.
Boost then helped Craig build the foundations he needed to operate professionally from day one:
- A professional overview deck to share with his network and open conversations
- Brand essentials: a domain, logo, and visual identity
- A LinkedIn profile repositioned to reflect his new offer
- Access to the PIVOT training course and book to support the wider transition
The result was a consultancy with a clear focus, a credible presence, and a tangible entry point for new clients.
The Broader Point
Craig’s background is distinctive. But the pattern of his transition is not unusual.
Decades of professional experience. A specific problem he had already solved, in the real world, repeatedly. A market that needed it but wasn’t being served well.
What changed was the decision to package that experience deliberately, and get the right support to do it properly.
That is what Silverback Consulting UK is built on.
If Craig’s story resonates with you, schedule an introductory call with Adrian to explore what your next chapter could look like.