Introducing the 6-Lens Review™ – Because Directors Deserve Better
By Paul Brindley, FCA | 6-Lens Review™ Creator & Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
If you’re a company director facing distress – cashflow pressures, growing creditor demands, sleepless nights – you’re not alone. But you may be more alone than you realise when it comes to advice.
In the UK, most directors facing potential insolvency go to just one insolvency practitioner (IP) for guidance. One person. One view. One diagnosis of what might be one of the most complex, high-stakes situations in their business life.
That has never sat right with me.
After 40 years in the insolvency profession, seeing hundreds of businesses up close, I’ve watched the same problems play out time and again: poor advice, incomplete analysis, rushed procedures, or missed chances to turn things around. So I’ve decided to do something about it.
Today, I’m proud to launch the 6-Lens Review™ – a first-of-its-kind diagnostic tool designed to give directors a truly rounded understanding of their situation, their risks, and their options. It brings together not one, but six expert perspectives. It’s like having a dream team of advisers on your side. Because that’s what you need – and what you deserve.
Let me explain why I built it. And why I believe it matters.
The Problem: Directors in the Dark, IPs in a Rut
Insolvency is unfamiliar terrain for most directors. They’re experts in their own fields of manufacturing, design, logistics, software, whatever, but not in insolvency law or turnaround strategy. When trouble hits, they turn to an IP hoping for answers. And far too often, they get only part of the picture.
Here’s what I’ve seen – again and again:
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IPs giving templated advice without taking the time to understand the business model or explore informal options first.
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Directors pressured into liquidation, even where informal restructuring might have worked.
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Turnaround routes ignored, because the IP isn’t trained or experienced in operational recovery.
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Legal pitfalls missed, because the advice focused narrowly on the formal process rather than director risk exposure.
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Directors blamed, rather than supported.
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Opportunities lost, forever.
I’ve seen cases where a better diagnostic approach could have saved jobs. Where early, objective advice might have stopped a good business from closing. Where empathy, strategy and challenge – applied in the right measure – could have led to a different outcome.
But it didn’t. Because we, as a profession, have trained IPs to be technicians. We’ve prized knowledge of insolvency law above all else. And while legal knowledge is essential, it’s not enough.
The Profession’s Blind Spot: Technical Doesn’t Equal Trusted
Insolvency work is not just about statutory processes and checklists.
It’s about leadership, risk, cashflow, people, stress, ethics, survival and – yes – sometimes failure. It’s about giving directors agency and clarity when they feel lost. And it’s about being more than a process server in a blue suit.
Yet many IPs are taught only the law and the forms. There’s no deep training in business model analysis, conflict resolution, director psychology, or innovation. There’s rarely structured support on how to actually help a business recover, or when it can’t, how to handle that humanely.
The result? Many IPs have glaring skill gaps. And directors suffer because of it.
The 6-Lens Review™ is my answer to that.
The Solution: The 6-Lens Review™
The 6-Lens Review™ is a structured, multi-perspective diagnostic for directors of distressed companies. It’s built around six expert personas, each asking different but vital questions:
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🔍 The Strategist
Are you still viable? What’s the commercial purpose here? Is there a business worth saving – and how? -
🔧 The Turnaround Expert
Where are the levers of control? What’s bleeding cash? What needs to change, fast? -
⚖️ The Litigator
What are the legal risks – for you personally and for the company? Is there exposure to wrongful trading claims, or disputes brewing? -
🫶 The Empath
How are you coping? What’s the toll on your team? Are ethics and wellbeing being factored into decision-making? -
🧠 The Technician
Is the process being followed correctly? Are the right compliance steps in place? What’s the formal roadmap if insolvency is needed? -
💡 The Innovator
Are you missing creative solutions? Could technology, new markets, or alternative models change the game here?
Each lens reflects a different kind of expert – drawn from real-life voices past and present. Together, they simulate the kind of rounded discussion that rarely happens in a single IP meeting.
Why It Works
The 6-Lens Review™ doesn’t just assess the company’s numbers. It challenges the model. It looks at the people. The funding. The contracts. The legal backdrop. The director’s own mindset. And it proposes credible next steps – ranging from informal restructuring through to formal insolvency, if needed.
It doesn’t replace legal advice or a formal IP appointment. But it gives directors the one thing they need most before making any big decision:
Perspective.
And when that’s missing, everything else can go wrong.
An Option to Check the Advice You’ve Already Had
Many directors come to us having already spoken to an IP. Sometimes the advice has been solid. Sometimes… less so.
One of the uses of the 6-Lens Review™ is to check or challenge the advice already given. We’ve – worrying so, increasingly often – seen directors told liquidation is their only option – only for our review to uncover missed restructuring routes or potential sales. We’ve also seen directors with hidden legal risks who were never warned.
This isn’t about criticising other professionals for the sake of it. It’s about ensuring directors are properly informed before they act.
Why This Matters Now
Insolvency numbers are rising. Directors are under more pressure than ever – and having to make decisions faster than ever. That’s a dangerous mix.
At the same time, the insolvency profession is struggling to retain trust. There’s too much process. Too much jargon. Not enough humanity.
We need tools that bridge that gap. Tools that help directors understand their situation, and help IPs up their game. Tools that rebuild trust in the profession.
The 6-Lens Review™ is part of that answer.
Built for Today’s Business Landscape
This isn’t some academic model or compliance checklist. It’s a live, working process used by my firm – Midlands Business Recovery – with real companies across the UK. It supports:
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Family-owned businesses under pressure from HMRC or energy or wages costs
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Start-ups unsure whether to press on or close gracefully
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Charities wondering how to survive falling income
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Engineering firms with cashflow crises and rising material prices
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Directors simply unsure who to trust
And it adapts. Where needed, we bring in a sector specialist – whether that’s healthcare, construction, charities, IT, whatever – to add context to the review.
This isn’t just theory. It’s practical. It’s personal. And it’s ready to use.
A Final Word to My Fellow Insolvency Practitioners
To my colleagues in the profession: this is not an attack. It’s a challenge.
We need to evolve. Directors need more than insolvency law. They need strategy, leadership, empathy, and vision. If we don’t offer it, someone else will – and the profession will shrink into irrelevance.
The 6-Lens Review™ is my contribution to lifting standards, restoring trust, and doing better for clients.
If you’re an IP who wants to work differently, I’m always free to talk. If you’re a director who wants a second opinion – or a clearer one – then the door’s open.
Find Out More
➡️ Visit The 6-Lens Review™ Page
📞 07813 102014 or email me at paul@midlandsbusinessrecovery.co.uk
Because you shouldn’t have to face this alone. And you don’t have to settle for less.
Paul Brindley FCA
Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
Creator of The 6-Lens Review™
Midlands Business Recovery