The  Independence Index

The Independence Index is a short, 
free diagnostic that reveals where indecision is slowing your business down.
Take the Index
Most businesses don’t lack ideas, they struggle to make and commit to the decisions that matter. The Independence Index helps you identify which decision types is holding your organisation back. Delivered online and in your own time, it provides an immediate score and insight in plain English.

After completing the Index you’ll know whether your decision system is blocked, struggling, inconsistent or high‑functioning, and which type of decision needs attention first.
Take the Index
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How it Works

01
Answer Honestly
Are you stuck on one decision, juggling many or making progress without confidence? We capture the reality up front so your results reflect your actual situation.
02
See where you’re stuck
Assess your clarity, alignment, confidence, process and execution on a simple 1–5 scale. No long essays, just honest reflection.
03
Decide what to fix
Your score reveals whether your decision system is costing you momentum and which single area to fix first.
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Scoring Categories

Abstract circular network of glowing green nodes connected by lines on a dark background.
High Functioning
Decisions are clear, owned internally and executed effectively. You can move faster and focus on growth.
Inconsistent
You're making some calls well and stalling on others. That inconsistency is costing you more than you think in delayed hires, misdirected spend and decisions that keep getting reopened. One unresolved call at this stage can slow a business by six to twelve months.
Struggling
Your decision system is under real strain. Without clarity and alignment at this level, businesses typically burn budget on the wrong priorities and lose momentum to indecision.
Blocked
Critical decisions are stalled and the cost is already mounting. Every week without resolution is money spent in the wrong direction, talent held back and opportunities closing. This isn't a moment for reflection, it's a moment for intervention.

The Impact of Decision Making

Gap

rebrand decision fail

Gap invested roughly $100 million into a new logo in 2010, attempting to modernise its brand.

DECISION
Replace a well-established identity with a radically simplified mark. Customer backlash was immediate.

OUTCOME
Within one week, Gap reverted to its original logo — writing off the investment and exposing the risk of making a brand decision without validation or alignment.

Open window overlooking calm sea under clear sky at dusk or dawn.

Dropbox

Growth Focus Win

Dropbox needed to scale rapidly without matching the marketing spend of its competitors.


DECISION
Invest in a referral-driven growth model instead of traditional paid acquisition. The product itself became the primary growth engine.

OUTCOME
User growth accelerated from 100,000 to 4 million in 15 months — a 3,900% increase, while saving an estimated $48 million in marketing spend.

Open window overlooking calm sea under clear sky at dusk or dawn.

Tropicana

rebrand decision fail

Tropicana introduced a $35 million minimalist packaging redesign, aiming to modernise its shelf presence.

DECISION

Remove familiar visual cues in favour of a cleaner, more contemporary look. Customers struggled to recognise the product.

OUTCOME

Sales dropped 20%, resulting in an estimated $30 million loss, and the redesign was quickly reversed.

Open window overlooking calm sea under clear sky at dusk or dawn.

Slack

Product Direction Win

Slack began as an internal tool built during the development of a failed online game.

DECISION
Abandon the original product and reposition the internal communication tool as a standalone offering. This required a full shift in product direction and focus.

OUTCOME
Growth scaled from roughly 16,000 daily users to millions, culminating in a $27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce.

Open window overlooking calm sea under clear sky at dusk or dawn.

Still circling the same decision?

Start with the free Index or tell us about the decision you’re facing and we’ll review the situation, suggest next steps and let you know whether there’s a strong fit

Frequently Asked Questions

Brand Independence explained
What is Brand Independence?

Brand Independence is a decision system, not an agency. Most brand, product and growth problems are really just unmade decisions, and we exist to close them.

In a single session we help you make the call that's been hanging over the business, then hand you a Decision Proof that makes it stick. No retainer. No dependency. You leave with the decision made, and the tools to make the next one yourself.

Who is Brand Independence for?

Leaders who are done circling the same decision. Typically that's:

  • Founders and leadership teams shaping their next stage of growth
  • Marketing and digital teams who own brand, UX and customer experience
  • Organisations weighing a replatform, a reposition or a product shift
  • Anyone tired of slow, expensive, dependency-heavy agency relationships

If you want to move faster, decide with more confidence, and build that muscle in-house, you're in the right place.

What is the Independence Index?

A 15-minute diagnostic that shows you where decisions are breaking down, and what the indecision is costing you.

It scores you across four dimensions: strategic clarity and positioning, internal capability, decision-making confidence, and the systems and tools behind it all. You comeout with a clear read on where you are today, where the gaps are, and what to do about them.

It's the fastest way to find out whether you've got a brand problem or a decision problem.

Do we need an NDA before working together?

Not to begin with. Early conversations stay high-level: the challenge, the context, the decision you're stuck on. Nothing commercially sensitive.

When we move into deeper work and you need to share confidential information, we're glad to put an NDA inplace. We use standard agreements and can work with your preferred format.

What types of decisions can you help with?

High-stakes calls across brand, product and growth, especially the ones tangled up in ambiguity, risk orcompeting directions. For example:

  • Brand positioning and messaging
  • Website or digital experience direction
  • Replatforming (e.g. CMS or technology choices)
  • Product or service evolution
  • Go-to-market and growth focus
  • Building internal capability versus leaning on an agency

We don't just weigh in with an opinion. Every session ends in a Decision Proof: a tangible artefact that lets you see, test and defend the call before you commit time and budget to it.

How is this different from a typical brand or digital agency?

An agency sells you outputs: a website, a campaign, a design system. We improve the thing that comes before all of that, the decision.

We bring brand strategy, UX thinking and real delivery experience together so you can see your options clearly, pressure-test them, de-risk the big investments, and build the confidence to decide well next time without us.

Put simply: agencies do the work. We make sure you're doing the right work.

What do you actually deliver?

A decision, and the proof to back it. We call these artefacts Decision Proofs, and they're built to be clear, visual and immediately useful, not another slide deck that gathers dust. Depending on the call, that might be:

  • Direction Snapshots: strategic options brought to life
  • Experience Blueprints: how a decision reshapes the product and its journeys
  • Risk Maps: the assumptions and failure points you're betting on
  • Delivery Reality Checks: feasibility and complexity, honestly assessed
  • Growth Paths: how the decision compounds over time
  • Success Signals: how you'll know whether it worked

The point of each one is thesame: make the decision real, visible, and hard to unpick on a bad Tuesday.

Will this replace our agency or internal team?

No. It makes them better. We work alongside your team and your existing partners to sharpen clarity, alignment and decision-making.

In most cases delivery actually speeds up afterwards, because priorities are clearer, direction is validated earlier, and everyone is aligned before the work begins. We're not here to own your brand. We're here to help you own it.

How quickly can we get started?

Usually within a few weeks, depending on scope. We start with one focused decision rather than a long, open-ended programme, so you feel the value quickly and build momentum from there.

If the decision is urgent, tell us. We'll move.

What results should we expect?

Fewer second guesses. Better decisions. A team that can make the next call without flinching. In practice that looks like:

  • Clearer positioning and direction
  • Faster, more confident decisions
  • Less reliance on outside help
  • Tighter alignment across the team
  • Brand and digital investment that actually pays off

And the decision you've been carrying around for months, finally closed.