12-Week Live ProgrammeThe Icarus Manoeuvre Programme
The knowledge. The frameworks. The scars.
Twelve weeks. Live. No filler.
Everything I wish I had known before I started my corporate journey.
Led by Carl McCann, BSc MBA MIMechE — former RAF Wing Commander, VP and EMEA Senior Leadership Team Board member, and Chief of Staff EMEA at DXC Technology.
Why the Icarus Programme?
The corporate world is one of the most demanding environments you will ever operate in. And when you arrive, nobody teaches you how it actually works.
There is no corporate training programme that prepares you for how the corporate world really works.
How to manage and lead an account. How to progress your career and build a five-year plan. The unwritten rules around promotion, bonuses and pay rises. How to manage a P&L. How to negotiate an impossible target, handle a difficult client or navigate a political minefield. How to maintain your health and relationships under sustained pressure.
Nobody teaches you any of this. You are expected to figure it out and the cost and time to figure it out the hard way takes year and not weeks.
When I left the Royal Air Force, I believed I was moving to a world where my career would be actively managed and I would be looked after. It took years to learn the truth: only one person will ever manage your career, and that is you.
This programme covers everything I wish I had known when I joined the corporate world. Twelve weeks of structured, live, experience-led learning that teaches you how the machine works, how to navigate it with confidence and how to accelerate your career and, without paying the price that most people pay for the same knowledge over five years.
You will learn more in twelve weeks than most people learn in five years. Not because the content is complicated but because nobody has ever laid it out honestly, in one place, from the inside.
The outcomes. Not the theory.
ACHIEVE FINANCIAL PREDICTABILITY
No more shifting forecasts.
BUILD AND LEAD A TEAM
That trusts you and wants to be part of your journey.
HANDLE IMPOSSIBLE TARGETS
Without carrying the weight of them alone.
SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER COMPLEX PROGRAMMES
From strategy to sustainable delivery.
USE OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY
Build trust. Drive performance.
HANDLE DIFFICULT CLIENT CONVERSATIONS
With confidence and clarity.
NAVIGATE THE POLITICS AND POWER STRUCTURES
That nobody writes down.
RECOGNISE THE EARLY SIGNS OF BURNOUT
Before they become a crisis.
BUILD A CAREER WITH GENUINE INTENT
Make choices that compound.
REMAIN TRUE TO YOURSELF
Success without self-loss.
“Real experience. Hard-earned lessons. A clear framework for corporate success.”
Who is this programme for?
For Individuals
Investing in yourself is the single highest-return decision you can make in the first five years of your corporate career. One promotion accelerated, one salary negotiation won, one burnout avoided — the return on £997 is measured in years and tens of thousands of pounds.
Reserve Your PlaceFor Organisations
Your graduate and junior management cohorts are your future senior leaders. The gap between what they were taught and what the corporate world demands of them costs you in attrition, underperformance and avoidable mistakes. This programme fills that gap — and can be tailored to your specific sector and requirements.
Enquire About Cohort PricingCorporate cohort pricing available for 3 or more participants. Contact Carl directly to discuss tailored delivery.
Who is teaching thisBuilt from 38 years of experience at both extremes.
Carl McCann BSc MBA MIMechE spent nineteen years in the Royal Air Force, loading nuclear weapons during the Cold War and commanding over 250 people on an operational Tornado squadron through the Gulf War.
He then spent nineteen years in senior corporate leadership, rising to Chief of Staff EMEA at DXC Technology — responsible for a region generating $10 billion in annual revenue — and serving as UK and EMEA Board Member. He managed strategic accounts from $200M to $3BN, led four major enterprise transformations and turned around multiple failing contracts.
He also burned out. He knows what the corporate machine costs people — personally, professionally and financially — and he built this programme so that you don't have to learn it the hard way.
The knowledge. The frameworks. The scars. Twelve weeks. Live. No filler.
Everything I wish I had known before I started my corporate journey.
| Week | Module | What you will learn |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Corporate Reality | What the corporate world actually is, how it works, and why nobody tells you the truth about it before you join. The pre-flight checklist: five things to evaluate before accepting any role. |
| 02 | Choosing the Right Company | How to research a potential employer properly. Staff turnover, culture, financial health, values alignment. There is no such thing as a good shrinking business. |
| 03 | Interview and Salary | The interview as a two-way process. How to present yourself with authority. The salary negotiation conversation most people get wrong — and the four moments when you have real leverage. |
| 04 | Me PLC | No one is managing your career for you. Building your five-year plan, understanding your personal brand, and going from good to great in your strengths. |
| 05 | Flight Path | Appraisals, bonuses, mentors and peers. Taking ownership of the process rather than waiting to be noticed. Mentored employees are five times more likely to be promoted. |
| 06 | Leadership and Personal Qualities | What leadership actually means at every level. Transparency, accountability, authenticity and the values framework: loyalty, integrity, commitment, trust. |
| 07 | Work, Life and Wellbeing | The myth of work-life balance. Productivity after 50 hours. Phones, holidays and emotional attachment. How to protect what matters most without sacrificing ambition. |
| 08 | The Financial Cockpit | P&L basics every professional needs to understand. How annual targets are set, how forecasts are built, and why the decommit conversation needs to happen in February not October. |
| 09 | Burnout — Recognise It Before It Happens | The six contributing factors. The quarterly self-appraisal. What burnout actually feels like from the inside — and the £1 million cost most organisations never calculate. |
| 10 | People, Teams and Clients | How to build and lead high-performing teams. Client relationships, governance and the moment you need to run to the fire rather than away from it. |
| 11 | Navigating the Machine | Internal politics, escalations, issues management and the culture that punishes honesty. How to survive a system not designed with your interests in mind. |
| 12 | Happy Landings | Knowing when and how to leave. Protecting your reputation, relationships and sense of who you are. Designing a career — and a life — that does not consume you. |
What the corporate world actually is, how it works, and why nobody tells you the truth about it before you join. The pre-flight checklist: five things to evaluate before accepting any role.
How to research a potential employer properly. Staff turnover, culture, financial health, values alignment. There is no such thing as a good shrinking business.
The interview as a two-way process. How to present yourself with authority. The salary negotiation conversation most people get wrong — and the four moments when you have real leverage.
No one is managing your career for you. Building your five-year plan, understanding your personal brand, and going from good to great in your strengths.
Appraisals, bonuses, mentors and peers. Taking ownership of the process rather than waiting to be noticed. Mentored employees are five times more likely to be promoted.
What leadership actually means at every level. Transparency, accountability, authenticity and the values framework: loyalty, integrity, commitment, trust.
The myth of work-life balance. Productivity after 50 hours. Phones, holidays and emotional attachment. How to protect what matters most without sacrificing ambition.
P&L basics every professional needs to understand. How annual targets are set, how forecasts are built, and why the decommit conversation needs to happen in February not October.
The six contributing factors. The quarterly self-appraisal. What burnout actually feels like from the inside — and the £1 million cost most organisations never calculate.
How to build and lead high-performing teams. Client relationships, governance and the moment you need to run to the fire rather than away from it.
Internal politics, escalations, issues management and the culture that punishes honesty. How to survive a system not designed with your interests in mind.
Knowing when and how to leave. Protecting your reputation, relationships and sense of who you are. Designing a career — and a life — that does not consume you.
What is includedEverything you need. Nothing you don't.
12 Live Sessions
One hour per week with Carl McCann. Interactive, question-led, small cohort. Not a lecture — a conversation.
Programme Workbook
A session-by-session companion guide with frameworks, checklists and key insight summaries from each module.
Session Recordings
Every session recorded and available to cohort members for 12 months. You will not fall behind.
Private Cohort Community
A closed group for participants to share experience, ask questions between sessions and build a peer network.
Complimentary Book
A copy of The Icarus Manoeuvre — Carl's complete guide — included with every place on the programme.
Post-Programme 1:1
A 30-minute individual call with Carl at the end of the programme to discuss your specific situation and next steps.
Is this programme right for you?
This programme is for you if…
You are in the first one to five years of your corporate career and feeling the gap between what you were taught and what the job actually demands
You have just been promoted into your first management role and want to navigate it well from day one
You are a military professional transitioning into corporate life and want an honest map of the territory before you enter it
You are ambitious, capable and committed — but increasingly aware that nobody is managing your career for you
You want to build a successful corporate career without sacrificing your health, your relationships or your sense of who you are
This programme is not for you if…
You are looking for a quick-fix or a shortcut — this is twelve weeks of honest, practical work
You are already at director or board level — Carl's executive coaching programme is more appropriate for you
You want theory without application — every session includes specific, actionable frameworks you use immediately
InvestmentOne decision. Twelve weeks. A career changed.
Limited places at this price
Available until 28 June 2026
All places include everything listed above
Next cohort starts 22 July 2026
Corporate cohort pricing available for 3+ participants — email carl@icarusmanoeuvre.com
Military discount available — email carl@icarusmanoeuvre.com
Money-back guarantee
If you attend the first two sessions and feel the programme is not right for you, Carl will refund your investment in full. No questions asked. The risk is entirely his.
Frequently asked questions
You will spend three to five years figuring this out on your own.Or twelve weeks learning it from someone who has already paid the price.
Early bird price £797 (+VAT) available until 28 June 2026 · Maximum 20 places · Next cohort starts 22 July 2026
Questions? Email carl@icarusmanoeuvre.com or connect on LinkedIn