Every engagement begins with the same question: what's the structural pattern producing these problems? The diagnostic process is structured and consistent. Where it leads is different each time, because the structural causes vary across companies. Until I've looked at the particular shape of yours, I won't know which choices have stopped fitting.
The first two to three weeks are about listening carefully. I typically do six to twelve one-on-one interviews, depending on company size, sometimes more for larger companies or harder patterns. I also read whatever documents you have from the past few quarters that show where work has been getting stuck or returning unresolved. I'm looking for the structural pattern that connects what's happening now to choices that were made earlier.
By the end of week three, you have a written diagnosis. It typically runs eight to fifteen pages, longer for larger companies or complex patterns, and identifies which structural choices have stopped fitting and what changing them would look like. The diagnosis is the central artifact of the engagement; you keep it whether or not the work continues.
If we continue past the diagnosis, I work alongside you to make the changes. The work is rarely a single decision; it's usually a handful sequenced over a quarter or two. We shape each decision together. Implementation is the slower phase: I observe how the changes land in practice, work alongside the team as they adopt the new structure, and adjust the design if necessary. The engagement ends when the changes are in place and behaving the way they should, not when I've delivered a recommendation.
The work is structural. It changes how the company operates over a quarter or two, and the visible authorship of those changes belongs to you. My role is to identify what needs to change, shape each decision with you, and work alongside you through implementation. This is not fractional COO work; I'm not here to take operating tasks off your plate or run a function in your stead.
A short list, because fractional-operator work is broad enough that founders sometimes arrive expecting one of several different things.
I am not a consultant. I do not produce decks, frameworks, or strategy reports as the deliverable. The deliverable is operating change you can see in the team, not analysis of why operating change is needed.
I am not an interim COO. I do not sit in your org chart, sign on your behalf, or represent you to customers. The founder leads. I architect, install, and run the operating layer alongside you for a defined period. When that period ends, I leave; the systems remain.
I do not work without a written diagnostic first. For all but the smallest engagements, I will not sign a retainer until I have run a diagnostic, with a written summary you keep regardless of whether you continue. The diagnosis tells me whether the engagement is the right shape, and the written summary protects both of us from the scope drift that kills most fractional work in month two.
I do not work outside the operator's brief. I do not run sales strategy, product strategy, engineering leadership, fundraising, or domain-specific technical work. These are real disciplines and they have specialists. What I do is install the operating layer that lets your specialists deliver.
I do not take equity in place of fees, and I do not blur into permanent. The fractional model is built to be cash-priced and time-bounded. When the engagement ends, I leave. The leaving is part of the value.
Diagnostic engagements are billed as a fixed fee at the start. Embedded and on-call engagements are monthly retainers, invoiced on the first of the month for the work agreed in the engagement letter. There's no hourly billing or surprise add-ons.
Engagement letters are usually two pages. They specify the scope and the time commitment. Either side can step away with reasonable notice.
A short email is enough. Tell me what's been happening and what you've already tried. I read every message myself and reply within two business days.
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