The Operating Diagnostic
A three-week operational assessment — what's in the way, in priority order, and what to fix in 90 days. Complimentary to start.
Complimentary to startSee the Operating Diagnostic →Fractional Leadership & Executive Coaching
Critical Path is an operations and coaching practice in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Fractional operations leadership for companies.
Career coaching for senior leaders.
Where to start
Pick your door.
Organizations hire me to run the work that has to land.
Leaders hire me to work out what's next.
Door one · For Organizations
Start hereBest first step
This is you if
See all of Door One →
Fractional operations leadership
For a founder or executive carrying more change than the team can absorb. Find the symptom.
Fractional COO & Chief of Staff
You need an operations leader now — a COO or Chief of Staff — but can't yet justify the full-time hire.
See the fractional COO →
Door two · For Leaders
This is you if
Most popular option
This is you if
This is you if
See all of Door Two →
Coaching and career work
For an individual leader at a hinge point. Read down until one line is you.
Executive Coaching
You got the bigger job and the instincts that won it are now in your way — or the room doesn't move when you talk.
See executive coaching →Critical Path Positioning
You're running a full search and want the whole campaign — direction, resume, LinkedIn, interview, negotiation — in three weeks.
See the campaign →Resume Rebuild
You know your resume isn't getting read and can't tell why. Just the resume, rebuilt on your own evidence.
See resume rebuild →Rapid Interview Prep
You have an interview already on the calendar and one shot to get it right.
See interview prep →Plus the bespoke work — PMO setup, operating rhythm, program recovery, automation, and AI-native builds: Special Projects →
Senior leaders I've coached came from
It starts with one conversation.
Twenty minutes, no cost. Bring the tangle, and we'll find the thread that decides the rest.
Two minutes · Four questions
Not sure which door is yours?
Bring the tangle. Answer four questions and we'll tell you what we think is going on, and the one thing to do about it.
Step 1 of 4Where you're stuck
The method
Every plan has one sequence that decides the outcome.
Everything else is slack.
Everything else is slack.
The work is finding which is which — in a career, or in a company. That's the whole practice.
See the approach →