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The Operating Diagnostic
A three-week operational assessment for growing companies.
It's a structured, three-week read of how your company actually runs. I interview your team, sit in on your operating meetings, and walk your core process end to end. You walk away with an Operating Attack Plan: what's actually in the way, in priority order, what it's costing you, and what to fix in the next 90 days.
You're probably here because
- Sales are growing but profit is flat
- Leadership still has to touch everything
- The team keeps redoing work
- Nobody agrees on what comes first
How a fractional engagement works
One critical path, seven steps. The first two are complimentary, and nothing starts until you've agreed to a written scope.
Intro call
We talk about what's going on and whether this is the kind of problem I'm useful for. If it isn't, I'll say so.
Scoping session
We go deeper. You tell me what you most want answered, and that shapes what the diagnostic actually looks at. Bring one or two other people if they'd add to it.
Scope document
In writing: who I'd talk to, what I'd sit in on, what I'd want to read, the timeline, and what you get at the end. Nothing starts until you've agreed to it.
The Operating Diagnostic
I interview your leadership team and the people doing the work, sit in on your operating meetings, and walk your core process end to end. I look at what's already been built and where it's drifted. Mostly I'm listening.
Operating Attack Plan
The four things below, in priority order, delivered as a plan you can act on — and talked through together, not emailed over.
Ongoing engagement
If it makes sense, I come in a set number of days per week and run the plan with you, tapering as your own people take it over. The goal is to make myself unnecessary.
How the engagement is structured
Ongoing work is a monthly retainer priced by days per week, quoted after the diagnostic. Three-month minimum, then month to month, with 30 days' notice either way and no penalty.
The Operating Attack Plan
- What's actually in the way, in priority order, with what it's costing you
- What can be fixed in 90 days and what's structural
- Any role definitions or hiring recommendations that come out of it
- A recommendation on whether you need ongoing help — and sometimes you don't
Why it starts small
I don't quote ongoing work before I've seen how a company actually operates. The process starts small, and you get something useful out of it whether or not we keep going.
Clear on price from the start
The intro call and the scoping session, before anything is committed. If it isn't a fit, I'll say so — at no cost.
A fixed fee for the three-week assessment, set by scope and timeframe and agreed in writing before it starts.
If it makes sense afterward, ongoing work is quoted by the scope and scale of the engagement — never before I've seen how the company runs. Three-month minimum, then month to month, 30 days' notice either way, no penalty.
Common questions
What is an operational assessment for a small business?
It's a structured look at how your company actually runs, before anyone commits to ongoing work. The Operating Diagnostic is a three-week operational assessment, a business operations audit, for growing companies: I interview your team, sit in on your operating meetings, and walk your core process end to end, then hand you a prioritized plan.
Why isn't my business more profitable as it grows?
When revenue climbs and profit doesn't, it's almost never a pricing problem. It's usually that the work isn't prioritized and gets done more than once, so every new dollar costs as much effort as the last. The diagnostic finds where the margin is actually leaking and what it's costing you.
How do I find the operational bottlenecks in my business?
You find operational bottlenecks by walking the core process end to end and watching where decisions wait on one person and where work gets redone. That's most of what the diagnostic does — it names the real blocker in priority order, not the loudest one.
What is a fractional COO assessment?
A fractional COO assessment is an experienced operating executive spending a fixed, bounded period diagnosing how your company runs before any ongoing commitment. The Operating Diagnostic is exactly that: three weeks, a fixed fee, and a written plan at the end — with no obligation to continue.
How long does the Operating Diagnostic take, and what does it cost?
Three weeks, a fixed fee of $7,500–$12,000 depending on scope and timeframe. The intro and scoping conversations are complimentary, and nothing starts until you've agreed to a written scope. Ongoing support, if you want it afterward, is quoted separately by the scope and scale of the engagement.
What do I walk away with?
The Operating Attack Plan: what's actually in the way in priority order with what it's costing you, what's fixable in 90 days versus what's structural, any role or hiring recommendations, and an honest read on whether you need ongoing help — sometimes you don't.
Do I have to commit to ongoing work?
No. I don't quote ongoing work before I've seen how a company operates, so the process starts small and you get something useful whether or not we keep going. Ongoing engagements are optional and scoped only after the diagnostic.
Twenty minutes, complimentary.
We'll talk about what's going on and whether this is the kind of problem I'm useful for. If it isn't, I'll say so.