Flagship Service

Deliberate Work™ Diagnostic

A focused engagement that helps leadership teams design how work actually happens—so execution becomes reliable, governable, and scalable without bureaucracy.

The first of many manifestations of 25 years understanding work at an atomic level.

Duration 2–3 Weeks
Focus One Workflow
Format Remote-First
Check Your Readiness See How It Works

The Problem

Most organizations don't fail because of talent, effort, or tools. They fail because work itself was never designed.

These symptoms show up every day. Leaders feel them but can't name them. Teams work around them but can't fix them.

Teams are busy, but progress is inconsistent
Work arrives half-ready and explodes downstream
Decisions lose force as they move through the org
Cross-team handoffs quietly fail
Execution depends on a few heroic individuals
Governance appears late—and everywhere

"The issue isn't performance. It's accidental execution."

— The Deliberate Work Insight

The Insight

Work improves when it is designed, not when it is patched.

Deliberate Work™ makes work:

The result is an operating system for work—one leaders can see, trust, and evolve.

Why This Is Different

Most operating systems fail not because they're poorly designed, but because leadership continues to behave as if the old system still exists.

Process maps don't change behavior. New tools don't change behavior. Only leadership alignment changes behavior.

The Deliberate Work™ Diagnostic explicitly examines:

Because work follows leadership behavior, not documentation.

How It Works

Three phases. Two to three weeks. Concrete outcomes.

01

Diagnose

See the Work

Surface how work actually enters, flows through, and exits your organization—and how leadership behavior shapes that flow.

  • Leadership interviews
  • Real work traced end-to-end
  • Intake and flow analysis
  • Ownership & accountability diagnosis
02

Design

Make It Deliberate

Design how work should flow going forward. Make ownership, stages, and steps explicit. Introduce governance only where risk exists.

  • Future-state workflow design
  • Step design workshops (5×5 Method)
  • Execution mode decisions
  • Governance-by-design
03

Align

Make It Stick

Align leadership behavior with the designed system. Establish signals, metrics, and review cadence. Create a safe transition path.

  • Leadership alignment session
  • Incentive and signal review
  • Metrics definition
  • 90-day transition plan

The Method

Step Execution Design (5×5 Method)

Most execution problems happen at the step level—where work actually gets done. Each critical step is designed with five explicit elements:

1
Clear Intent
2
Definition of Ready
3
Bounded Execution
4
Definition of Done
5
Declared Impact

Hard rule: No step starts without readiness. No step ends without outputs. If debate persists, the step isn't designed yet.

What You Receive

A designed operating model for work, grounded in how your organization actually functions.

1

Leadership Reality Summary

How leadership behavior currently shapes work—and where it unintentionally undermines execution.

2

Current & Future-State Work Maps

Visual maps showing how work flows today versus how it should flow when designed deliberately.

3

Designed Workflows & Ownership

Explicit value streams, workflows, stages, and named owners—not roles, names.

4

Step Execution Canvases

Critical steps designed with clear intent, readiness, execution mode, outputs, and declared impact.

5

Governance Model

Risk-based controls applied only where necessary—built into the system, not layered on top.

6

Metrics & Review Cadence

A small set of flow, quality, and health signals leadership can actually trust.

7

90-Day Transition Plan

A practical plan for moving from design to reality without disruption.

Who This Is For

Leaders ready to design work deliberately

20–200 People

Big enough for real complexity, small enough to actually change

Knowledge & Service

Where work moves between people, not just machines

Busy but Brittle

Teams working hard but progress feeling fragile

Ready to Scale

Preparing to grow without adding chaos

Expectations

What this engagement is—and isn't

This engagement is:

  • A design and alignment engagement
  • Focused on clarity and durability
  • Grounded in real work, not theory
  • Founder-led, not delegated

This engagement is not:

  • Software implementation
  • Tool migration
  • Open-ended consulting
  • Performance management or coaching

Next Steps

Find out if you're ready

Readiness Assessment
5 minutes • 8 questions • Immediate results

The Diagnostic only works when certain conditions are in place. This assessment helps you understand where you stand—and whether a conversation makes sense.

You'll discover your readiness across

  • System thinking vs. fix-the-symptom thinking
  • Leadership ownership of execution
  • Ability to focus deliberately
  • Authority to make decisions stick
Take the Assessment

Or skip straight to a conversation if you already know this is right.

The Outcome

Execution you can trust

Deliberate Work™ turns execution from a liability into an asset.

Ready?

Two ways to start

Take the assessment to see where you stand, or reach out directly if you already know this is right.

Take the Readiness Assessment Start a Conversation