The 90-Day Operating System Engagement

The 90-Day Framework

Phase 01 (Weeks 1-3 )

The Margin & Capacity Audit

Phase 02 (Weeks 4-8 )

Operating System Deployment

Phase 03 (Weeks 9-12 )

Leadership Enablement & Hand-Off

Outcome: A crystal-clear, data-driven view of your firm's operational reality.

We replace assumptions with facts. This phase delivers a comprehensive diagnostic of your firm's financial health, project delivery workflow and decision-making bottlenecks.

What We Analyze:

• Financial Diagnostic: Revenue mix, margins, utilization, backlog, billing cycles

• Project Delivery Analysis: Fee vs. effort, scope creep, QA/QC, PM decision authority

• Organizational Audit: Decision rights, escalation paths, principal involvement

• Leadership Cadence Review: Meeting effectiveness, metrics, decision quality

Key Deliverables:

• Firm Health Snapshot: Decide where to focus for the biggest financial impact

• Margin Leakage Map: Pinpoint exactly where you are losing 5-15% of revenue and how to stop it

• Bottleneck Map: Identify which people or processes are slowing down delivery and costing you capacity

• Meeting Effectiveness Scorecard: Decide which meetings to kill, keep or redesign to drive action

Phase 1 Deliverable: The Operations Clarity Brief, a concise executive summary that includes the maps and scorecards above, plus a 90-Day Priority Map outlining exactly what to fix next.

Note: This phase can be engaged as a standalone diagnostic.

Outcome: A simple, repeatable system for managing your firm.

We translate the diagnostic findings into a customized, lightweight operating system. This is not about creating bureaucracy; it is about installing the minimum effective structure needed to drive predictability and control.

What Gets Installed:

• Financial Control Rhythm: A weekly/monthly cadence for reviewing project margins and firmwide KPIs

• Capacity Planning System: A forward-looking model for staffing and hiring that aligns with your backlog and revenue forecast

• Standardize Delivery: A clear playbook for project managers that defines roles, decision rights and risk escalation

• Emergency Escalation Protocol: A simple framework that defines what constitutes a true emergency vs. a routine issue and who is authorized to handle each

Outcome: A self-sufficient leadership team that can run the system without you.

We transfer ownership of the operating system to your leadership team, ensuring it survives real-world pressure and reduces your dependency on day-to-day firefighting.

Key Deliverables:

• Quarterly Planning Template: A repeatable template for running quarterly planning sessions, including agenda, key questions and decision framework

• 90-Day Sustainability Plan: A one-page summary of the top 3 priorities your leadership team must execute in the next 90 days to sustain the system

• 30-Day Post-Engagement Check-in: A complimentary 60-minute call 30 days after engagement completion to answer questions and ensure the system is functioning as designed

The system will not depend on StudioLedger to function. You own it.

Start With A Diagnostic

Not ready to commit to the full 90-day engagement? Phase 1 (The Margin & Capacity Audit) can be purchased as a standalone diagnostic. You will receive the Operations Clarity Brief, including all maps and scorecards, plus 90-Day Priority Map. This gives you a clear, data-driven view of where your firm is losing money and capacity, without committing to the full engagement.

If you choose to proceed with the full 90-day engagement, the diagnostic fee is credited toward the total investment.

Ongoing Service Options

Fractional COO Support

Fractional COO Support: For firms wanting extended support to lock in gains, we offer an ongoing advisory retainer.

Includes:

• Monthly 90-minute leadership meeting facilitation

• Quarterly planning session facilitation (half-day)

• Monthly financial performance review

• Up to 5 hours per month of on-demand advisory supprt (email/call with 24-48 hour response time)