Stage 02 of 03 · Sprint
FREE GRID™ Strategic Clarity Sprint
“We need an operating system around this priority.”
- Timeline
- 4–6 weeks
- Investment
- $10,000–$20,000
The problem
Why this engagement exists.
You already know which part of the operating system is failing. What you do not have is the thing that replaces it. Decision rights live in people’s heads. The review meeting reports status instead of forcing decisions. The handoffs between workstreams get renegotiated from scratch every time one of them moves. Each of those is fixable on its own. Fixing them one at a time, while the quarter runs, is the approach that has already not worked.
The outcome
What you end up with.
What you hold at the end. Not what Gerode does — what you can use the week after it closes, without us in the room.
- 01
Clarified decision rights, written down and agreed
- 02
A redesigned review cadence with consequences attached
- 03
Prioritized dependencies and a named owner for each handoff
- 04
An approved 90-day implementation plan
The method
How it runs.
In this order, because the later steps are worth less without the earlier ones. No week numbers: the engagement has a duration, and a schedule is set with you rather than published in advance.
Read the system as it actually operates
Not the org chart — who decides, who is consulted, who is told afterwards, and which of those arrangements holds when the decision is expensive.
Working sessions with the leadership team
Decision rights get settled in the room by the people who hold them. This is the part of the engagement that cannot be delegated to a document review.
Build the operating system
Governance map, decision-rights matrix, operating rhythm, workstream integration map, escalation protocol, KPI/OKR structure and risk log — drafted as one connected set, not seven documents that disagree.
Test it against a live decision
Run a real pending decision through the new structure before anyone signs it off, and change whatever the test breaks. A structure that has never carried weight is a diagram.
Approve the 90-day plan
The execution plan approved by the sponsor, with a named owner against each item — named while the owners are still in the room.
Deliverables, timeline, investment
What you receive, and what it costs.
Deliverables
- Governance map
- Decision-rights matrix
- Operating rhythm
- Workstream integration map
- Escalation protocol
- KPI/OKR structure
- Risk log
- 90-day execution plan
Every item on that list is a document or a standing session you keep. None of it requires Gerode to interpret it later.
Terms
- Timeline
- 4–6 weeks
- Investment
- $10,000–$20,000
- Scope sets where in the range it lands. The range is the published range, not an opening position.
- Billing
- Billed 50 / 25 / 25 across the engagement.
What we need from you
What this needs from you.
The engagement does not work without these, and saying so now is cheaper than discovering it in week one.
- An executive sponsor with authority to set decision rights
- Working sessions with the leadership team
- A decision on the operating cadence before the sprint closes
What this is not
Explicitly excluded.
Listed because a scope that has not been bounded is a scope that gets renegotiated later, and because knowing what a firm declines tells you more than knowing what it sells.
- Implementation labour — Gerode designs the operating system; your team runs it.
- Legal, tax, accounting, or insurance advice.
- Classified analysis, or any work requiring access to controlled information.
- Software development.
- Unlimited revision rounds.
Proof
What there is instead of a case study.
There is no case study on this page. Gerode has not closed a paid engagement, and inventing one — or implying one with a logo wall — would be the first thing this firm tells you not to do. What exists instead is the method, published in full, and the record of the principal in the organizations where the method was built.
“Quson is dedicated to the mission, routinely demonstrates initiative to pre-empt problems, and excels at navigating incredibly complex tasks across different organizational cultures. His ability to use data analytics sets him apart from his colleagues.”
“He is an institutional strategist. Although he can execute smaller, detail-oriented assignments effectively, his perspective on any problem is inherently that of an executive leader.”
These are professional references about the principal, given in other organizations. They are not client testimonials about this engagement, and they are not evidence that it produces a result. The method on the FREE GRID™ page is published in full so you can judge it directly rather than take a reference’s word for it.
Next step
What happens if you get in touch.
- Send one paragraph describing what is slipping. Not a brief — a paragraph.
- Expect a reply within 48 hours, which is the published expectation and the one to hold him to.
- A short call to decide which of the three stages fits, whether it is this one, another one, or none of them.
- If there is a fit, a written scope naming the people, the questions, and the date the work lands.