The common questions
How we engage, how we charge, who does the work, and how we keep it confidential — sorted before you reach out.
Three ways. Most of our work is fixed-scope projects — a defined diagnosis, design, or delivery program with a clear outcome. We also offer ongoing advisory retainers for leadership teams that want a senior thinking partner on call, and embedded delivery where we implement alongside your team. We’ll recommend the right model after understanding your challenge.
We scope and price the outcome, not the hours. Most engagements are fixed-fee, agreed in writing before any work begins, so there are no surprise invoices. Retainers are a flat monthly fee. We’re happy to discuss value-based structures for the right engagement.
It depends entirely on scope. A focused diagnostic is a smaller, fixed-fee engagement; a full diagnose-design-deliver program is larger and runs over several months. After a first conversation we provide a clear scope and a fixed fee — you’ll never be guessing.
A diagnostic typically runs four to six weeks. A full program — diagnose, design, and deliver — usually spans three to six months, sometimes longer for large transformations. Advisory retainers are ongoing. We’ll give you a realistic timeline as part of the scope.
Senior people. The partner you meet in the first conversation is on your engagement, working the problem — not selling it and disappearing. We keep teams small and senior by design. That’s the whole point of a boutique.
Every engagement is governed by a mutual NDA. We anonymize client names and identifying details in our case studies and insights unless a client has explicitly approved disclosure, and we handle your data with care throughout. Discretion is the default.
We tie every engagement to a measurable outcome from the start — margin points, cost out, growth, cycle time, service level — and track value capture against the plan in real time during delivery. We’d rather be held to a number than to a deck.
Meaningfully, by design. The best results come from working shoulder-to-shoulder with your people, not around them — it’s also how the change sticks after we leave. We’re mindful of your team’s time and structure the work to fit how your organization actually runs.
We focus on mid-market and PE-backed companies across eight sectors — industrials, consumer & retail, healthcare, financial services, technology, business services, private equity, and energy. If your challenge fits our capabilities, size matters less than fit.
That’s the Sustain phase of our Compass Method™. Before we leave, we hardwire the gains into your processes, metrics, and people, and build the capability to run it without us. Many clients keep us on a light advisory retainer — but the goal is always a result that lasts on its own.