Third section · Method
A method,
not a toolkit.
Every engagement follows the same four movements. The content is bespoke; the shape is not. We think the shape is half the value — it protects you from the common failure modes of this kind of work (scope sprawl, dependency on us, vague outcomes, the sense that you are paying for something but you're not sure what).
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I.
Discovery
A thirty-minute call.
You and the firm, on a video call. We ask what's tying you up. You tell us. We listen more than we talk. We tell you honestly whether we think we can help, and whether the problem is one we're the right shape for.
- Duration
- 30 minutes.
- Cost
- Nothing.
- What you get
- A straight answer.
- What we need
- A calendar slot.
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II.
Diagnosis
A written document.
Within a week of the call, we send a short written diagnosis. Two to four pages. Not a sales deck. It describes what we heard, what we see, three possible paths forward, and what a next step would cost. You can take it to another firm if you like. The document is yours.
- Duration
- Within 5 working days.
- Cost
- Nothing.
- What you get
- A written opinion, signed.
- What we need
- Honesty on the call.
Most firms charge for this step. We don't, because we think a good diagnosis — the part that tells you whether to bother at all — should not be pay-walled. The work of the setup afterwards is where the engagement begins in earnest.
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III.
Setup
The one-off build.
If you choose to proceed, we agree a fixed price for the setup work and a fixed deliverable list. We build. You review. We iterate once. The setup is designed to finish — there is a date on which we stop charging for it, and it is written on the page.
- Duration
- 3 to 8 weeks, typically.
- Cost
- £2,000–£6,000, fixed.
- What you get
- Working systems, documented.
- What we need
- One decision-maker, reachable.
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IV.
Retainer
The steady state.
Once the setup is live, most clients keep us on a monthly retainer. This is for maintenance, the occasional extension, and for being the person who picks up the phone when something breaks at quarter-end. The retainer is cancellable month-to-month. We do not sign year-long lock-ins.
- Duration
- Rolling. Month-to-month.
- Cost
- £500–£1,500 per month.
- What you get
- Continuity. A phone number.
- What we need
- Thirty days' notice to stop.
Some clients don't need a retainer. We will tell you honestly after the setup whether we think yours does. A retainer that isn't being used is a tax on our relationship with you; we'd rather you paused it and called us when you actually needed something.
A note on what we will not do.
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We do not charge by the hour. The incentives are wrong for both of us. Fixed scope, fixed price, monthly retainer — nothing in between.
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We do not bid against other firms. If you are running a procurement process with three quotes, we are probably not the right firm for you. There are good firms who will take that brief; we are not one of them.
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We do not build things that need us to keep running them. A good outcome is one in which you could in theory fire us tomorrow and the business would keep working. We don't hide keys.
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We do not take on work that is better done by another discipline. If your problem is really about strategy, hiring, or finance, we will say so and suggest people who do that work well.