4-week sprint
Total · 4 weeks
Simplify· 1 wk
Optimize· 3 wk
Common for “tune what we have” engagements — when the existing stack just needs to start doing its job.
The simple playbook that helps you soar.
SOAR is the operating method we apply to every engagement, regardless of length or scope. Four steps, in order, every time — because clarity, optimization, automation, and team development are sequential, not parallel.
Simplify
We cut through the noise before we touch a line of code or vet a vendor. Most stuck systems aren't stuck because the technology is wrong — they're stuck because the problem hasn't been pinned down. Simplify is where that pinning happens.
What happens in this phase
Working sessions with your team to map the real objective (not the proxy goal), identify the actual users (not the assumed users), and surface the real constraints (the ones your team has stopped mentioning because nobody can change them). We document everything in a shared one-pager that becomes our shared objectives for the engagement.
When this phase succeeds
The team has shared language for the problem, agreement on what success looks like, and clarity on what's in scope versus what's noise.
Typical activities
- Stakeholder interviews (founders, operators, end users)
- Current-state workflow mapping
- Tech-stack audit
- Friction inventory — where work gets stuck and why
- Constraint surfacing — budget, calendar, risk tolerance, hiring posture
Common deliverables
- Engagement one-pager (our shared objectives for the engagement)
- Friction inventory
- Stack diagram
- Prioritized list of objectives with success criteria
Optimize
Before we add anything, we tune what you already have. Most teams have more capacity in their current stack than they realize — locked up in workflows that aren't quite right, configurations nobody has revisited in a year, and data the team has stopped trusting. Optimize is where we close that gap before spending a dollar on something new.
What happens in this phase
We work the systems you already own, the workflows your team already runs, and the data you already have. We tune configurations, clean up workflow gaps, remove duplicated work, and document what works so it sticks. Many engagements end here, because most problems are solvable inside the current stack.
When this phase succeeds
Your existing stack is doing what it was meant to do, the team isn't fighting the tools anymore, and you've recovered hours per week without buying anything new.
Typical activities
- Configuration audits on existing platforms (CRM, PM tool, ERP)
- Workflow redesign with the team
- Data clean-up (deduplication, normalization, field hygiene)
- Documentation of working patterns
- Training updates for the team
Common deliverables
- Tuned-up configurations on existing tools
- Refreshed workflow documentation
- Cleaned data
- Updated playbooks for the team
Automate
When the foundation is solid, we bring in the right tools — AI assistants, integration platforms, custom apps — to carry the load your team shouldn't be carrying anymore.
What happens in this phase
We identify the work that survives Optimize and is still repetitive, rule-based, or routinely consumed by your best people. Then we build the automations — either lightweight (Zapier / Make / n8n) or heavyweight (custom apps, AI workflows, integration platforms) depending on what the work demands.
When this phase succeeds
Repetitive work runs without humans, exceptions get surfaced cleanly, and your team's calendar opens up for the work that needed them.
Typical activities
- Automation candidate identification
- Build vs buy decision for each candidate
- Pilot implementation
- Exception handling and monitoring setup
- Production rollout
Common deliverables
- Working automations
- Exception runbooks
- Monitoring dashboards
- Hand-off documentation for your team
Rise
The technology only matters if the people who run it can keep it running. Rise is where we lift the team that operates the new reality — through documentation, coaching, hiring, and succession planning — so the gains stick after we step back.
What happens in this phase
We work with your operators to make sure they own the new systems, the new workflows, and the new automations. Coaching the people who'll run it day-to-day, hiring any gaps the engagement surfaced, and building the documentation that lets the team operate without us.
When this phase succeeds
Your team can operate the new system without us, can extend it without us, and can answer the next round of questions without us.
Typical activities
- Documentation production
- Operator coaching
- Hiring (if gaps were identified)
- Succession planning for critical roles
- Knowledge transfer sessions
Common deliverables
- Operating documentation
- Coaching plans
- New hires (if applicable)
- Succession plans
What an engagement actually looks like.
Three sample shapes. Most engagements land near one of these — but every scope is built around the work itself, not a template.
12-week build
Total · 12 weeks
Simplify· 2 wk
Optimize· 3 wk
Automate· 5 wk
Rise· 2 wk
Common for “modernize and automate” engagements — usually after a Technology Assessment surfaces the priorities.
6-month transformation
Total · 26 weeks
Simplify· 3 wk
Optimize· 6 wk
Automate· 10 wk
Rise· 7 wk
Common for “reshape how we operate” engagements — multiple workstreams, leadership coaching, and a team-development arc baked in.
Questions we get before an engagement starts.
If you have one we haven't answered here, that's a fine reason to start a conversation.