01
We write down what is currently in the founder's head
Priorities, decision criteria, non-negotiables and what good looks like go into plain documents leadership can use.
Who We Help
Founder-led companies
The founder built the company by deciding fast and well. At a certain size, that same habit becomes the limit on how fast the company can move.
The problem
In most founder-led companies the strategy, the priorities and the definition of good work live in one head, which works until decisions queue at the same desk, managers escalate rather than decide and the founder spends the week unblocking work. The issue is rarely talent: the management system was never written down, so it cannot run without the person who carries it.
- 01Decisions wait for the founder even when someone else owns the outcome.
- 02Priorities shift when the founder changes their mind, and the team finds out late.
- 03Managers escalate instead of deciding, because the standard is not written anywhere.
- 04The founder sits in most meetings, because nothing gets concluded without them.
- 05A week of holiday for the founder slows the whole company down.
How it works
How we approach it
02
We move decisions, not just tasks
We define which decisions move to which roles, within which limits, and which stay with the founder, then run it weekly.
03
We install the cadence that replaces the founder as the coordination point
A weekly leadership meeting, a few KPIs and quarterly priorities with owners, run with us until the team runs them.
What changes
A company that keeps its standard and its pace when the founder steps out of the decision path.
- Decision rights that are explicit, not assumed
- Priorities and owners the whole leadership team can see
- Managers who decide inside clear limits
- A founder with time back for strategy, clients and the next stage
Services usually relevant here
Company Operating System
One management system for priorities, goals, metrics, owners and cadence.
Leadership Operating System
How the leadership team meets, reviews, decides and holds itself to account.
Team Operating System
The company system cascaded into departments, with clear owners and handoffs.
Fractional COO & Chief of Staff
Senior operating leadership alongside the CEO, without a full-time hire.
Start with a free template
- Strategic roadmap template: guide and Excel
- Project prioritisation matrix: template and Excel guide
- Weekly leadership meeting agenda template (Excel and PDF)
- Monthly business review template: guide and Excel
- Quarterly business review (QBR) template: Excel and PowerPoint
- Accountability matrix template: ownership guide and Excel
Related reading
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What is a business operating system? A practical guide for growing companies
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How to create an operating cadence for your company
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The weekly leadership meeting: agenda, structure and best practices
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Your company has changed. Has the way it runs caught up?
The Operating Assessment establishes where execution is constrained, and what to fix first.
Who you will speak with
Francisco Campos
Co-founder · Strategy, Operations & Execution
Helps clarify priorities, structure teams and connect organisation design with business execution.
Ana Reis
Co-founder · Leadership, People & Change
Designs and implements People systems, from performance and careers to everyday management routines.
First conversation · 30 minutes
Tell us what is happening
Free and without obligation. Ana and Francisco reply personally.