Delivery model · Fractional COO
The team needs an owner, not more advice
Senior operational leadership, a day or two a week.
At a glance
- The problem
- The founder holds the operating rhythm and exceptions in their head.
- What we do
- We embed an operator to design, run and hand over the three pillars.
- What you leave with
- Owned workflows, a review cadence and a handover plan for your team.
Monday
Tuesday
Your team runs itWednesday
Your team runs itThursday
Friday
Your team runs itIllustrative week: two days of operator support, three days run by the team. Rhythm and unblocking on Monday; building and coaching on Thursday.
Scopeone or two operator days per week
Scopeownership across three pillars
Scope90-day engagement and handover plan
What the work looks like
An embedded operator builds for handover
A fractional role provides operational leadership on agreed days, rather than a full-time appointment. The diagnostic names the constraint, and a scoped ownership plan sets the route to handover.
- Diagnostic-led focus
- Ownership plan
- Exit and handover criteria
| Pillar | Design · days 1 to 30 | Run · days 31 to 60 | Hand over · days 61 to 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to Competency | Operator + workflow owner | Operator coaches; team runs | Named team owner |
| Commercial Flow | Operator + workflow owner | Operator coaches; team runs | Named team owner |
| Bottlenecks & Rhythm | Operator + workflow owner | Operator coaches; team runs | Named team owner |
Scope illustration. Confirm timing and ownership after diagnosis.
Scope: 90-day ownership plan across Time to Competency, Commercial Flow and Bottlenecks and Rhythm. Design in days 1 to 30 with operator accountable; run in days 31 to 60 with operator and team; hand over in days 61 to 90 to named team owners.
The same owner connects the three pillars
Onboarding, quoting and the operating rhythm cannot be maintained in isolation. The operator keeps process owners aligned, reviews the measures and escalates exceptions that need a founder decision.
- Current onboarding and SOPs
- Commercial SLA review
- Weekly improvement pipeline
Time to Competency
Onboarding and SOPs kept current
Named owner → review → improveCommercial Flow
Quote and approval SLAs reviewed
Named owner → review → improveBottlenecks & Rhythm
Metrics and improvements owned
Named owner → review → improveTime to Competency: keep onboarding and SOPs current. Commercial Flow: monitor quoting, pricing and approval SLAs. Bottlenecks and Rhythm: own weekly reviews and the improvement pipeline.
A larger programme needs scoped delivery capacity
Multi-site rollouts, systems migrations and delivery rescues may need more than fractional days. We scope programme leadership and additional capacity against the work, using the same diagnostic-first method.
- Programme scope
- Delivery capacity plan
- Decision-ready reporting
| Engagement | What changes | Shape of the work |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-site rollout | More locations and delivery owners | Programme leadership; phased rollout |
| Systems migration | More dependencies and coordination | Time-boxed programme; scoped capacity |
| Delivery rescue | A constraint needs concentrated support | Focused leadership; weekly review |
Scope examples: multi-site rollout needs programme leadership and phased site delivery; systems migration needs coordination and time-boxed milestones; delivery rescue needs focused leadership and additional capacity scoped to the constraint. No standard prices.
Illustrative scenario
Operational ownership no longer rests with the founder
Situation
A growing services company needs operational ownership but cannot justify a full-time COO.
Approach
Start with a diagnostic, embed an operator on two days each week and prioritise quoting, onboarding and the review cadence.
Outcome
Founder-held → team-owned
Illustrative: founder-held routines become owned workflows and a brief for a permanent operations lead.
A composite of patterns in growing teams, not a named client
How we would start
Agree the constraint before committing to the work
Start with an Operational Diagnostic, or frame the challenge with your free Vision Board.
Diagnose Prioritise Build Hand over