INPUT
One live priority
State what changed and what gets harder if the problem waits.
How the work moves
Start with the live decision.
Northstar is a second chair to the accountable leader: a principal-led operating partner who can help frame a consequential issue, align the right owners, and install a cadence that makes progress visible.
01 / Fit
Confirm the issue and the authority to move it.
The first step establishes what is at stake, who owns the business result, and whether the work can be bounded. If another resource is better suited, say so early.
SPONSOR
Executive access
Include the person who can clarify the decision and authorize the work.
SCOPE
Defined outcome
Separate the required result from an open-ended request for help.
NEXT
Right-sized engagement
Choose a tool, working session, sprint, or no engagement based on fit.
02 / Working session
Test the diagnosis before increasing the scope.
A 90-minute working session examines one consequential issue. The output is a one-page decision memo: the decision, owner, date, open dependencies, and the next evidence to inspect.
Leave with a decision memo that stands on its own, whether or not a sprint follows.
03 / Four-week sprint
Move one outcome from diagnosis into operating cadence.
The Four-Week Decision & Execution Sprint is a fixed, bounded engagement at the current v1 planning price of $7,500, subject to fit and a written scope.
WEEK 01
Build the fact base
Map stakeholders, decisions, dependencies, and the source of friction.
WEEK 02
Set choices and ownership
Clarify the trade-offs, decision rights, and sequence of moves.
WEEK 03
Install the working rhythm
Run the intervention and make issues visible in the operating cadence.
WEEK 04
Prove, hand off, or pivot
Review the evidence, deliver a 90-day plan, and agree what happens next.
04 / Embedded mandate
Ongoing capacity follows demonstrated need.
When the operating value is recurring, a selective embedded mandate can provide senior capacity beside the leader. Scope, decision rights, cadence, and exit conditions are explicit. Current planning range: $12,500-$25,000 per month, with a 90-day initial term.
Planning prices are the current v1 source; they are not a quote. Each engagement requires a defined outcome and written scope. Northstar does not sell staff augmentation or open-ended advisory hours.