Systems Diagnostic

What it is

See the whole system. Then fix the right gap.

Most organizations don't have a people problem. They have a system nobody owns: a handoff no one is responsible for, a decision with no clear home, a process that lives in one person's head. When that system fails, someone gets blamed, usually a manager who was never given what they needed. The diagnostic finds the gaps, ranks them by what matters most, and gives you a plan your team can actually run.

Who it's for

Leaders who want the real answer.

You lead a nonprofit, social enterprise, creative agency, or mission-driven company, and something keeps falling through the cracks.
You're an executive director, founder, or department head who can feel the strain but can't point to where it starts.
You've inherited a team, a function, or a growth spurt without a system to match.
You want a plan your team can run, not a binder that sits on a shelf.

How it works

Six weeks, from first question to one page.

1
Before kickoff. The agreement is signed, the deposit is paid, and access is granted. The clock starts.
2
Week 1. We hold a kickoff session. You name who decides and confirm the interview list.
3
Weeks 2 and 3. I interview up to eight stakeholders and map how the system actually runs. The systems map lands at the end of week 3.
4
Week 4. You get the gap report draft, ranked by what matters most.
5
Weeks 5 and 6. Two rounds of revision, a 90-day roadmap, and your final one-page summary.

A standing weekly session and a written update run through all six weeks. The timeline is signed into the agreement, so everyone knows what lands when.

Payment due

After the six weeks

After the six weeks.

Many leaders stop here, with a plan their team can run. If you want help building the systems, or ongoing support and coaching for the leaders carrying them, we scope that together. It's always optional. If the gaps are mostly about how your team works together, Team Transformation is the natural next step. If they're about your own leadership, see Individual Leadership Focus.

How we work together

Clear is kind.

A fixed fee, agreed before we start, paid in three parts tied to milestones.
Six weeks, with dated milestones in a signed agreement. The clock starts at kickoff, once the deposit is in and access is granted.
Up to eight stakeholder interviews and two rounds of revision.
A standing weekly session, a weekly written update, and replies within one business day.
A signed timeline protects both sides. You get one free reschedule. After that, the work pauses until my calendar has room.

Proof

Where I've done this.

Oklahoma NAACP

8 years, Director of Operations

Built the system that routed discrimination and legal cases to the right people and attorneys, and handled media for the state president, including national outlets. Once cases had somewhere to go, people were connected to counsel, some went home on reduced charges, and the organization had the capacity to run voter activation events on Oklahoma campuses and to represent workers facing discrimination. Also audited membership and rebuilt the website.

National Council of Urban Indian Health

First communications director

Built the department from nothing in Asana, with a team of seven across six time zones, and wrote the SOPs and forms that put everything public-facing through one process for an organization of about 100. That made possible a full rebrand, national campaigns with the White House and Congress, and a direct line of communication to the 41 urban Indian health organizations NCUIH represents.

City events program

Inherited with no onboarding

Inherited a dozen paper notebooks and event budgets from $10,000 to $100,000, with no onboarding. Built the calendar, sorted every event by purpose, and gave the city manager a one-page answer he asked for again after the next event.

State Farm

Office Manager and Senior Risk Advisor

Saw the same gap across six agencies: independent offices with solid product training from the corporation and no standard for onboarding, daily rhythm, or equipping a team to hit its goals. Built the standard operating procedures that filled it: start-of-day processes, team member training, forms for tracking production, and a pacing system that broke monthly goals into weekly, daily, and half-day targets, so a team could see it was falling behind early instead of finding out at month end. Production and rankings rose, at an agency among the top five in the country. Sales leaders in other states asked to use the procedures to open new agencies.

Hard on systems. Kind to people.