What is a contract launch system?

A milestone-based start for every new contract that does not depend on the founder. Orientation happens in days 1 to 7, the PM owns delivery by day 30, and a documented delivery rhythm is in place by day 90.

When should a government contractor hire?

When gross margin hits a threshold you set. Awards slip and payroll does not, and customers pay in 30 to 90 days while payroll runs every two weeks.

How do I stop being the bottleneck in my own company?

Decide which decisions are yours. In a three-tier system the PM owns day-to-day execution, a director owns budget, staffing and quality exceptions, and the founder keeps pricing strategy, key relationships and new capability bets.

Which system should we build first?

Score each of the four systems from 1 to 5. A 1 means it lives in your head. A 5 means it runs without you. Your lowest score is your first build.

Step 03 of 03 | Run

Winning Contracts Doesn't Scale a Business. Systems Do.

We put four operating systems in place so the company does not break when you win.

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01Reset 02Grow

03Run

Where You Are

Sound Familiar?

You are in more meetings, not fewer.
Margin is compressing. You can feel it and cannot pinpoint it.
Every question still comes to you.
You keep saying you just need to get through this phase.

You cannot scale what only you can do.

The Framework

Four Systems Separate a Sellable Business From an Expensive Job.

Contract Launch

A new contract starts on milestones, without the founder on site.

Days 1 to 7, orientation: contract brief, key contacts and escalation path, delivered without the founder.
Days 8 to 30, active execution: weekly check-ins against the PWS. The PM owns delivery and the founder is kept informed.
Days 31 to 90, performance foundation: monthly check-ins documented and a delivery rhythm in place, which is what a strong CPARS is built on.

Ask yourself: Could your next contract win kick off without you on site?

Delivery

Quality holds no matter who is assigned.

Documented SOPs: every recurring task, written down.
Defined quality standards: what "done well" looks like.
Escalation protocol: the PM owns the first tier and you own the last.
Delivery dashboards: a weekly snapshot, no meeting required.

Ask yourself: If your best PM left on Friday, would quality hold on Monday?

Cash and Hiring

You know gross margin by contract, and you hire when it hits a threshold.

Awards slip. Payroll does not.
Customers pay in 30 to 90 days. Payroll is every two weeks.
Cost-plus, fixed-price and time-and-materials contracts each move cash differently.

Ask yourself: Do you know your gross margin by contract as of last month?

Decision Rights

Your team makes the day-to-day calls. You keep the ones only you should make.

Tier 1, the PM owns: day-to-day execution, schedule adjustments, routine customer contact.
Tier 2, a director owns: budget variances, staffing changes, quality exceptions, subcontractor issues.
Tier 3, the founder owns: pricing strategy, key relationships, new capability bets.

Ask yourself: Of the last 10 decisions you made, how many belonged to someone else?

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Score Yourself

Where Does Your Company Stand?

Score each of the four systems from 1 to 5.

1It lives in my head.

3It is written down, but it still runs through me.

5It runs without me.

Your lowest score is your first build. Send it to us and we will send back the five questions we ask first about that system.

Send My Score

What Comes Before

Systems Come Third for a Reason.

Reset

We rebuild your strategy, your story and your marketing from the past performance you actually have.

See Reset

Grow

A pipeline your past performance can support, capture on the deals worth chasing, and the relationships to win them.

See Grow

Where the Plan Calls for It

Two More Ways We Help.

ISO Implementation

We build your management system and get you ready for the certification audit.

See ISO Implementation

AI Strategic Assessment

Ten business days to find where the business is losing owner time, pipeline and margin, and which of those problems AI actually fixes.

See the AI Strategic Assessment

FAQ

Straight Answers.

Contract launch, delivery, cash and hiring, and decision rights. Together they let a new contract start, run and get paid without every decision going through the founder.

Get in Touch

Skip the Expensive Lessons.

We already paid for them. Tell us where the business is today and we will tell you what we would fix first.

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