Ops Diagnostic
Before you hire, change tools or add another process, find out what is creating operational friction.
A focused assessment of how your business works across People, Projects and Systems. Understand what is becoming disconnected, then decide what to change first.
You can see the pressure without being sure of the cause
Projects need more chasing. The same people are stretched across too many commitments. Work takes longer than expected, but it is difficult to tell whether the problem is capacity, scope, planning or the way decisions get made.
Everyone sees a different part of the picture. You need a clear diagnosis before committing time and money to a solution.
We follow the work from commitment to completion
Together, we examine a representative slice of your operations, from priorities and responsibilities through processes, systems and day-to-day ways of working. We use examples from your business to distinguish recurring patterns from one-off frustrations.
How do you decide what to take on and when you can start?
Can you see the demands on your people across projects?
Where do work, decisions or information wait?
How are changing scope, dependencies and risks handled?
What can leaders see early enough to make a useful decision?
The aim is to identify the few changes with the strongest case behind them, rather than create a list of everything that could be improved.
Ops Diagnostic Method
Three connected lenses
People
Who owns the work and the decisions? We look at responsibilities, capacity, communication and the handovers that depend on people understanding one another.
Projects
How are priorities translated into achievable plans? We look at projects, dependencies, progress and how risks are raised.
Systems
Does the way information moves support the work? We look at workflows, tools, reporting and review routines, including where the team relies on workarounds.
How it works
Before we meet
I gather your perspective, invite confidential input from two to five team members and review a small set of useful materials. These might include a project plan, pipeline or capacity view and an example of a client handover. We agree what is relevant so preparation stays proportionate.
A focused working session
You and the relevant team members join a 3.5-hour Miro session. We map how work moves, compare perspectives and test the emerging patterns against real examples. We agree the priorities before moving into detailed solution design.
A clear recommendation
I turn the findings into a concise executive report and walk you through the recommended next steps. Where the evidence is incomplete, I make that explicit rather than present an assumption as a finding.
What you leave with
A clear picture of the main operational bottlenecks and the evidence behind them
Three prioritised outcomes, with the business reason for each
A design brief describing what needs to change and what should stay
A 90-day roadmap with sequencing, proposed owners and measures of progress
An executive report and handover conversation
Ops Diagnostic Fit & Next Steps
Built for founder-led service businesses
This is a good fit for founder-led service businesses, typically with a small team, where growth or complexity has made the operation harder to coordinate.
You may be adding services, taking on more work or finding that the founder can no longer stay close to every decision. You want a better basis for deciding what to change and are willing to involve the people doing the work.
What the Diagnostic does not include
The Diagnostic identifies priorities and the requirements for change. It does not include implementing a new system, documenting every process or providing ongoing monthly support. It is not a financial audit.
What happens afterwards
You can use the roadmap with your own team. If you want support putting the work into action, I can scope Flexible Ops Consulting. There is no obligation to continue.
Investment
The Diagnostic is a fixed-fee engagement. We confirm the scope and fee before you book, including preparation, the working session, report and handover.
Start with the problem you can see
You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis. Tell me where the business is becoming harder to run and we will discuss whether this is the right next step.