How we work
Four phases. Fixed fees. Out in about a year.
We borrowed the names from the mills our founders grew up near, because the work is similar: test what you have, pour it into a shape, temper it so it takes load without cracking, then let it go.
Assay
We test what the company is really made of: margins by customer, where decisions sit, what the team can carry.
Cast
The scorecard, the meetings and the decision rights go in. Pricing fixes start on the worst accounts.
Temper
We sit in less and less. The team runs the cadence while we coach the leaders and fix what bends.
Release
We leave. A quarterly check-in for a year, at no charge, to see that it held.
The operating model
Five layers, built from the bottom up.
Every engagement touches all five, in this order. Skip the numbers and the meetings turn into opinions. Skip the meetings and the team never forms. Skip the team and there is nothing to sell.
Scaling past the founder
A second plant, a new branch, an acquisition. The playbook from layers one to four is written down, so the new site runs it from week one instead of inventing its own.
Succession and exit readiness
Whether the next owner is a buyer, a family member or the management team, we make the company legible: clean monthly close, documented customer relationships, a leadership track record in writing.
Leadership team building
We map every decision that crosses your desk and assign it a seat. Then we decide, with you, who sits in each seat, who needs coaching, and what to hire.
Operating cadence and KPIs
Twelve measures, each with one owner. A daily huddle, a weekly scorecard meeting, a monthly margin review and a quarterly plan. We run the first six weeks, then hand them over.
Margin and pricing
Job, product and customer profitability at actual cost, including the expedites, the rework and the free engineering hours. Then price changes in the order that hurts least and pays most.
The cadence, on a calendar
What a normal month looks like after Cast.
Red is a meeting you no longer run. Black is one you still attend. By month nine most owners attend one or two meetings a month instead of twenty.
Huddle
Each site, each shift. 15 minutes.
- Yesterday's misses
- Today's constraint
- Who needs help
Scorecard
Leadership team. 60 minutes.
- Twelve numbers, red or green
- Owners name the fix
- No debate in the room
Margin review
Leadership plus finance. 2 hours.
- Margin by customer and line
- Price changes decided
- Quote rules updated
Plan day
Leadership, offsite. 1 day.
- Three to five priorities
- One owner each
- Everything else waits
Fees and terms
Priced up front. No hourly meter.
Owners tell us the hourly model is why they never called a consultant before. So every phase has a fixed fee, agreed before it starts, and you can stop after any phase.
Assay
Margin map, decision audit, leadership assessment, and a written plan with what we would do and what it would cost. Yours to keep whether or not we go further.
Cast
Two of us on site one to two days a week. Scorecard, meetings, decision rights and the first pricing changes in place.
Temper
One lead partner, on site twice a month, plus leader coaching. Ends when the cadence runs for eight straight weeks without us.
Release
A half-day visit each quarter for a year to read the scorecard with you. If something slipped, we say so.
Typical full engagement: $176,000 to $212,000 over 10 to 13 months. Travel billed at cost.
Questions owners ask us
The honest answers.
These come up on almost every intro call. If yours isn't here, ask it on the call.
Do you only work in Pittsburgh?
No. About a third of our clients are within a day's drive of Pittsburgh. In all, we've worked in 31 states. We fly in for on-site days and run the rest by video.
We already tried EOS. Is this the same?
Some of the cadence will look familiar. The difference is the margin work underneath it, and that we're in your building between sessions, not only in the room for a quarterly session day.
How much of my time does it take?
About four hours a week during Assay and Cast. Then it drops, which is the point. Your leadership team carries more of it each month.
Will you replace people on my team?
We'll tell you plainly if a seat has the wrong person in it. What happens next is your decision. About half the time the fix is clearer decision rights, not a new hire.
What size company is too small?
Under about $5M, the owner usually still should be the system. We'll say so and point you to someone who fits better.
Can we start with just pricing?
Yes. A standalone margin and pricing project runs eight weeks for a fixed $46,000. Most clients who start there come back for cadence.
See whether the Assay fits.
A 45-minute call with a partner. We'll ask about margins, your team and your calendar, and tell you whether the six weeks would be worth your money.
