How We Work
We run your operating system: priorities, cadence, coordination, and clear reporting. You approve budgets and vendors; we orchestrate execution through trusted partners.
Think of us as the central nervous system for your operations—connecting strategy to execution, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. We bring discipline, visibility, and velocity to complex initiatives without adding bureaucracy or overhead.
Operating Model
Set Priorities
Define what matters most and sequence initiatives based on impact and capacity
Align Owners
Clarify accountability and ensure every initiative has a clear DRI (Directly Responsible Individual)
Manage Tradeoffs
Navigate resource constraints and competing demands with transparent decision frameworks
Report Outcomes
Deliver clear visibility into progress, risks, and results through consistent cadence
We work seamlessly inside your existing technology stack—whether that's Notion, ClickUp, Asana, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or any combination. No new platforms to learn, no data migration headaches, no vendor lock-in. We adapt to your environment and elevate how you use the tools you already have.
Our approach is platform-agnostic and designed for flexibility. We meet you where you are, then optimize your workflows incrementally without disrupting ongoing operations.
Roles & Responsibilities
Owner / Leadership
Sets strategic goals, approves budgets, and provides timely decisions when escalation is needed. Owns the "what" and "why" while delegating the "how."
BYF (Operations Lead)
Owns the operating plan, maintains execution cadence, coordinates partners, tracks KPIs and risks, and prepares decision points with clear context and recommendations.
Partners / Vendors
Execute hands-on work under BYF direction with clear acceptance criteria, deliverable standards, and communication protocols. Accountable for quality and timelines.
This three-part model ensures clarity at every level. Leadership stays focused on strategic decisions without getting pulled into execution details. BYF acts as the orchestration layer—translating strategy into action, coordinating workstreams, and surfacing issues before they become crises. Partners deliver specialized expertise while staying aligned to broader objectives.
The result? Faster execution, fewer surprises, and leadership time freed up for high-value activities.
Governance & Cadence
Weekly Leadership Call
Frequency varies by plan tier—designed to keep leadership informed without becoming a time sink. Focused on exceptions, decisions, and strategic alignment rather than status updates.
KPI Scorecard
Real-time visibility into key metrics with trend analysis, targets, and exceptions flagged. No hunting through spreadsheets or waiting for monthly reports.
Risk & Issue Register
Proactive tracking of blockers and risks with assigned owners, mitigation plans, and escalation paths. Problems surface early when they're still manageable.
Decision Log
Documented context and outcomes for major decisions—creating institutional memory and reducing re-litigation of settled questions.
Quarterly Planning
Structured planning cycles to set priorities, allocate resources, and align on success metrics for the next quarter.
Retrospectives
Regular reflection on what's working and what's not, with concrete improvements implemented each cycle. Continuous optimization built into the operating rhythm.
This governance framework provides structure without rigidity. Cadences are predictable, artifacts are always current, and leadership has the information needed to steer confidently.
Artifacts We Maintain
Living Operating Plan
Dynamic roadmap showing current priorities, upcoming initiatives, and strategic sequencing. Updated continuously as conditions change—never a stale document gathering dust.
Program Tracker
Comprehensive view of all initiatives with milestones, budget tracking, dependencies, and status. Single source of truth for portfolio health and resource allocation.
Vendor Scopes & SLAs
Clear documentation of what each partner is responsible for, expected service levels, and communication protocols. Eliminates ambiguity and sets expectations.
Acceptance Criteria & QA Checkpoints
Explicit quality standards and review gates for deliverables. Ensures work meets requirements before being marked complete—reducing rework and scope creep.
These artifacts aren't bureaucracy for its own sake—they're operational infrastructure that accelerates execution. With clear documentation, onboarding new stakeholders is faster, handoffs are smoother, and tribal knowledge becomes institutional knowledge.
Tiered Engagement Rhythms
Integrator Lite
Weekly call, light coordination for 1–2 initiatives, monthly KPI review. Perfect for focused projects or companies just starting to formalize operations.
Business Integrator
2× weekly leadership alignment, cross-vendor orchestration for 3–6 initiatives, weekly KPI pack, budget oversight, executive memos. Ideal for scaling companies managing multiple concurrent workstreams.
Fractional COO
Full operating drumbeat: daily orchestration, OKRs and quarterly planning, PMO oversight, vendor strategy and negotiations, board reporting. Comprehensive operational leadership for high-growth or complex organizations.
Each tier is designed to match your operational complexity and growth stage. Start with Integrator Lite and scale up as needs evolve, or begin with Fractional COO if you need comprehensive operational leadership from day one.
All tiers deliver the same quality and discipline—the difference is scope, frequency, and depth of engagement. We right-size support to your actual needs without over-engineering or leaving gaps.
Tools & Access
01
Adopt Your Tools
We work in your existing environment and reduce software sprawl wherever practical. No proprietary platforms or forced migrations.
02
Least-Privilege Access
Minimal necessary permissions with audit trails enabled. Security and data governance taken seriously from day one.
03
Clear Configuration Docs
Any environment changes are documented with rationale, rollback procedures, and impact assessment. Full transparency into what's changing and why.
We respect that your technology stack represents significant investment and organizational muscle memory. Rather than imposing new tools, we optimize how you use what you already have—surfacing best practices, automating manual workflows, and creating connective tissue between disconnected systems.
When new tools are warranted, we present options with clear ROI analysis and change management plans. Technology serves the operation, not the other way around.
Onboarding (First 2 Weeks)
1
Week 0
Contract, Access, and Kickoff
Finalize engagement terms, provision necessary access, and conduct kickoff meeting to align on objectives and constraints.
2
Week 1
Discovery, KPI Baseline, Draft Plan
Deep dive into current state, establish baseline metrics, interview key stakeholders, and draft initial operating plan with quick wins identified.
3
Week 2
Confirm Priorities, Publish Cadence, Start Execution
Finalize priorities with leadership, establish meeting rhythms, launch first initiatives, and begin regular reporting cycles.
Our onboarding is designed for speed without sacrificing thoroughness. By Week 2, you'll have clarity on what's happening, who's accountable, and how progress will be measured. We hit the ground running while building relationships and understanding your unique context.
The first 30 days set the tone for the entire engagement—we deliver early wins to build momentum while establishing sustainable operating rhythms for the long term.
What We Don't Do
No Hands-On Implementation
BYF does not perform execution work like design, development, advertising, CRM builds, copywriting, bookkeeping, legal services, or IT administration.
Partner-Driven Execution
Implementation is handled by your approved partners or internal team under our direction, coordination, and quality oversight.
Our Role: Orchestration
We direct, coordinate, and ensure quality—but specialized execution remains with domain experts who do it better than we ever could.
This boundary is intentional and strategic. By focusing exclusively on orchestration, we remain objective, avoid conflicts of interest, and scale across diverse initiatives without needing deep domain expertise in every discipline.
You get best-in-class execution from specialists, coordinated by operational experts who ensure alignment, quality, and timely delivery. It's the difference between conducting an orchestra and playing every instrument yourself.
We help you select and manage partners effectively—vetting vendors, negotiating terms, defining scopes, and holding them accountable—but we don't replace them.
Ready to Start?
Begin with the Operational Intake
Our intake process takes 30–45 minutes and gives us the context needed to recommend the right engagement tier and craft a tailored operating plan.
Or explore our Pricing page to compare plan options and see which engagement model fits your current operational complexity and growth trajectory.
Most engagements begin within 5–7 business days of intake completion. We move quickly because we know operational gaps don't wait for perfect timing.
Whether you're drowning in execution chaos, scaling faster than your systems can handle, or simply want world-class operational rigor without hiring a full-time COO—we're ready to help you run better.