Post one, in every Stream
You have a phone number and an email address, and both come to me. That is the whole of the setup. Here is what the first month actually looks like.
This week
Tell me what you hate doing. Not what you would like to know, which nobody can answer cold. What you hate. The thing you do every Friday that makes your jaw tighten.
Those conversations become the first pieces of your Business Object Model: the people, systems, information, decisions, and connections we need to understand.
While you do that, I am working out how your place actually runs. Not the org chart. Who really decides, where things get stuck, which customers make you money and which ones just make you busy.
Our first useful piece
We choose a small, useful starting point for your intelligence tool. It might bring together a few information sources you keep checking or turn scattered business context into something you can use.
You can see what we are building and correct what we have misunderstood. You do not need to map the business yourself.
After that
Your model and intelligence tool keep developing as we talk and learn. The monthly relationship is useful before you commission a bigger undertaking.
When either of us sees something worth pursuing, we discuss it. A pitch makes the proposed Target, Forecast, and any change to your monthly price explicit before you agree.
Every month
We look at what has become useful, what your model is revealing, and what deserves attention next. If we are pursuing a Target, I update the Forecast. A monthly conversation does not mean a new quote every month.
What you actually do
- Talk. Text me from the van at eleven at night, badly.
- Ring me when it is easier to say than to type.
- Tell me what matters, correct what I have misunderstood, and decide which pitches are worth backing.
What you never do
- Log in to update anything
- File, tag or sort
- Chase me
- Manage anybody
ERI am the one you would be dealing with. There is nobody behind me.
How it works / working model
We talk. We build a living model of your world and an intelligence tool around it. When something is worth pursuing, we agree on a Target and put more behind it.
A relationship that produces something
You work directly with me through regular conversations, email, and text. You do not have to arrive with a project or learn a new system for assigning work.
Behind those conversations, we continually build and evolve two things for you: your Business Object Model and an intelligence tool built around it. They are part of the base monthly relationship, not a reward for buying a bigger project.
Your world, made understandable
The Business Object Model is a structured picture of what matters to you: businesses, people, products, systems, information, decisions, and how they connect. It can include your company, an investment, a personal interest, or a venture you have not started yet.
We build it from what you tell us and the material you choose to share. You help us get it right; you do not have to spend your evenings filling it in.
An intelligence tool, not a document in a drawer
We build a practical way to gather and connect information around that model. Start with something useful: a focused briefing, a set of sources worth watching, or a clearer view of information scattered across your business.
We keep developing the model and tool as the relationship continues. We agree on the starting sources and capability so this remains useful and manageable, rather than pretending to monitor everything all the time.
When we find something worth doing
The model might reveal a recurring problem, an overlooked opportunity, or an unanswered question worth investigating. You might also arrive with something you simply want us to make happen.
That becomes a pitch: here is the result we could pursue, what I expect to accomplish first, and the monthly commitment it would require. You can discuss it, leave it for later, or agree to move ahead.
One Target. Room to figure it out.
Once agreed, the Target gives us a shared direction. It can include several big pieces of work and last longer than a month. The Forecast tells you what I realistically expect to accomplish next.
I choose how to get there: investigation, design, agents, software, or other capabilities. Your model and intelligence tool continue developing alongside that work.
The monthly price stays the same while the overall commitment stays comparable. Finishing a Target or changing the approach does not automatically mean another quote. We discuss a different price when we need a materially different commitment.
The work stays with the relationship
I publish the useful work, explanations, and artifacts in your Feed. You can see what is happening without becoming my project manager.
When you do not need a larger undertaking moving, we can return to the base arrangement. The relationship, model, and agreed intelligence capability continue instead of starting over the next time you have an idea.
Post two, in every Stream
Eight principles for a direct, flexible relationship. This is our current working model, not a task-management system.
- 1Bring me what is on your mind.Your business, a property, a hire, a new venture. I work directly for you, not just inside the boundaries of one company.
- 2The foundation keeps growing.Your Business Object Model and the agreed intelligence capability evolve throughout the monthly relationship, not only when we are pursuing a bigger Target.
- 3You control the commitment.We can change direction, scale up, or return to the smaller arrangement. No price increase happens without your agreement.
- 4An idea is not an order.Talking about something does not authorize work or add a charge. A pitch is how we agree to put more behind it.
- 5Keep what we learn.Useful context, evidence, and results belong in your Stream and model, so the next undertaking does not begin from zero.
- 6Work toward something useful.A Target might be a working tool, a tested idea, or an investigation that resolves an important decision. We agree on what would make the effort worthwhile.
- 7Talk to me however you like.Text, email, phone. You never have to say what kind of message it is. Working that out is my job.
- 8You never file, tag, sort or update anything.If you find yourself doing admin in here, I have built the wrong thing.
Post three, in every Stream
Seven words you will see in here, in plain English. Read it once and you never have to think about the vocabulary again. It stays at the bottom of your Stream if you want to come back to it.
- Your Stream
- The shared place for our relationship: what we understand, what we are working toward, and the things I have produced for you.
- The Feed
- Where I publish messages, pitches, work, and artifacts for you to read. You do not need to manage posts or keep it updated.
- Business Object Model (BOM)
- A living, structured picture of the people, businesses, systems, information, and relationships you want to understand or act upon. We build and evolve it for you.
- Your intelligence tool
- A useful way to bring relevant information together around your model. We start with an agreed set of sources and questions, then develop it as we learn what helps you.
- A Target
- The result we agree to pursue. One Target can include several big questions or pieces of work and can span more than one month.
- A pitch
- A proposal to pursue something worthwhile. Before you agree, it explains the Target, the initial Forecast, and any proposed change to your total monthly price.
- A Forecast
- What I currently expect to accomplish next, including the important unknowns. It changes as we learn; it is not a guarantee that the whole Target will be finished that month.
Pricing / working draft
An ongoing relationship, a growing Business Object Model, and an intelligence tool built for you. We are exploring $250–$500 a month for that foundation, with a custom monthly price when we agree to pursue a larger Target. These are not final offers.
Start small
OliOps is a startup that works directly for you. You begin with one monthly arrangement that is useful on its own. When something deserves more behind it, we agree on a larger commitment.
The foundation: an illustrative $250–$500 a month
Direct access to me through an agreed rhythm of conversations, with email and text between them. We are considering two meetings a month as a starting point; the exact package is still being defined.
A Business Object Model that we continually build and evolve: the people, businesses, systems, information, and connections you need to understand or act upon.
An intelligence tool that we build and develop around that model. We begin with a focused capability you can use, such as a briefing assembled from agreed sources, and improve it as we learn what matters to you.
You are not just paying for meetings or recommendations. You are getting a growing model and intelligence capability, even before you accept a larger pitch.
We agree on the initial sources, upkeep, and communication expectations. This is not unlimited custom software, research into every question, or instant support. Paid data, hosting, and other outside costs are made clear before you commit.
When something is worth doing, we pitch it
A pitch is simply a proposal to make something happen.
You might say, "Can you build something that pulls this information together for me?" I might say, "I think we can get rid of that weekly job you keep describing."
It might emerge from your model or intelligence tool, or from something you want to investigate, build, or deliver. I explain the proposed result, the first Forecast, and the total monthly price. You decide whether to put more behind it.
An idea is not a charge. Nothing gets added to your bill just because we discussed it.
Agree on a monthly price and get moving
For a larger undertaking, we agree on one custom monthly price for the relationship. Your model and intelligence tool continue alongside the work. Before you commit, you get three things:
A Target: the result we are trying to achieve.
A Forecast: what I realistically expect to get done during the coming month, including the important unknowns.
A Price: your total monthly commitment.
An example: $3,000 a month in total
Your intelligence tool has surfaced a pattern: the same missing information keeps delaying quotes. We propose a Target: let customers provide what is needed and receive a useful first quote without a chain of emails.
This month’s Forecast: investigate the quoting rules, build a small prototype, and test it with you on real examples before deciding how far to take it.
For illustration, if your base arrangement were $300 a month, an agreed $3,000 monthly total would replace it. You pay $3,000, not $3,300. These figures describe a possible arrangement, not a published build package.
The price depends on what I am taking responsibility for, how quickly you need it moving, and what it will require.
You are not buying hours. I choose the appropriate combination of investigation, design, software, agents, and other capabilities to move us toward the Target.
The price belongs to the relationship, not each Target
A Target can take more than one month and include several different pieces of work. You are not buying a quota of outputs or a new project every month.
When we finish a Target, we can agree on the next one at the same monthly price if the overall commitment remains comparable. If we change direction or discover a better approach, we update the Forecast rather than automatically sending a new quote.
More responsibility, faster movement, or additional resources may require a different monthly price. A new Target does not automatically trigger one. Any increase or meaningful outside expense needs your agreement first.
Decide what happens next, every month
Before the next month, I show you what became useful, what we learned, and what I recommend next.
We can continue at the same price, agree on a different commitment, return to the base arrangement, or end the relationship. Reviewing the Forecast is not a requirement to renegotiate the price every month.
Returning to the base arrangement means we stop pursuing the larger Target while continuing the agreed development and upkeep of your model and intelligence tool. We clarify any additional support a larger build needs rather than assuming it fits inside the base price.
You are not locked into a long-term engagement. Any ongoing hosting, paid services, or support needed for something we have built will be explained separately, so you know what continues if you step back.
Prefer a one-off project?
We can agree on a fixed price for a clearly defined piece of work. Monthly is our usual starting point because it gives us more freedom to adapt as we learn.
Start with something useful. Let the results earn what comes next.