Most business problems that keep repeating aren’t unsolved because people aren’t trying. They’re unsolved because the attempted solutions don’t match the real problem.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
You’ve Tried to Solve A Problem. It Keeps Coming Back.
Many organizations experience the same pattern:
- You’ve analyzed the problem, made a decision, and it didn’t hold
- The same issue resurfaces — different quarter, same debate
- More meetings got scheduled, but less actually moved
This happens even when your people are smart, motivated, and working hard. The issue isn’t effort or talent. It’s that the way the problem is being processed doesn’t match what the solution actually requires.
Problems We Fix
You’ll recognize these:
- The same budget debate resurfaces every quarter — despite prior decisions.
- High performers burn out or leave, even after compensation and culture adjustments.
- Revenue stalls in execution — proposals, approvals, or handoffs keep slowing things down.
- An expansion, investment, or hiring decision sits in committee for months.
- Projects that once moved quickly now take twice as long — with no clear reason why.
If the issue has been analyzed, discussed, and “fixed” more than once — and it’s still here — the structure is usually the reason.
What You Get
| What We Do | What That Means for You |
|---|---|
| Name the real problem | You stop debating symptoms and see the structural root cause — often in the first session. |
| Show you why it keeps repeating | You understand why the same issue returns every quarter despite good people making good-faith efforts. |
| Prescribe specific corrections with owners | You leave with 1–3 changes, each assigned to a role, sequenced, and tied to the problem the data identified. Not a strategy deck — a fix. |
Why This Works When Other Approaches Haven’t
Most organizational fixes target the visible symptoms:
- More training and offsites
- Better planning processes
- Culture and engagement initiatives
- New committees or task forces
These aren’t wrong — but they add complexity to a process that’s already overloaded. The problem keeps coming back because none of them touch the structural mismatch underneath.
The Diagnostic goes straight to the structure:
- Who actually has authority — and whether it matches who has accountability
- Where the constraints are — and whether they’re explicit or invisible
- Why the same issue repeats — the specific structural pattern that keeps it alive
- What to change first — 1–3 corrections, each assigned to a role, sequenced, and tied to the evidence
→ The difference: you don’t get a strategy to implement. You get a structural finding and a specific fix.
What Changes After the Diagnostic
- The problem that’s been repeating for months gets a clear resolution path
- Ownership stops being ambiguous — one role, one call, documented
- Meetings that existed to re-debate the same issue stop being necessary
- People who were frustrated by inaction see the structure change — not just the conversation
- Progress starts without adding staff, budget, or programs
→ The same team, the same budget, better results — because the structure now matches the problem.
Who This Is For
Any organization where capable people are stuck on a problem that won’t resolve — regardless of size, sector, or industry.
Common fit:
- Mid-market companies navigating growth, expansion, or operational scaling
- Professional services firms with coordination friction across units or practices
- Public and civic institutions where approval chains and mandates create executional drag
- Nonprofits and foundations operating under tight capacity with no room for wasted time
- Any leadership team that has tried to solve a specific problem more than twice and it’s still here
You’ll recognize the need when:
- The same issue keeps resurfacing — different quarter, same debate
- Effort is high but results are inconsistent or don’t hold
- Leadership senses something is misaligned but can’t point to exactly what
- The proposed fix is always “more” — more meetings, more data, more alignment — and it’s not working
- Good people are frustrated because the process, not the work, is the bottleneck
FAQS
What kind of problems does this solve?
Business problems that keep coming back despite smart people working on them. Examples: a budget question that gets re-debated every quarter, product delivery delays with no clear cause, departments that won’t collaborate despite leadership mandates, an expansion decision that’s been in committee for a year. If you’ve tried to solve it more than twice and it’s still here, the structure is likely the issue.
How is this different from management consulting?
Management consulting typically starts with a large engagement and produces a strategy recommendation. This is a diagnostic — a focused engagement that identifies the specific structural reason a problem is stuck, delivers a written brief with evidence-based corrections, and is complete in under four hours. You can act on it independently or use it to scope a larger engagement if one is warranted.
Is this consulting or assessment?
Neither, exactly. It’s a diagnostic — closer to getting an X-ray image than hiring a contractor. You get a clear picture of what’s broken structurally, why it keeps cycling, and what specific changes would resolve it. What you do with that picture is up to you.
Do we need to change our organization or culture?
Almost certainly not. The diagnostic typically finds that the problem is structural — authority gaps, incentive conflicts, mismatched problem-solving methods — not cultural. You’re more likely to need a one-page rule change than a transformation initiative.
What if the problem turns out to be a people issue, not a structural one?
The diagnostic will show that. If the data points to capability, effort, or individual performance rather than structural constraints, the brief will say so — and you’ll have saved months of pursuing the wrong fix. About 80% of the time, the issue is structural. But confirming that is itself valuable.
Is this appropriate for small organizations?
Especially. Smaller organizations can’t afford to keep repeating on the same problem for months. The diagnostic is designed to be fast and focused — the smaller the team, the faster the structural issue becomes visible.
Is this theory-heavy?
No. The methodology is grounded in systems science, but everything you receive is in plain operational language — here’s the problem, here’s why it’s stuck, here’s what to change. No frameworks to learn, no jargon to decode.
How much time does it take?
Under four hours total. A short structured intake from 3–7 people closest to the problem, one 90-minute facilitated session, and a written Clarity Brief delivered after. No retainer, no phase two required.
What happens after the diagnostic?
You get the brief and act on it. Some organizations implement the corrections independently — they’re designed to be actionable without outside help. Others request limited follow-on support to design a specific process change. There is no obligation either way.
Four Hours. One Answer.
- Short structured intake from the people closest to the problem
- One 90-minute facilitated diagnostic session
- Clarity Brief includes the finding, the evidence, the fix
Under four hours. No retainer. No phase two required. → You learn why the problem is recurring before committing to anything larger.
Not Sure This Applies? Let’s Find Out in 15 Minutes.
Describe the problem you’re stuck on. A free 15-minute call is usually enough to determine whether a Decision Structure Diagnostic is the right tool — or to rule it out and save you the time.