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90-Day Operating Reset

The Diagnostic shows what is broken. The Reset fixes it.

A structured 90-day implementation that delivers the five priority actions, embeds the operating rhythm and proves the change with a before-and-after Operating Health Score.

Priced on scoping.

Why the Reset exists

A finding creates no value until the organisation changes how it works.

The Operating Intelligence Diagnostic identifies the five changes most likely to improve coordination. The Reset provides the discipline, cadence and senior judgement needed to implement those actions without letting normal business pressure bury them.

This is not an undefined transformation programme. The scope begins with five named actions, a baseline score and an agreed definition of done.

The 90-day structure

Stabilise. Embed. Prove.

Days 1–30

Stabilise

Confirm the five actions, owners, dependencies and definition of done. Implement the first two visible improvements and establish the weekly delivery rhythm, shared action board and sponsor checkpoint.

Days 31–60

Embed

Implement the remaining structural changes. Run new forums, reports and decision routes with the client team, then transfer ownership. Re-measure the dimensions most affected and correct anything that is not landing.

Days 61–90

Prove

Harden all five actions, complete the runbooks, re-run the full Operating Health Score and brief leadership on what changed, what remains and what requires ongoing governance.

What gets delivered

Five changes implemented, not five recommendations repeated.

  • Five priority actions implemented against agreed definitions of done
  • Embedded operating rhythm running under client ownership
  • Before-and-after Operating Health Score
  • One-page runbook for every new mechanism
  • Final report and forward governance plan
The standard

If Covalent disappeared on day 91, every change would still be running 90 days later.

Typical actions

The exact scope comes from the evidence.

The Reset does not force every client through the same interventions. Typical actions include:

  • Clarifying decision rights and escalation routes
  • Rebuilding leadership or portfolio operating rhythm
  • Removing duplicated meetings and reporting
  • Redesigning ownership across cross-functional workflows
  • Creating a trusted reporting baseline
  • Consolidating sources of truth
  • Improving request intake and prioritisation
  • Preparing a workflow for useful AI or automation
  • Establishing AI governance, use-case ownership and measurement

Required from the client

  • A named internal owner with protected capacity
  • Sponsor attendance at monthly checkpoints
  • Five-working-day decision service level on Reset decisions
  • Access to the same operating evidence used in the Diagnostic
  • Willingness to stop or redesign activity that is not producing value
Client commitment

Implementation cannot be outsourced emotionally.

Covalent leads the structure and delivery discipline. The client has to own the behaviour, decisions and operating system that remain after the engagement.

Pricing

Scoped to organisational complexity.

Single Entity

 

Up to approximately 50 people, single entity.

Enterprise

 

250+ people, multi-entity or multi-site.

After day 90

Ongoing support should protect the system, not keep it alive.

The final briefing separates what has been fixed from what needs continued governance. Where leadership wants ongoing decision support, assurance and quarterly improvement, the Fractional Operating and AI Advisor retainer provides that layer.

The retainer is not used to operate mechanisms the client should own.

Ask about fractional advisory →
Can we start with the Reset without a Diagnostic?

Yes, where there is a clear trigger and enough evidence to define the five actions. A compressed one-week baseline is then built into month one and pricing starts at the standard anchor.

Is this an embedded interim role?

No. The Reset is a fixed 90-day implementation with named actions, defined outputs and a before-and-after measure.

Does Covalent do all the work?

Covalent leads the implementation discipline and selected workstreams. The client provides an internal owner and takes operational ownership as each mechanism is embedded.

What if one of the five actions proves wrong?

It is changed through a documented decision with the sponsor. The commitment is to measurable operating improvement, not rigidly defending an early recommendation.

Next step

Do not let the Diagnostic become another document in a folder.

Turn the five priority actions into an operating system the business can sustain.