Protocol
Operational Architecture
Services

Three ways to work with us.
Matched to where you are, not a one-size package.

Every engagement applies the same method — Lean Six Sigma process discipline plus OBM adoption science — at the depth and pace your situation requires.

Not sure where to start?

The right tier depends on one question: what triggered you to look for help right now?

If you know something's wrong but can't pinpoint where the time, money, or quality is leaking, start with the Diagnostic. If you're actively scaling, opening a new location, or drowning in day-to-day operational firefighting, the Fractional Advisor or VP engagement is built for sustained, embedded support. If you're in active crisis — a failed audit, a mass staff departure, a launch that can't afford to go wrong — the Turnaround Sprint is built for speed.

Still unsure? The Scope Assessment conversation will tell you. There's no wrong door, just a faster one and a slower one.

Tier 1 — Project-Based
The Express Audit & Blueprint
Best for: Owners who know something's wrong but need to see exactly where — before committing to anything larger.
A focused, time-boxed operational review that identifies your top profit leaks, audit vulnerabilities, and workflow bottlenecks, ranked by impact. You walk away with a Value Stream Map that's yours to keep, plus a concrete, prioritized plan for fixing what we find.

This isn't a generic checklist. It's built the way a root-cause investigation is built: we look at what's actually happening in your scheduling, billing, intake, and staffing workflows, not what your org chart assumes is happening.
What's included
  • Full operational review of your current workflows, staffing model, and technology stack
  • Root-cause analysis of your top 3 operational bottlenecks
  • A Value Stream Map — a hard asset documenting your operations end-to-end
  • A prioritized, actionable remediation roadmap
  • A findings presentation walking through what we found and what to do about it
Timeline: Typically completed in 14 to 45 days, depending on scope and number of locations.
Start with a Diagnostic
Tier 2 — Monthly Retainer
Embedded Operational Leadership
Best for: Owners ready to hand off the operational weight to someone who becomes part of their leadership team — on an ongoing basis, scaled to fit your size and stage.
This is the core of what Protocol does: we don't advise from the outside, we embed. Depending on your stage, this looks like light-touch strategic guidance helping you move from working in the business to working on it, or full operational ownership — building automated pipelines, leadership cadences, and performance systems while you focus on the parts of the business only you can do.

Every engagement starts with the same diagnostic rigor as Tier 1, then moves into building and installing the systems that close the gaps, staying embedded long enough to make sure your team actually adopts them.
What's included
  • Recurring strategic sessions (cadence scaled to your engagement level)
  • Hands-on build of automated workflows — scheduling, billing, intake, reporting
  • Leadership cadence design so accountability doesn't depend on your daily involvement
  • Asynchronous support between sessions
  • OBM-based supervision and fidelity auditing to confirm new systems are actually being followed
  • Ongoing reporting so you can see what's working without having to ask
Best fit: Practices actively scaling, opening additional locations, or carrying day-to-day operational load that's pulling you away from strategic work.
Discuss a Fractional Engagement
Tier 3 — Intensive Sprint
Crisis Stabilization & System Launch Acceleration
Best for: Organizations in immediate regulatory, financial, or operational peril — or about to launch something that can't afford to go wrong.
Some situations don't have time for a slow ramp-up. A failed funder audit with claim recoupment looming. A mass departure of frontline clinical staff. A second location opening in 30 days with no infrastructure to support it. The Turnaround Sprint is a compressed, high-intensity engagement built for exactly these moments — stabilization first, systems second.

We embed directly into the chaos, working alongside your team at a pace matched to the urgency, focused on stopping the bleeding before anything else.
What's included
  • Immediate, hands-on operational triage
  • Direct embedding with your team for the duration of the sprint
  • Rapid-build of the single most critical infrastructure piece — compliance protocol, intake pipeline, staffing stabilization plan
  • Daily or near-daily availability during the active sprint window
  • A stabilization report and forward plan once the immediate crisis is contained
Timeline: Typically a focused 30-day sprint, with embedded presence scaled to the severity of the situation.
Request Urgent Support
Side by side

Quick comparison

Tier 1: DiagnosticTier 2: Fractional Advisor / VPTier 3: Turnaround
Best forClarity before committingOngoing embedded supportActive crisis
FormatProject-basedMonthly retainerIntensive sprint
Typical length14–45 days3-month minimum, ongoing30 days
You walk away withValue Stream Map + roadmapBuilt & installed systemsStabilized operations
Best if you're…Not sure where the leak isScaling and stretched thinAlready in crisis
Why we built it this way

A bootstrapped single-site practice and a multi-location group don't have the same problem. They shouldn't get the same engagement.

Most consulting firms sell one model and stretch it to fit everyone. We built three distinct entry points because a founder-owned practice still finding its footing needs something fundamentally different from a rapidly scaling, multi-location group preparing for its next round of growth. Each tier applies the same method — diagnose, build, install, sustain — at the depth, pace, and investment level that matches your stage.

Still deciding?

Tell us what's happening. We'll tell you which tier fits.

A Scope Assessment is the fastest way to find out — a structured conversation about what's breaking in your operations, with a clear recommendation on where to start.

Request a Scope Assessment