TimePilot
Our approach — the operating calendar

Twelve weeks from diagnosis to an internally held routine.

Work runs as booked sessions with your own people, week by week. Each one produces something your team keeps using after we step back.

Calendar overview — six workstreams

Who is in the room, and when.

Six workstreams run across the twelve weeks. The four phase names — Diagnose, Design, Install and Embed — sit across the week ranges, each ending in a gate that has to be agreed before the next range starts.

Weeks 1–2 · Diagnose
Weeks 3–4 · Design
Weeks 5–8 · Install
Weeks 9–12 · Embed
Owner sessions
Current-state sessionIn the room: ownerHow the business runs today, written down
Decision thresholdsIn the room: ownerSpend, hiring and pricing limits agreed
Fortnightly working sessionIn the room: ownerBlockers cleared while the routine beds in
Step-back reviewIn the room: ownerList of approvals the owner no longer holds
Function leads
Function interviewsIn the room: each leadWhere work stalls, function by function
Weekly build sessions — weeks 3–8In the room: function leadsEach lead drafts, then runs, their own part of the system
Leads chair their own sessionsIn the room: function leadsWe attend as observers only
Roles and decisions
Role and decision mappingIn the room: owner and leadsRole map with one accountable name per function
First cycles under the new rightsIn the room: function leadsApprovals logged at the agreed level
Kept current internallyIn the room: function leadsRole map updated by your team as things change
Planning cadence
Cadence designIn the room: owner and leadsMeeting map — who meets, when, on what
Cadence run with us in the roomIn the room: whole teamPriority register kept current each week
Cadence run without usIn the room: whole teamFull cycles run internally, start to finish
Reporting
Measure selectionIn the room: function leadsOne short scorecard, measures named per function
Reporting dry-runsIn the room: the people who reportScorecard produced by the people who own it
Produced internallyIn the room: function leadsReporting pack produced without us
Handover
Written up as it is installedIn the room: leads with TimePilotRoutines documented in your team’s own words
Handover sessionsIn the room: owner and leadsHandover pack, named owners and review dates
Gate to continue
Current state agreed
System design approved
Routine running
Internal handover
Weeks 1–2 · Diagnose
Owner sessionsCurrent-state sessionHow the business runs today, written down
Function leadsFunction interviewsWhere work stalls, function by function
Gate — current state agreed
Weeks 3–4 · Design
Owner sessionsDecision thresholdsSpend, hiring and pricing limits agreed
Function leads — runs to week 8Weekly build sessionsEach lead drafts their own part of the system
Roles and decisionsRole and decision mappingRole map with one accountable name per function
Planning cadenceCadence designMeeting map — who meets, when, on what
ReportingMeasure selectionOne short scorecard, measures named per function
Gate — system design approved
Weeks 5–8 · Install
Owner sessionsFortnightly working sessionBlockers cleared while the routine beds in
Function leads — continues from week 3Weekly build sessionsEach lead runs the part they drafted
Roles and decisionsFirst cycles under the new rightsApprovals logged at the agreed level
Planning cadenceCadence run with us in the roomPriority register kept current each week
ReportingReporting dry-runsScorecard produced by the people who own it
HandoverWritten up as it is installedRoutines documented in your team’s own words
Gate — routine running
Weeks 9–12 · Embed
Owner sessionsStep-back reviewList of approvals the owner no longer holds
Function leadsLeads chair their own sessionsWe attend as observers only
Planning cadenceCadence run without usFull cycles run internally, start to finish
ReportingProduced internallyReporting pack produced without us
HandoverHandover sessionsHandover pack, named owners and review dates
Gate — internal handover
Weeks 1–2 Diagnose

Weeks 1–2 — sitting in on how the business runs today.

Who takes part
Owner — two working sessionsEach function lead — one interviewWhoever currently produces the numbers
What happens in the room

We sit with the owner and each lead and walk through real work: how a job moves, who approves what, where it waits, and what only one person knows. Nothing is redesigned yet — the session is spent writing down what is actually happening.

What your team is left holding
A written picture of the current operating routineA shortlist of the places work stallsA list of decisions that only the owner can make today
Agreed before we continue — current state agreed
Weeks 3–4 Design

Weeks 3–4 — designing the roles, thresholds, cadence and measures.

Who takes part
Owner — decision thresholds sessionFunction leads — weekly build sessions beginAnyone who will chair a recurring meeting
What happens in the room

Working sessions where your people draft their own part: leads write their role and its accountabilities, the owner sets spend, hiring and pricing thresholds, and the group agrees which meetings exist and what each one decides.

What your team is left holding
A role map with one accountable name per functionWritten decision thresholds and who holds themA meeting map — who meets, when, on whatOne short scorecard per function, measures named
Agreed before we continue — system design approved
Weeks 5–8 Install

Weeks 5–8 — running the routine live, with us in the room.

Who takes part
Whole team — the cadence as designedFunction leads — weekly build sessions continueThe people who produce the reporting
What happens in the room

The meetings start running to their new agendas, approvals move to the level agreed, and the scorecard is produced by the people who own it. We sit in, correct what drifts, and write each routine up as it settles.

What your team is left holding
A priority register kept current by its ownersApprovals logged at the agreed levelA scorecard produced without our helpWritten routines in your team’s own words
Agreed before we continue — routine running
Weeks 9–12 Embed

Weeks 9–12 — stepping back while the routine keeps running.

Who takes part
Function leads — chairing their own sessionsOwner — step-back reviewNamed internal owner for each routine
What happens in the room

Your leads chair the sessions and we attend as observers only. Full planning and reporting cycles run internally, we note what wobbles, and the final sessions are spent on handover rather than on new design.

What your team is left holding
Full cycles run start to finish without usA list of approvals the owner no longer holdsA handover pack with named owners and review dates
Agreed before we continue — internal handover
Before week one

Your team provides a few things before week one.

The calendar only works if the sessions happen with the right people in the room. This is what we ask for at the start.

Owner timeRoughly half a day a fortnight, in the room rather than on email.
A named lead per functionSomeone who can hold the role and attend the weekly build sessions.
Access to how work really movesExisting processes, tools and whatever the numbers are kept in today.
Authority to set thresholdsSomeone able to agree what gets approved at which level.
A standing slot in the diaryThe cadence only sticks if the meetings are protected.
Willingness to run it liveSessions are working sessions — your team drafts and runs its own part.
Handover readiness

When we step back.

We step back when the routine is running in your hands, not when the weeks run out. If these are not true, the remaining handover work and timing are agreed within the engagement scope.

Conditions for handover
  • Every routine has a named internal owner, not a shared one.
  • A full planning and reporting cycle has run with us observing only.
  • The scorecard has been produced internally, on time, more than once.
  • Approvals are being made at the agreed level without escalation by default.
  • The written routines are in your team’s words and kept where they work.
  • The owner can name what they no longer sign off.

Twelve weeks is an illustrative operating structure, not a fixed schedule — timing and sequence depend on the agreed engagement, scope and team availability.

Seeing how the twelve weeks would fall against your own diary starts with a conversation about the business — get in touch.