Strategic initiative retainer

A team around the initiative you need to deliver.

Provide a named lead, agreed delivery capacity, and regular working sessions around a defined AI initiative.

The Principal / Strategic leadership

The sage who
leads the work.

Five talents move the work forward.
The Principal makes sure it is the right work.

What your retainer pays for

Experienced judgment, close to your business. Someone who knows the context, asks the hard questions, and stays accountable for the direction.

Set the direction.
Connect the business goal to the next useful step.
Make the hard calls.
Challenge assumptions. Clarify tradeoffs. Know when to stop.
Keep the team accountable.
Bring in the right talents and keep the work tied to results.

Your strategic retainer keeps experienced judgment close to your business, with continuing direction and agreed work products. Major new scope receives its own agreement.

Meet the five delivery talents

Guide

The Principal

Keeps the business goal clear, the team aligned, and the work worth doing.

Strategic Advisor & Engagement LeadJudgment · Direction · Accountability

The engagement in practice

How a retainer keeps the work accountable.

Name the initiative

Agree the objective, scope, client owner, delivery owner, and expected work products.

Review work and decisions

Use a regular working session to examine progress, resolve dependencies, and agree priorities.

Adjust with evidence

Review what people use and what the results support. New scope receives its own agreement.

Examples of the work this engagement can cover. Scope and responsibilities are agreed for your organization.

Illustrative workplan

Make progress and decisions visible.

A retainer organized around your work

Illustrative plan

AI governance

Policy, approved uses, and vendor guardrails

Client owner + Principal · Monthly review

Workforce adoption

Champions, practical learning, and evidence of use

Client owner + Adoption lead · As scoped

Priority workflow

Baseline, pilot direction, and an outcome review

Client owner + Advisor · Agreed milestones

The scope follows your priorities. The owners stay visible.

The engagement at a glance.

Best fit: An important initiative needs continuing direction or shared delivery.
Who participates: Executive sponsor, initiative owner, and the people responsible for the work.
Duration and cadence: Monthly, biweekly, or weekly working cadence according to scope.
How we work together: Recurring working sessions, decision support, and agreed work products.
What shapes the investment: Number and weight of workstreams, cadence, ownership, and duration.
The decision at the end: The initiative moves through clear decisions and retires when its purpose is met.

What you contribute. What we deliver.

You bring

A named initiative
A client owner
Access and timely decisions

We deliver

A workstream plan
Recommendations or working deliverables
A record of progress, decisions, and what comes next

What you may want to know.

Is this a bank of development hours?

No. Strategic workstreams fund ongoing direction and agreed work products. Standing software capacity uses the development retainer.

Can an initiative include a build?

The Principal can direct it. Major implementation receives its own build scope and acceptance criteria.

Discuss an initiative.

The initiative moves through clear decisions and retires when its purpose is met.

Discuss an initiative Compare services →