Companion to "The first ninety days" and "Outcomes, not tasks."
| Phase | What it looks like | Check-in notes (going well / in your way / needs my decision) |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–30: do it with them | Tell, show, watch: process in written or video form first; you demonstrate live at full and teaching speed; then watch them repeatedly until the process is habit. The watching is the step everyone skips. Start date: | |
| Days 30–60: do it beside them | Separate jobs, same day; short daily touchpoint; corrections after the work, not during; catch problems while they are still conversations | |
| Days 60–90: they own it | Outcome, schedule inside boundaries, small decisions; weekly rhythm; resist taking the work back when they do it differently. Differently is not wronger; the measure is the referee | |
| Day 90 decision | Renew, correct, or part; the ninety days of notes decide it honestly | ☐ Renew ☐ Correct ☐ Part |
What went well? What is blocking you? What needs my decision?
| Standing slot (day + time) | |
| Week's notes, three lines |
| Freed hours assigned by name, in your calendar, defended like a client meeting | |
| Example shape: "Tuesday and Thursday, two to six: sales calls and the commercial bid" | |
| The pull back into comfortable ten-dollar work noticed; answered with a new client, a new offer, a higher price, or a second hire's trigger math | ☐ Held the line |
| Never stopped: the standard, the key relationships, the payroll promise | ☐ |
| Rung | What you say | What they own | Reached (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Do exactly this | "Here's the checklist. Follow it and flag anything off." | Execution | |
| 2. Do this, then tell me | "Run the job. Report the result same day." | Execution plus reporting | |
| 3. Decide inside the lines | "You handle it inside the checklist and the budget. Tell me weekly." | Method and sequence | |
| 4. Own the outcome | "This account is yours. Hit the number. I'll see the measure." | The result, end to end | (target by day ninety) |
| 5. Own and improve it | "This area is yours. Make it better and tell me what you need." | The result plus the system |
A new hire starts at rung one; by day ninety a good one is standing on rung four in their core work, and new work always re-enters at rung one or two. Rungs are earned with evidence, one clean cycle at a time; jumping from rung one to rung five in a busy week is abdicating with a witness. Parking a capable person at rung two forever is what kills hires.