When something needs to move, it moves in weeks, not quarters.
Preside Initiatives are fixed-scope, fixed-price engagements that avoid a long procurement and proposal cycle. Each has a defined method and a named output, delivered in two to six weeks, with the duration fixed by Initiative type. You receive the output on the agreed date.
Why this exists
The Proposal Treadmill™: how outside help is usually bought.
When a technology problem exceeds what the team can do, the usual route is a cycle: recognize, scope, solicit proposals, evaluate, negotiate, contract, onboard. It can take months before the work starts, and the problem may have grown in the meantime.
- Recognize problem
- Scope it internally
- Solicit vendor proposals
- Evaluate and compare
- Negotiate terms
- Contract and onboard
- Vendor begins solving
The process repeats with each new problem and uses leadership time. Meanwhile the original problem can keep growing.
- Identify the problem
- Pick the matching Initiative type
- Initiative begins within the week
- Output delivered on the agreed date
Fixed price agreed up front. Defined method. Named output. Each Initiative has a fixed duration, from two to six weeks, so you know the end date before signing.
The methodology
Four stages. Same four every time.
Identify
You describe the problem. We pick the matching Initiative type (or tell you it is not the right fit and suggest a different engagement). One 30-minute conversation.
Scope
Initiative scope document signed within 48 hours. Fixed price. Defined deliverable. Named owner on our side. Named stakeholder on yours.
Work
Two to six calendar weeks, fixed by Initiative type. Progress is visible during the work, and a mid-point check confirms direction before the output is delivered.
Output
Specific output delivered: a finding, a roadmap, a remediation plan, a risk register quantified where data permits, an evidence map for your auditor, a vendor consolidation plan. Output you can act on right away.
The Initiative catalog
Each one produces a defined output for a specific problem.
Ten defined Initiative types, each with a defined methodology and a defined output. Pick the one that matches your situation.
For cyber, the Cyber Risk Review is a shorter first step ahead of the Security Posture Initiative. It takes about one week and is separate from the ten Initiatives.
Three-week Security Posture Initiative →
NIST CSF v2.0 control-by-control gap analysis mapped to your current environment. Identity posture review. Risk register quantified in financial terms where data permits. Prioritized remediation list with an effort estimate and the expected reduction in risk.
Output: Security posture report plus board-ready summary deck
Four-week Cost Optimization Initiative →
Vendor-by-vendor spend mapped to actual utilization. License rationalization opportunities. Overlap identified. Negotiation dates matched to renewals. We identify the savings; you (or your procurement function) execute.
Output: Tech P&L plus prioritized savings opportunity map
Three-week Board Technology Governance Initiative →
Risk register in board-readable financial terms. Governance framework modeled on audit committee structure. Management reporting cadence. Designed for 20 to 30 minutes of board time.
Output: Board governance framework plus risk register plus deck
Four-week Compliance Readiness Initiative →
Control-by-control readiness review against the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria, HIPAA, CMMC, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, NERC CIP, or your chosen framework. Evidence collection map. Remediation prioritized by audit timeline. Output you hand to your auditor or assessor.
Output: Gap report plus evidence map plus pre-audit posture
Three-week Architecture Review Initiative →
As-is architecture documented. Business-alignment review. Gap analysis across scalability, integration, technical debt, vendor concentration, and key-person dependency. Target-state recommendation and prioritized investment roadmap.
Output: Architecture brief plus prioritized investment roadmap
Six-week IT Due Diligence Initiative →
Brief covering architecture, security, compliance, vendor risk, key-person, and IP. Sized for mid-market targets. Red flags identified with mitigation cost estimates and deal-impact framing.
Output: IT diligence brief in investment committee format
Two-week Vendor Rationalization Initiative →
Vendor portfolio mapped. Overlap analysis (which tools do the same job). Concentration risk surfaced. Per-vendor renegotiate-consolidate-remove brief tied to the renewal calendar.
Output: Consolidation plan plus per-vendor negotiation brief
Three-week Change Readiness Initiative →
Scoped to one named project (ERP, M365 rollout, AI deployment, security tooling, M&A integration). Readiness assessment across leadership alignment, process, roles, training, and communication. Failure pattern analysis from prior projects. A change plan for the executive sponsor.
Output: Readiness assessment plus change management plan
Two-week AI Technical Readiness Initiative →
Rapid scorecard across the four foundations that determine whether AI can be deployed safely and usefully: data quality and access, infrastructure and tooling, governance and policy, team capability. Each foundation scored. Unapproved AI tools identified from system scans. Prioritized roadmap to production.
Output: AI readiness scorecard plus roadmap to first production use case
Six-week AI Security and Compliance Initiative →
AI risk posture across five areas: model security, data leakage exposure, prompt injection, shadow AI inventory, and regulatory alignment (NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, sector-specific). Control architecture integrated with your existing security stack. We design; your team or partners implement.
Output: Posture document plus control architecture, board-ready
How to start
From "we have a problem" to "we have an output" on a date you can plan around.
Day 1
Email us a description of what you are dealing with. One paragraph is enough. We will reply within one business day to confirm which Initiative fits, or to suggest a different engagement.
Day 2
30-minute scoping call. We confirm scope, price, output, and named stakeholders on the call.
Day 3
Initiative scope document signed. Kickoff scheduled.
Day 4 onward
Initiative runs. Progress is visible throughout, and a mid-point check confirms direction before the output is delivered. Output arrives on the agreed date: two to six weeks from kickoff, fixed by Initiative type.
An Initiative is the lowest-commitment way to find out whether we fit.
Fixed price. Defined output. Two to six weeks. If the work is useful to you, the next conversation is whether to continue.