Outcomes first.
Fees scoped to value, not hours.
A disciplined boutique methodology built on three principles: clear scope before contract, value-based fees presented as three written options, and the same senior advisor from the first call through the final review.
Four steps. No surprises.
No moving goalposts.
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i.
The fit call — twenty minutes
We listen. You ask anything. We ask a handful of questions about the organization, the situation, and what success looks like. If we are not the right fit — wrong size, wrong scope, wrong moment — we say so on the call and refer you to firms we trust. No diagnostic work. No homework. No nurture sequence.
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ii.
Conceptual agreement — before any fee discussion
Before a proposal is written, we reach agreement on three things: the objectives, the measures of success, and the value of meeting them. This is what separates value-based pricing from guesswork. If a technology assessment protects a $40M investment from a seven-figure mistake, the fee is trivially justified — but only if the buyer has thought through the value first.
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iii.
Three written options — within five business days
Every proposal arrives as three written options at different scopes and price points. Option I meets all stated objectives. Options II and III add unambiguous incremental value — not more hours, but materially different outcomes. You pick the right size for the business. We do not have a preferred option. Each scope is priced to the value of its outcomes, not to the hours we estimate it will take.
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iv.
Documented outcomes — in the contract, before work begins
Outcomes go in writing before the engagement starts. The 30- and 60-day reviews are structured against them. If the scope needs to change — because the situation changed — we write a new SOW, not a change order that renegotiates the original fee. The engagement ends when the documented outcomes are met. No scope-creep arguments. No surprise overruns.
Why we do not bill
by the hour.
Hourly billing creates a perverse incentive: the slower and less efficient the work, the more the advisor earns. It also converts the client's attention from value to time — every meeting becomes a budget question instead of a business question.
Value-based fees invert this. The fee is fixed at scope. If we find a faster path to the outcome, we take it — and the client benefits from our efficiency, not despite it. The meter is not running. The question is always: what does the business need?
Retainers follow the same logic. A Cavalier retainer is access to senior judgment — not a block of hours to be burned. The variables are access (who calls us and on what), scope (response time, channels, deliverables), and duration (90-day minimum, billed quarterly in advance). There is no meter. There is a defined relationship.
- AdvisoryAccess to senior judgment on a defined scope. Calls within 90 minutes, email within a business day. 90-day minimum. Starting at $10,000/month.
- StandardAdvisory access plus defined monthly deliverables. Board report, risk register, or technology roadmap cadence. 6-month minimum. Starting at $15,000/month.
- ExecutiveFractional CTO, CIO, or CISO on-site presence for board meetings, executive offsites, and key milestones. Structured 30/60/90-day cadence. 6-month minimum. Starting at $20,000/month.
- EnterpriseMulti-workstream senior advisory. Dedicated principal and specialist bench. Custom scope and pricing scoped to outcomes.
Project engagements (technology due diligence, SOC 2 readiness, CMMC readiness, post-acquisition integration) are scoped and priced separately as fixed-fee programs against defined deliverables.
The boutique commitment.
In plain English.
You see the methodology before you sign anything.
The engagement process, the deliverable structure, and the 30/60/90-day review cadence are all described in the proposal. There is no proprietary black box.
If we are not the right fit, we say so on the first call.
We do not take engagements we cannot win. If the scope is outside our core, if the timing is wrong, or if you need implementation rather than advisory, we will tell you — and refer you to firms we trust.
The people who sell the work do the work.
The principal on the fit call is the principal on the engagement. Specialists join when the work requires their depth. No bench rotation. No junior delivery.
We are vendor-independent. Always.
No software sales. No implementation services. No reseller agreements. No referral fees. Every recommendation is filtered through one question: is this the right answer for the business?