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The Handover Method

We start with the work and the decisions; the tool comes later. The seven stages are the working discipline we apply in the roadmap and transformation steps of our four-step programme; each stage closes with a written go or no-go decision.

Handover map

DELEGABLE

The chief of staff does it; you review.

Repetitive work whose rules can be written down: summaries, follow-ups, preparation, reading reports.

WITH CHIEF OF STAFF

The chief of staff prepares; you decide.

Work that needs judgement but takes long to prepare: it lays out the options, writes up the reasoning and leaves the decision to you.

NOT TRUSTED YET

It stays with people until the evidence builds up.

During the 90 days of joint operation, once it is proven by a set number of error-free repetitions, it moves to the delegable column.

NOT DELEGABLE

It stays with you, in writing.

Decisions, accountability and relationships. The work the chief of staff will not touch is listed from the start and written into its rules.

Seven stages

	Stage	Key output	Duration
1	Assessment	Assessment Report and Perception Gap Table	2 weeks
2	Current State	Current State Handover Map and Baseline Measurement	2-3 weeks
3	Target State	Target State Design	2 weeks
4	Roadmap	Roadmap	1-2 weeks
5	Alignment	Value Agreement	1 meeting + 1 week
6	Implementation	A working chief of staff, written rules, tuning guide	6-8 weeks
7	Joint Operation	90-Day Value Report and Final Handover	90 days
	Total		27-31 weeks

For a single executive, the first five stages shrink to 2 weeks.

The focus and gate criterion of each stage

	Stage	Focus	Key output	Gate	Duration
1	Assessment	Leadership expectations and the perception gap; initial screening of data, permissions, tools and compliance	Assessment Report and Perception Gap Table	3-5 candidate areas and a sponsor for each	2 weeks
2	Current State	An inventory of the work in the selected areas and today’s handover map; baseline measurement	Current State Handover Map and Baseline Measurement	The main measure of each area can be measured	2-3 weeks
3	Target State	Which work moves to which column; what cannot be delegated; approval gates; redesign of roles	Target State Design	The value hypothesis is tied to a single measure; sponsor approval	2 weeks
4	Roadmap	90 days, 6 months, 12 months; sequence of areas; resources; build partner; risk; measurement plan	Roadmap	Realistic budget and resources; a date for the first area	1-2 weeks
5	Alignment	A one-page agreement with senior leadership	Value Agreement	Signature	1 meeting + 1 week
6	Implementation	Setting up the chief of staff; role changes; role-specific training	A working chief of staff, written rules, tuning guide	No unauthorised or incorrect external action in the first two weeks	6-8 weeks
7	Joint Operation	Weekly tuning; moving work out of the trust column with evidence; monthly value report; final handover	90-Day Value Report and Final Handover	The organisation can tune its own chief of staff	90 days

Value Agreement

The one-page output of the Alignment stage; signed by senior leadership.

The ten sections of the agreement

Area and sponsor
Main measure, baseline and target
List of what cannot be delegated
Decision owner and approval gates
Stage gates and go or no-go criteria
90-day operation criterion
Build partner (if any) and limit of responsibility
Fees and payment gates
Platform neutrality
Exit clause

Measurement and rules

Every figure is labelled “measured” or “estimate”. Everything that goes out passes through an approval gate.

The chief of staff’s rules

Every figure comes with its measurement tool and baseline. For everything that goes out: an approval gate, the narrowest permissions, an evidence log and monitoring that catches work that fails silently. When the chief of staff cannot measure something, it says so; we do not read silence as “no problem”.

The first three tasks for your AI plan.

In 30 minutes we write down these tasks, their owners and their measures together. No sales pitch.

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