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What I Will Not Do

A practice is defined as much by its refusals as by its offerings. Mine are published so you never have to discover them mid-engagement.

I Will Not Work For Franchisors #

I work for franchisees. I do not work for the other side of that table, and the reasoning is a full published argument rather than a preference: Why I Won’t Work For Franchisors.

The short version is that the operator carries the risk and the franchisor collects, and I am not going to point my framework at operators on behalf of a party that does not carry operating risk.

I Will Not Take Equity Or Trade #

Equity makes my read dependent on the answer coming out a particular way, and an honest read is the only thing I actually sell. Trade replaces a scoped fee with a favor, and favors do not survive the moment I tell you something you do not want to hear. Full reasoning at Do You Take Equity Or Trade.

I Will Not Reach A Conclusion You Ordered #

Not in an engagement, not in a workshop, and not in expert work. If the read does not support what you were hoping for, that is what you are going to hear. If you need a predetermined answer you will have no trouble finding someone to supply it.

I Will Not Name Operators Or Outlets #

I prosecute patterns, not people. I do not comment publicly on individual operations or brands, and I do not name publications or authors when I am taking apart something they published. The pattern is the story. That holds across Hacksterism and everything else I publish, and it is why what you tell me in an engagement stays there.

I Will Not Sell You A System #

No binder, no certification, no seven-step program, no cast-level training modules. Your operation is producing what it is built to produce, and a program installed on top of a broken architecture produces a broken architecture with a program on it.

Who This Is Not For #

Operators looking for validation, operators who want the answer to be the market, and operators who are not willing to change anything. See Who This Is Not For.