Leadership Optimization

Young Student	Young Businesswoman
Stylish Senior Portrait	Smiling Young Woman
Portrait of Businessman Founders first

The complexity of leading to scale

Financials are only part of the story. Effective founders make the difference whether you look for a quick return or invest for growth.

80% of VC decision-making is anchored in how they feel about the founder

60% of PE-backed family-owned- businesses failed because of the founder

- Gallup Polling

Our philosophy

There is one ability above all else to look for in a founder - the ability to deal with complexity under pressure when the stakes are high.

Optimizing that ability requires more than a mere personality assessment but a deep understanding of what sets us apart and the fitness to lead from it.

Your founders have an "edge" all to their own that can hold up in economic downturns and pandemics to create a competitive advantage.

They only need the tools to fully leverage this edge, and the right teams and systems to unlock their company's [and your portfolio's] true potential.

Companies like Mailchimp, Warby Parker, Airbnb, Groupon and WhatsApp thrived in recession because leadership didn't hesitate, but leaned in even harder.

-Forbes

The approach

Tap the Hiddn Edge©

Your founders can lead from their edge - having a handle on what is and isn’t effective about their leadership and the ability to optimize that under pressure when the stakes are high. This isn't coaching, it's triage.

Reframe the complex

Your founders have it in them to accept complexity and its nature. They can loosen the reigns of control and remain nimble. They can simplify complex concepts to avoid emotional disruption and decision-making paralysis.

Bridge the misaligned

Your founders need not be confused about what they're there to do or how to do it. Clear on purpose, aligned on strategy, and operating inside of systems - this can be their grounding force and defense against dysfunction.

Your team

We're a team of exceptional organizational designers, industrial psychologists, behavioral scientists, advisors and coaches.

We've been in the trenches with enduring institutions and high-growth startups at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and execution for 11+ years.

What brought us together is a shared purpose: To weave together operational optimization and leadership effectiveness to create thriving individuals, teams, and organizations.

We operate differently. In fact, we treat every interaction as a laboratory for how to serve our clients and each other more effectively. It's our unfair advantage, what separates us from any team we've ever built or been a part of before.

Empowering this are some fundamental values that ground us. We're always on the hook for them and take responsibility when we fail to live up to them:

Pressure is a Privilege

When things get difficult, we lean in. We embrace tension, revel in challenge, and turn towards the storm.

Thoughtfully Direct

Direct is kind, and we utilize directness as an avenue to be effective in ways playing nice doesn't.

Adapt for Value

Needs are different for everyone, we adapt to ensure we're meeting needs, not just running programs.

Seek the Story

Change lies in story and patterns - we listen for the story behind the story - leading with understanding.