Engagement Models

Two ways to work with us,
chosen to fit the work.

Every Centermark engagement runs on one of two shapes — a project with a defined deliverable, or a retained cadence with a senior partner on call. The shape is a question of fit; we propose it at kickoff and recalibrate when the work compounds.

Strategyfuture-focused, actionable pathways

Advisoryfinancial insight and guidance

Changepeople, process, communication

Overview

Two shapes,
one practice.

Both models run against the same change methodology: senior partners, written deliverables, scope written down at kickoff, and a clean handover to the in-house team. The difference is the shape of the surface — a defined deliverable, or a recurring cadence — and the cadence the leadership team is willing to run on.

The two models

Project for one-offs. Retained for the cycle.

Pick the shape that matches the work. Most clients start on a project engagement and convert to retained coverage once the first operating cycle lands.

  1. 01

    Model · Project-based

    A defined deliverable, a fixed scope, a clean handover.

    A scoped engagement with named deliverables and a defined finish. We lead the work alongside your team — diagnostic, build, and handover — and the engagement ends with a written brief your organization can own and operate against.

    • A strategic plan with named quarterly milestones
    • An advisory diagnostic on a specific decision
    • A discrete change build — a system cutover, a redesign, or a launch
    • A market study or a one-page insight brief against a defined question

    How it works. A typical project engagement runs six to twelve weeks end to end, with named workshops, written deliverables, and a kickoff where scope is written down up front so there is no billable-hour drift. Handover happens when the in-house owner can run the cadence without us; anything we keep past handover is the retained partnership, not the project.

    Pricing. A fixed fee with named deliverables. The scope is written down at kickoff, the fee is sized to that scope, and there are no billable hours.

  2. 02

    Model · Retained

    Senior partnership on a part-time cadence.

    Ongoing, part-time senior advisory on a recurring cadence — typically monthly or quarterly — covering the strategic, operating, and governance decisions the leadership team is making in the same window. We are a thinking partner, not a delivery function: the cadence, the artifacts, and the ownership stay inside the organization, with us available on the surface area of the work.

    • Boards and owners working through recurring strategic or capital decisions
    • Operating companies navigating multiple parallel initiatives
    • Practices building toward a durable operating model
    • Leadership teams who want a senior partner on call beyond a single project

    How it works. A standing engagement — a defined cadence (monthly workshops, quarterly read-outs, or an on-call seat), a written charter with the topics we cover, and a senior partner who is in the room with your leadership team. The cadence compounds across cycles, and the work stays scoped to the surface area of the organization.

    Pricing. A monthly retainer sized to the surface area of the work. The scope is written down at kickoff and reviewed each cycle, so the retainer stays calibrated to the cadence you actually run.

How pricing works

No billable hours.
Scope is the artifact.

Both engagement shapes run on the same pricing norms; the model you pick changes how often the scope is reviewed, not how the fee is calculated.

  • Scope is written down at kickoff

    Every engagement opens with a written scope — named deliverables for a project, or a written charter covering the topics and cadence for a retained partnership. It is the artifact that prevents drift and the one the leadership team references when the work needs to recalibrate.

  • No billable hours

    Engagement pricing is fixed or retained — there is no hourly billing. The fee is sized to the scope at kickoff, and the work ships against the brief that scope describes. Time-tracking is the wrong incentive for senior advisory; we do not run on it.

  • Retainer is sized to the surface area

    A monthly retainer is calibrated to the surface area of the work — the cadence, the topics, and the surface area of the organization — and reviewed each cycle. The retainer grows or shrinks with the cadence you actually run, not against a target utilization rate on our side.

Project vs Retained

When each shape fits.

A project is a defined deliverable; a retainer is a recurring cadence. The choice is usually obvious once the surface area of the work is on the table.

Project
A defined finish and a clean handover.
Right for a one-off decision, a strategic plan, an advisory diagnostic, or a discrete change build. Six to twelve weeks, fixed fee, written deliverables, and a named in-house owner at handover.
Retained
Senior partnership on a recurring cadence.
Right for boards and leadership teams working through a recurring set of strategic, operating, and governance decisions. Monthly retainer, written charter, and the work compounds with each cycle.

Frequently asked

The questions
we hear first.

Start the conversation

Tell us where the organization is —we'll reply with what we'd do first.

Reach out with the question on your desk and we'll respond with practical next steps within one business day — including which engagement shape we'd recommend.

Replies in one business day

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