Example plan

Calder Row Advisors

An invented 60-person professional-services firm. This is its plan for what each role could do with AI, and how to get there: 4 teams, 9 kinds of job, 10 pieces of work and 6 next actions.

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One workflow, 3 teams

Account handoff

Give the team that will serve a new client one record of what was sold and promised, on the day the deal closes.

It is one record, listed in every team that takes part. Each team writes its own part and what it hands on; change the workflow once and every team sees the change.

Sales

Writes down what was sold and promised, including anything said outside the contract.

Hands on: The handoff record, to the team that will serve the client.

Roles: Account executive, Sales lead

Client success

Reviews the record, asks what is missing and owns the account from here.

Hands on: The confirmed record, into the client kickoff.

Role: Client success manager

Finance

Confirms the billing terms in the record against the signed agreement.

Hands on: Confirmed billing terms, into the first invoice.

Role: Controller

Starts when: A deal is signed.
Works from: The signed agreement, the proposal, call notes, the contacts on both sides and the billing terms as agreed.
Produces: One handoff record: scope, promises, dates, billing terms, risks heard during the sale and what is still missing, each next action with an owner.
Today: A call between the account executive and the client success manager, with notes in email.
The idea: Prepare the record from the agreement and the notes, then have each team confirm its own part before the first client meeting.
Where it stands: In discovery. To document.

The journey it belongs to

New client, from proposal to first invoice. Carry a new client from the first proposal to a correct first invoice without anyone asking for the same information twice.

Sales proposal preparation
Win. Sales
Account handoff
Hand over. Sales, Client success, Finance
Client kickoff
Start. Client success
First invoice setup
Bill. Finance

Teams and roles

A role is a kind of job, never a person, and there is no headcount. The question a plan asks of each is what that role could become able to do.

Client success

Owns each client from the day the deal closes.

Roles

Client success managerOwns the account once it is handed over.

Work it takes part in

Account handoffShared with Sales and Finance
Client kickoff

Finance

Bills what was agreed, keeps receivables current and brings management one clear page a week.

Roles

Billing coordinatorPrepares invoices, reminders and the weekly figures.
ControllerDecides how every unclear receipt is treated.
Finance leadTakes the numbers to management and records what is decided.

Work it takes part in

Account handoffShared with Sales and Client success
First invoice setup
Overdue-invoice follow-up preparation
Receivables exception review
Weekly receivables summary

People

Helps the firm hire, start and develop strong colleagues.

Roles

People coordinatorArranges first days, training and check-ins.
People leadOwns how the firm hires, onboards and develops colleagues.

Work it takes part in

Employee onboarding plan
Manager feedback preparation

Sales

Wins new clients and hands each one over with everything that was promised written down.

Roles

Account executiveOwns an opportunity from first conversation to signature.
Sales leadApproves what goes to a prospective client.
Solutions leadAnswers for scope and what the firm says it can deliver.

Work it takes part in

Account handoffShared with Client success and Finance
Sales proposal preparation

What happens next

Every plan ends in next actions, each with the team responsible, under Now, Next and Later.

Now

Collect the approved credentials and the proposal template in one placeSales. Sales proposal preparationSo that: A first proposal draft can be prepared from approved material only.
Write down the rules for what counts as a receivables exceptionFinance. Receivables exception reviewSo that: The controller sees every unclear receipt on one list, with its evidence.
Agree the fields every account handoff must carry, with Sales, Client success and Finance in the roomClient success. Account handoffSo that: One handoff record that all three teams trust.

Collect two onboarding plans that worked well, as the pattern for the restPeople. Employee onboarding planSo that: Every new colleague starts with a plan as good as the best manager’s.
Try the handoff record on the next two signed deals and compare notesSales. Account handoff

Later

Decide whether the first invoice can be prepared straight from the handoff recordFinance. First invoice setup

The whole work list

Each piece of work appears once, however many teams list it. One of these is already documented and staying as it is: a plan records that too.

Account handoffGive the team that will serve a new client one record of what was sold and promised, on the day the deal closes.Teams: Sales, Client success, FinanceWhere it stands: In discovery
Client kickoffOpen every new client relationship with a first meeting where both sides agree what happens in the first month.Teams: Client successWhere it stands: Not decided
Employee onboarding planStart every new colleague with a first week and a first 90 days planned to the standard of the firm’s best manager.Teams: PeopleWhere it stands: Change proposed
First invoice setupBill a new client correctly the first time, on the terms that were agreed.Teams: FinanceWhere it stands: Change proposed
Manager feedback preparationHave every manager walk into a feedback conversation with dated observations, good questions, a clear ask and the support on offer.Teams: PeopleWhere it stands: In discovery
New client, from proposal to first invoiceJourney of 4 workflowsTeams: Sales, Client success, FinanceWhere it stands: In discovery
Overdue-invoice follow-up preparationGive every overdue invoice a follow-up in the firm’s tone for its age, from the right person, and hold the ones that should not be chased.Teams: FinanceWhere it stands: Change proposed
Receivables exception reviewPut every short payment, unmatched receipt, possible duplicate and disputed invoice on one list before anything is applied on a guess.Teams: FinanceWhere it stands: Planned
Sales proposal preparationAnswer a request for proposal quickly with a draft in which every claim traces to approved company information.Teams: SalesWhere it stands: Change proposed
Weekly receivables summaryBring one page to the weekly management meeting: what came in, where every receivable stands and which decisions are needed.Teams: FinanceWhere it stands: Keep the current method

Now map your own

Start with one workflow, one team or the whole organization. Begin from an outline of functions you can edit, or from a blank page. Every team, role and workflow you add is yours to change.

Start your own plan

Example Everything on this page is invented: the firm, its teams and its work.