Frameworks

The named work: F.R.E.E.D. and Build Beyond You.

F.R.E.E.D. is the method: a sequence of work for reducing founder dependency. Build Beyond You is the podcast, and the operating standard it is named for. One is how the work is done, the other is what it aims at.

F.R.E.E.D.

The five step method for removing founder dependency.

I created F.R.E.E.D. It solves one problem: a company where authority, decisions, and standards still route through the founder, so growth is capped by one calendar and, in the companies I have worked in, the business is harder to hand over or sell.

  1. 01

    Find

    Locate every decision that still routes through you. Most founders are surprised by the length of the list.

    You get a written map of every place the business stops when you do.

  2. 02

    Redistribute

    Move authority and accountability together, so the person who owns the outcome can make the call without asking.

    Decisions get named owners, so the team stops queuing at your door.

  3. 03

    Engineer

    Build the systems that hold the work when you are not watching.

    The standard lives in the system, not in your memory.

  4. 04

    Embed

    Make the new way survive contact with a busy quarter.

    The new way survives the week you are not watching.

  5. 05

    Develop

    Grow leaders who carry it forward after you stop pushing.

    Someone else can carry it, and does.

See how F.R.E.E.D. runs in an engagement

Build Beyond You

The standard, said out loud every week.

Build Beyond You is the podcast I co-host with David Ricci, CEPA, my co-founder at Trustedpreneurs, currently published as Trustedpreneurs: The Podcast. It covers the same subject as the advisory work: what it takes for a company to keep its standard when the founder steps back.

Listen to Build Beyond You

Where the method shows up

The method in use, and the writing behind it.

In a live engagement

At Varsity Orthopedics the method is being applied inside an ongoing engagement. The operating library is delivered; outcomes are still being tracked.

Read the engagement record

In writing

Contact

Advisory work, writing and public appearances.

For inquiries, write to mricci@themadelinericci.com or use the contact page.

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