Retainer, project, or a single call: choosing the shape

Most relationships start as one shape and become another. The first conversation is always free, and it is usually the one that determines what the right shape is. Here is how I think about the three.

Retainer

Monthly engagement, ongoing advisory, fractional executive support. This is the shape that suits brands in flux: active supply chain restructuring, a product programme launch, an interim gap at the VP level. Six to eighteen months is typical.

It is the shape I prefer, because the useful work in a restructuring rarely arrives on a schedule. A retainer means the call gets taken when the factory calls, not when the next statement of work is signed.

Project

Defined scope, defined timeline, defined deliverable. Sourcing audits. Diligence packages for private-equity deal teams. Programme rescues. A fixed engagement window with a clear answer at the end.

Projects suit specific decisions on a known clock: a deal that closes on a date, a season that ships on a date. The deliverable is written for whoever has to make the decision, in their language, which for a deal team means landed cost, concentration, and what it would take to change.

Expert call

Single-call advisory through the expert networks: GLG, Guidepoint, AlphaSights, Third Bridge, Dialectica, and Coleman Research. One-hour answers to the right question. Deal teams use it for diligence, brands use it for competitive intelligence, and both use it to check a sourcing or product assumption before it becomes a plan.

Which one

If the decision has a date, it is a project. If the decision is really a series of decisions over a year, it is a retainer. If it is one good question, book the call.

Capacity for new retainer clients is limited each quarter. Diligence support and expert calls are available now.