This sample demonstrates the type of output produced by the Catalyst Private Operating Diagnostic. The company, evidence, numbers, and circumstances below are fictional.
Private Operating Diagnostic — Illustrative Example
Build the Right Proposal Before Partner Review
Business snapshot
A 12-person architecture firm works with schools and nonprofit institutions. Proposal work begins when a project manager receives a request for qualifications or a scoping conversation. The project manager assembles the schedule, team, and fee, then drafts the narrative — but the positioning that wins the work has historically come from the two founding partners.
What we found
Project managers can produce a complete proposal on their own. What they cannot yet produce is the proposal's strategic positioning — which past projects to lead with and why, and how to frame the firm's fit for this specific institution. That judgment still lives only with the founding partners.
Evidence
- —Partners substantially rewrite the opening narrative late in the process.
- —Relevant past projects are selected inconsistently before partner review.
- —Project managers wait for partner context before they can confidently position the opportunity.
- —Proposal review time is spent reconstructing strategy rather than improving an already sound draft.
Current business impact
Known impact
Partner time is repeatedly consumed by proposal reconstruction rather than final review.
Impact to calculate
Proposal volume, average partner rewrite time, submission delays, and any effect on win rate.
Recommended first move
Create a repeatable proposal-positioning step that gives project managers the firm's relevant history, positioning standards, and a recommended narrative direction before drafting begins.
What stays with the owners
The partners retain final judgment over strategic positioning, unusual opportunities, sensitive claims, and final approval. The system improves the first draft; it does not replace partner judgment.
Page 2
The First Working Version
How it would work
Opportunity identified
Project manager completes a short positioning intake
Relevant past work and positioning guidance are surfaced
Project manager prepares the first draft
Partner reviews and approves exceptions
What has to change operationally
What information must be captured
Prospect type, comparable scope, budget range, funding context, and decision criteria — answered once, before drafting begins.
Who maintains positioning standards and project history
A designated partner keeps the approved project list and positioning guidance current as new work closes.
How approved examples are selected
Projects are tagged by sector, scope, and outcome so the right comparables surface automatically for a given opportunity.
Which situations still require immediate partner involvement
Unusual scopes, first-time sectors, and any opportunity above a defined size still route directly to a partner before drafting.
What happens when the available business context is incomplete
The missing context is clearly flagged. The project manager can continue assembling factual sections, but positioning recommendations remain incomplete until the designated owner resolves the gap.
What is included and excluded
Included
- —Positioning intake
- —Searchable approved project history
- —Recommended examples and narrative direction
- —Structured partner-review step
Excluded
- —Fully automated proposal creation
- —Automatic pricing or commercial commitments
- —Final submission without partner approval
- —Changes to specialized proposal-design software unless separately required
How we would know it worked
- —Partner rewrite time per proposal
- —Number of major positioning changes after the first draft
- —Percentage of first drafts that begin with appropriate examples
- —Time from opportunity identification to review-ready draft
What we still need to confirm
- —Current proposal volume
- —Average partner review and rewrite time
- —Where approved project history currently lives
- —Who maintains positioning standards
- —Which proposal types require early partner involvement
What could follow later
Possibilities, not commitments.
Recommended next step
“Validate the details above—the process, the rules, and what happens in the exceptions—in one working session. Catalyst will then provide the scope, timeline, and price for the first working version. No commitment is required until that scope is approved.”
This was a fictional example
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