What does a 100-day operations plan look like after acquiring a founder-led company?

The plan on one page

The days are a frame for the work. How far a company gets depends on where it starts.

Days 1 to 30: stabilize and map

Protect cash and customers first. Find out who collects receivables, who talks to the top accounts, and who signs off on payroll.

Then map where decisions sit. For one week, log every decision that reaches the owner: what was asked, who asked, and whether it has come up before. In a founder-led company, the list is long.

Every company has a Bob. Somebody asks how we do something, and the answer is: "just ask Bob." If it lives in Bob's head, the AI will ask Bob too. The map shows who your Bobs are.

Days 31 to 60: codify and set authority

Write down the five processes the business can't run without. For each one, record the decision as well as the steps: what good looks like, who decides, and up to what amount. We start from a library of pre-built SOPs and fit them to how the company actually works.

Then set authority limits. Every recurring decision gets one owner and one number, written into a decision authority matrix. For example, refunds up to $500 with the office manager, discounts up to 10% with the sales lead. Your numbers will be different.

Days 61 to 100: rhythm and one pilot

Stop approving one request at a time. Review once a week. One weekly operations meeting: the numbers, what went over a limit, and who decided.

Then pick one written process with a clear owner and clean data, and pilot AI on it. Every agent runs until it hits a gate a person still owns. If no process is ready yet, the pilot waits. AI scales whatever's already there.

What the owner does in each phase

1. Days 1 to 30: explains the decisions. The owner is the main source for the map.
2. Days 31 to 60: reviews the written processes and agrees to the limits.
3. Days 61 to 100: steps out of approvals inside the limits and joins the weekly review.

The owner's logic and judgment need to be written down too, because that's what made the company great in the first place.

Metrics to watch

Track a short list of weekly KPIs, each with one owner. Watch two more signals during the plan: how many decisions still reach the owner each week, and how many processes are written down and in use. When the first number falls and the second rises, the system is taking hold.

Where this sits in SCOPE™ by Efficiency Sprint

The plan follows the first states of SCOPE™ by Efficiency Sprint: Stabilize repairs the basics, Codify makes the recipe clear, and Ownership means people run it reliably. AI starts at Pulse, where it watches and reports, and acts on its own at Engine.

We install systems in companies that make them run without owners and ready for automation. Efficiency Sprint makes companies operationally ready for AI. The ongoing rhythm can run on EfficiOS, our subscription. For a deeper look before the deal closes, see operational due diligence, or how we work with private equity.

The operational AI readiness check takes about two minutes and shows where a company stands.