Clarity
People know what matters, what done means, and who owns the next step.
Leadership with Purpose
COST is a plain-language program built around four pillars: clarity, ownership, systems, and trust. Clear goals. Honest updates. Fair ownership. Better systems.
New to COST?
Start with one useful path
Read the short version, learn the status words, then use one template in real work. That is enough to begin.
- 1 Read the short version
- 2 Use green, yellow, red, blocked
- 3 Fill one template
Four pillars, in plain words
The whole program rests on four ideas. Each one is short enough to repeat in a hallway and clear enough to use in a meeting.
Ownership
Someone is responsible for moving the work forward — with the authority and access to actually do it.
Systems
The steps, tools, habits, and handoffs that shape how work gets done. When the same problem repeats, the system needs to change.
Trust
People can tell the truth without fear of being attacked or shamed. Bad news arrives early enough to act on.
Three behaviors that change the work
The whole program in three habits. Anything else is bonus. Start here.
End every meeting with owner, next step, date
No meeting closes on vague agreement. Before anyone leaves: who owns it, what is the next step, and when is the check-in.
Try this in your next meetingStatus with truth: green, yellow, red, blocked
One line per owner per week. Use the word that is actually true. Yellow and red are not failures — silence is.
Use the weekly status templateWhen bad news arrives, lead with thank you
“Thank you for raising this now. What is the impact? What are our options? What do you recommend?” Never “why did you let this happen?”
Practice the bad-news scriptEverything else — principles, rules, templates, training — supports these three. If a team is doing only these, the program is working.
How we talk about risk
Four short status words make risk visible at a glance.
Green
On track
No help needed right now.
Yellow
Some risk
The owner is watching it and may need help soon.
Red
Serious risk
The goal, date, cost, or quality may be missed.
Blocked
Cannot move
Work is held up until a decision, answer, tool, person, or resource is provided.
What are you here to do?
Different people need different entry points. Start with the page closest to your role.
Senior leaders
Set the operating rhythm
Make the program safe to use, model the behavior, and prepare for predictable hard moments.
StartManagers
Change one weekly habit
End meetings clearly, use status words, and make risk visible before it becomes expensive.
StartFacilitators
Run the training
Keep sessions practical, use real work, and leave with one written output each time.
StartJust need a tool
Open the templates
Fill out an outcome brief, escalation note, ownership map, weekly status, or look-back.
StartFind what you need
The guide is organised by what you are trying to do. Pick a starting point.
Eight principles
Principles
The longer-form ideas behind how we want to lead, with real examples.
OpenSeven rules
Core working rules
Short, practical rules for assigning work, raising problems, and closing out projects.
OpenSeven templates
Templates
Outcome briefs, escalation notes, ownership maps, weekly status, look-backs, quarterly goals, and a leader behavior check — fillable in your browser.
OpenSix sessions
Training plan
45- to 60-minute sessions for leaders. Real exercises, one written output per session.
OpenSelf-paced
Learning path
Nine short lessons you can work through on your own, with a quick check after each one.
OpenPlain language
Glossary
Definitions for the words we use, in plain language. No business degree required.
OpenAll in one
The full guide
The complete v2 document on a single page. Print or save as PDF from your browser.
OpenA plain guide for how we work
This is not a rule book for control. It is not a loyalty test. It is not a self-help program. It is a plain guide for how we want to work together — with care and standards, trust and accountability.