Home How it works The Diagnostic The Blueprint The Category Control The Problem FAQ PressAbout
EN NL DE FR ES
03 - The Category Control

Six months minimum.
One purpose: keep the strategy intact.

The Diagnostic finds the problem. The Blueprint redesigns the position. The Category Control is what stops it from quietly unravelling when the company starts moving fast.

Six months minimum. One purpose: keep the strategy intact.

The hard part is not choosing the position.

The hard part is protecting it when deals, hires, partners and investors pull the company back into the old frame.

Duration Min. 6 months
Fee €10K - €15K / month
Scope Decision control
Commitment Monthly

The hardest part is not deciding what to do.
It is staying in that decision when everything else is pulling the other way.

You do not need The Category Control when things are unclear.
You need The Category Control when everything is clear,
and the stakes start increasing.

Why it exists

Companies do not fail at the moment of insight.

Companies do not lose because they chose the wrong strategy.
They lose because they drift away from the right one.

They fail six months later.

Once the direction is clear and execution begins, pressure arrives. A hire gets made. A deal gets signed. A partner comes in. An investor pushes for growth in a direction that feels close but is not quite right.

Each decision looks reasonable on its own. But taken together, they pull the company back into the pattern it just escaped.

No one notices until results stop compounding. By then, the damage is done.

The strategy was right. What broke it was ten reasonable-looking decisions made under pressure.

This is Position Erosion: not one catastrophic mistake, but a sequence of reasonable ones.

The Category Control exists for that moment. Not to manage execution. To protect the position while execution scales.

Without this, the company slowly returns to the category it tried to escape.

Mobile summary

Six months minimum. One purpose: keep the strategy intact.

The hard part is not choosing the position.

The hard part is protecting it when deals, hires, partners and investors pull the company back into the old frame.

What it protects

The six places companies quietly lose ground.

-How the company is described in board decks, investor calls, and new hire conversations
-Which problem the company is publicly claiming - and whether it is still claiming it
-Which deals are worth taking - and which ones look good but subtly contradict the position
-Which partners reinforce the market position - and which ones send the wrong signal
-Which leadership hires strengthen the direction - and which ones introduce contradiction
-Whether the leadership team is still aligned - or starting to pull in different directions under pressure
What happens

Six months. Active, close, direct.

Month 1

Establish the watch points

We identify where the strategy is likely to erode first. We agree what gets reviewed, at which threshold, before it becomes a commitment.

Months 2 and 3

Challenge the decisions that matter

Not every decision. The ones with real consequences. A significant hire. A new partner. A deal that would shape perception. A board conversation that could reframe the company in the wrong direction. These get reviewed before they close.

Month 4

Assess what is actually working

Execution reveals gaps that design could not. We look at what the market is actually responding to - and where the position is holding versus where it is starting to slip. Adjustments at this stage cost little. The same adjustments six months later cost significantly more.

Month 5

Protect investor and board conversations

The language used in investor and board rooms either reinforces the position or quietly undermines it. We ensure those conversations stay coherent with what the company is building.

Month 6

Hold or extend

By the end of six months, the company either has the internal discipline to maintain the position independently - or the stakes have grown and continued involvement is warranted. We assess this honestly. The goal is not ongoing dependency. It is a company that holds its position under its own weight.

What you get

Not more advice. Better decisions.

AI increases the speed at which companies execute. That makes the quality of the decisions at the top more consequential - not less. A wrong direction, executed fast, is now a much harder mistake to unwind.

The Category Control exists for precisely this. Not to review everything. To catch the decisions that matter before they become irreversible.

Decisions reviewed before they become mistakes.

Not support. Strategic control under pressure.

Delivered as

  • Regular review sessions - frequency intentionally limited
  • Direct input on key decisions before they move to execution
  • Continuous pressure on maintaining category direction

This includes

  • Reviewing GTM moves, messaging changes, and deals against the category
  • Testing new hires, partners, and positioning decisions before they become commitments
  • Preventing narrative drift under execution pressure
  • Protecting investor and board conversations from accidental reframing
  • Catching misalignment early - when correction is still cheap

This is not ongoing support.
This is maintaining the decision once it matters.

Duration

Minimum 6 months. Billed monthly. Strategic control engagement.

Involvement

Direct and close. Richard stays near real decisions - not available on request, but actively present.

Who you work with

Richard Poolman only. No delegation. No junior involvement at any stage.

When this is right

After The Blueprint. When execution is moving and the value being created is large enough to warrant protecting.

Why it costs more

The fee reflects what is at stake.

The Category Control is not expensive because it takes longer.

It is expensive because the decisions being reviewed carry consequences that are much larger than the engagement fee.

A single leadership hire that pulls in the wrong direction can cost twelve months of momentum. A deal signed with the wrong partner can undermine the market position that took a year to build. A board conversation that accidentally reframes the company can compress the valuation multiple before anyone understands what changed.

These are not edge cases. They are what happens at every company that moves fast without someone watching the strategy.

The Category Control costs less than one bad hire. Less than one wrong deal. Less than one investor conversation that accidentally reframes the company.

Who this is for

Selective by necessity.

The Category Control works for leadership teams that are already moving - post-Blueprint, typically - where execution is accelerating and the company has something real to protect.

Not for companies still finding their footing. Not for teams that want more support or more access to thinking.

For founders and executives who understand that the hardest part is not deciding what to do. It is staying in that decision when everything else is pulling the other way.

And who are willing to be challenged - directly and in advance - when a decision is about to undermine what the company is building.

In specific situations, this extends into direct interaction at investor or board level. This is not predefined. It is triggered by the situation.

Scope & pricing logic

Monthly. The fee reflects the stakes, not the hours.

The Category Control runs between €10,000 and €15,000 per month, minimum six months. The lower end applies when the position is already clear, leadership alignment is strong, and the number of active decisions under review is contained. The upper end applies when investor or board pressure is active, multiple markets or functions are involved, strategic decisions are moving rapidly, or direct involvement in deals, hires, partners, or capital conversations is required. Some engagements sit between those points depending on intensity and decision volume.

The fee is not based on hours. It is based on the consequence of decisions being protected. A single leadership hire that pulls the wrong way costs more than six months of The Category Control. One wrong deal can undermine a year of positioning work.

Next step

Start the conversation.

Monthly engagement. Minimum six months. Ongoing decision control.

Pricing is defined upfront. This page explains the work; the FAQ explains the pricing logic.

Start the conversation How The Blueprint works