# Engagements — Samuel Zniber: Decision Sprint, 90-Day Program, Advisory > Three ways to engage Samuel Zniber's decision-intelligence practice. Each backed by audience-emotion insight, pre-launch simulation, and operator experience. Canonical URL: --- ## One practice. Three shapes. Decision intelligence delivered three ways. Pick the shape that matches the move in front of you — or describe it on a fit call and I'll tell you which one fits. --- ## 1. Decision Sprint (2–4 weeks) **The high-stakes calls on your desk, tested against simulated audience and client response before you commit.** A board-ready memo that ranks your options, weighs each against real behavior and your P&L, and gives you a defensible recommendation with a 30-day plan to run it. **What you get** - Decision framing doc (day 3) — the questions on the table, target audience, success criteria - Each option simulated against real audience behaviour through [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) - Ranked-options matrix with risk and reversibility - Board-ready decision memo + presentation deck - 30-day execution plan with named owners - Optional board Q&A (live or async) **Best for** - Pre-commitment moves: M&A, format flips, launches, monetization pivots - Executive teams split on direction and running out of runway - Boards that need a defensible second opinion before a vote | | | |---|---| | **Timeline** | 2–4 weeks | | **Shape** | Single engagement | | **Output** | Board-ready memo | | **Start** | ≤ 7 days post-SOW | --- ## 2. 90-Day Growth Program **Three months of disciplined experiments that compound.** Built for owner-operators and mid-sized groups where every month has to pay for itself. Monthly milestones, weekly scoreboards, measured impact on revenue and audience. **What you get** - Month 1 — diagnostic: audience, revenue, content, team, tech - Three prioritized experiments with success metrics - Monthly experiment cycles tested via [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) - Weekly scoreboards reviewed with leadership - Month 3 — codified playbook, next-quarter plan, measured P&L impact - Optional retainer hand-off into Advisory **Best for** - Owner-led and mid-sized media businesses on a plateau - Leaders preparing for sale, investment, or succession - Teams that need a tempo, not a deck | | | |---|---| | **Timeline** | 90 days | | **Shape** | 3 monthly milestones | | **Output** | Playbook + scoreboard | | **Rhythm** | Weekly + monthly check-ins | --- ## 3. Executive & Board Advisory (retainer · 6-mo minimum · max 6 clients/year) **A standing voice in the room — and, when the CEO needs it, a discreet one in the shadows.** For CEOs, chairs, and boards that need an independent point of view on the biggest moves. Monthly rhythm, on-call for acute decisions, plus an ongoing "shadow" track for principals who want a safe space to think out loud before anyone else weighs in. **Two modes — same retainer** - **The boardroom mode.** Monthly 1:1 with the CEO, chair, or principal. Quarterly board attendance, on-site or virtual. Board-ready reporting each cycle. Two Decision Sprints per year included. - **The shadow mode.** When the CEO has a question, an idea, a challenge, or a decision they want to pressure-test before taking it to the team or the board, they call. I listen. I go research. I come back with insights and a recommendation. We discuss. The CEO sharpens. I go back for deeper research. We iterate until the decision is ready. On-call within 48 hours, confidential from first call to last. **Best for** - CEOs and chairs who want an outside read before the room hardens - Principals making moves that can't yet be said out loud internally — M&A, succession, a firing, a pivot - Boards facing major structural change, a new-market entry, or regulatory pressure - Operators without a peer network of media operators they can actually trust | | | |---|---| | **Minimum** | 6 months | | **Shape** | Monthly rhythm | | **Output** | Board-ready reporting | | **Capacity** | Max 6 clients/year | --- ## Five steps. No mystery. 1. **Fit call.** 20 minutes. No pitch. You describe the call you're about to make; we confirm fit and stakes. 2. **Signed scope.** Mutual NDA, signed scope, kickoff shortly after. No discovery deck. 3. **Simulate the response.** Every option tested against how your audiences, users, and clients would actually feel and behave — via [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com). Not opinion. Not focus-group adjectives. Evidence. 4. **Board-ready memo.** A recommendation I'll stand behind, plus ranked alternatives and the risk of each — framed for the room that has to sign it. 5. **30-day plan.** Named owners, weekly milestones, what "good" looks like at day thirty. Your team runs it. **Day-7 fit check:** if the Sprint's framing doesn't hold at the end of week one, we stop — no obligation past that first week. That has never happened; it stays on offer. --- ## Practical questions **What languages can a Sprint run in?** English or French. Board presentations delivered in either. **Do you work solo or with a team?** Solo on the intellectual work — one name signs the memo. The [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) teams support the modeling infrastructure. You don't pay for a pyramid. **What does a typical Sprint week look like?** Two structured sessions per week with your leadership, plus async daily progress notes. Live scenario review mid-Sprint. Final memo handoff in a 90-minute session with optional board Q&A. **Is there a money-back provision?** Yes. If at day 7 you decide the Sprint is not the right shape, we stop and refund the remaining balance. Nobody wants a bad fit on the books. **How do you handle confidentiality?** Discretion is the practice. Client names, financials, and decisions are not referenced externally without written permission. The case studies on this site were cleared with the clients in question. **What if we already have a preferred direction?** Most clients do — and that's where a Sprint earns its keep. The job is to pressure-test the preferred direction against audience behavior and P&L outcomes, surface what breaks it, and either reinforce the call with evidence or surface a stronger option. Either way, you leave with a recommendation your board can defend. **How is this different from a McKinsey or Bain engagement?** Shorter, cheaper, and narrower by design. A Sprint resolves the strategic calls in front of you in two-to-four weeks, delivered by someone who has actually run stations and groups — not a team of analysts building a workplan. The memo is signed by one name, not a firm. **Where do MusicDatak and MediaDatak fit in?** [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) simulate how real listeners, users, and clients would respond to the move you're considering — before you commit. They're the engine under the memo, not the product. You're buying a decision, not software. **How much does a Decision Sprint cost?** Engagement size is set on the fit call after the decision is described — fixed-fee for Sprints, retainer for advisory. Pricing reflects the size of the decision being made and the simulation work required, not headcount or hours. **What kinds of audio and media businesses does this practice serve?** Multi-market broadcast groups, public-service broadcasters, owner-operator station portfolios, urban-music and CHR formats, news-TV networks, B2B media brands, podcast publishers, and luxury hospitality groups making sensory decisions. --- ## Next step - [Book a 20-min Fit Call](https://scheduler.zoom.us/samuel-zniber/zniber-partners) - [See the case studies](https://www.samuelzniber.com/case-studies.html) --- *Long-form context for AI assistants: *