The 5-Minute Delivery Timing Score
How Indispensable Are You — Really?
A quick diagnostic by Kathryn H Brown Creating Your Plan | Advisory OS linkedin.com/in/itskathrynbrown
Grab a pen. Write down the names of your top 5 clients.
For each one, answer this question:
"What was the last decision this client made that my work should have informed — and did they have my input before they decided?"
Not the formal review call. Not the deliverable you sent. The actual decision — the budget call, the hire, the pricing change, the strategic bet.
Did they have your work in hand before that conversation happened?
Score It
For each client, mark one:
- Before — your work arrived before their decision
- After — your work arrived after (or wasn't part of the conversation)
- No deliverable — no work of yours exists for that decision
Count the "Before" answers.
| Score | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 4-5 | Your delivery model is already decision-driven. The D3 Method will fine-tune the gaps. |
| 2-3 | Your work is strong but calendar-driven. A few timing shifts would change how these clients experience you. |
| 0-1 | Your clients are deciding without you — not because they don't value your work, but because it arrives after the conversation. The opportunity is in the timing. |
The Pattern to Watch
If you scored 2 or below, notice something: the quality of your work isn't the issue. You're not underdelivering. You're delivering on a schedule built around when the work gets done — not when the client needs it.
Every advisor I've seen run this score is doing excellent work. The ones who become indispensable shift when it lands, not what it contains.
What's Next
This score tells you whether the opportunity exists. It doesn't tell you where to shift.
The D3 Kit — Decision-Driven Delivery builds the full plan for one client: the decision cadence map, the delivery timing audit, and the realignment plan that puts your highest-value work before the decisions that matter.
It takes about 20 minutes. You walk out with a specific plan you can act on this week.
[Get the D3 Kit]
P.S. Run this score again in 90 days after you've made the shift for one client. The number will change. More importantly, the way your client introduces you at the next partner meeting will change.