TRUFFLE   /   STRATEGY WORKSHOP
DRAFT · NOT SENT

Darren · Seth · Graham

First align the partnership.
Then design the business.

Three partnership sessions, each with its own purpose, outputs and detailed activity page, followed by a separate business-design act. Built on the January workshop—not a restart.

Act I: 3 days × 4 hoursCalifornia: 06:00–10:00 PSTSouth Africa: 16:00–20:00 SASTDates: to be confirmed

Seth and Graham together in Cape Town; Darren joins remotely from California. Each slot shows California and South Africa time. California returns to standard time on Sunday, 1 November 2026: 06:00–10:00 PST (UTC−8) = 16:00–20:00 SAST (UTC+2). This schedule assumes dates on or after that change, while California is on standard time. Recheck the conversion when dates are locked; South Africa does not change its clocks.

Real rest, every day: Days 2 and 3 include a 15-minute off-screen break. All three days include a protected 18:00–18:45 Cape Town dinner / 08:00–08:45 California breakfast. No working meals or required discussion. Cape Town host: arrange or pre-order dinner before the session, ready at 18:00; the meal window includes serving and eating. Day 1 contains 3 hours 15 minutes of workshop work and the 45-minute meal; Days 2 and 3 contain 3 hours of work and one hour of rest.

Workshop overview

Three days. Three clear outcomes.

Choose a day below for its purpose, intended outputs and full timed activities. Each day has its own printable page. The individual pre-work and shared end-of-session worksheets remain separate in the workbook.

Where January’s Notion work enters

The January workshop is historical input to validate together—not a current agreement or a verdict on any participant.

Day 2 · LeadershipApply behavior → impact → request to all three partners, equally.
Day 3 · Reality checkMark January positions as still true, changed, unclear or disputed.
Act II · Open loopsResolve sales ownership, roles, capacity, pricing and financial mechanics.

Act I / Day 01

Reconnection

Purpose

Understand who each person has become over the past eighteen months, then compare the life and work each wants next. Separate genuine alignment from differences that the partnership must respect before discussing a business plan.

Intended end-of-session outputs
  • Three personal success maps: approved priorities, success conditions and non-negotiables, one per person.
  • A shared alignment-and-differences map: reinforcing goals, tensions and incompatible expectations.
  • An open-question register: unresolved issues, named owners and the next route to resolution.

06:00–10:00 PST / 16:00–20:00 SAST · Dinner 18:00–18:45 SAST

Open Day 1: activities & timing →

Act I / Day 02

Partnership Mirror

Purpose

Test whether the partners can rely on one another through equal-time, behavior-based feedback. Turn what each person hears into observable commitments, honest capacity boundaries and a practical thirty-day working agreement.

Intended end-of-session outputs
  • A strengths map: what each partner contributes and what the partnership should protect.
  • Behavior commitments: specific requests, observable changes and measures of improvement.
  • Honest capacity statements: sustainable weekly hours, outside commitments and availability.
  • A thirty-day partner compact: commitments, trust conditions, review dates and repair steps.

06:00–10:00 PST / 16:00–20:00 SAST · Dinner 18:00–18:45 SAST

Open Day 2: activities & timing →

Act I / Day 03

Ownership & direction

Purpose

Turn the feedback into personal ownership, distinguish January’s historical positions from current agreement, and stress-test the most consequential business beliefs. Decide explicitly whether to proceed to business design, pause for partnership repair or narrow the scope.

Intended end-of-session outputs
  • Ownership commitments and a January position register: what each person accepts, will change, and still disputes.
  • An agreed hard-thesis register: evidence, counter-evidence and unresolved assumptions.
  • A bounded experiment slate: named owners, evidence, pass/fail thresholds and deadlines.
  • A continuation decision: proceed, pause or narrow, with rationale and conditions.
  • An Act II brief: scope, required outputs, founder-led sales questions and Makosi-pattern safeguards.

06:00–10:00 PST / 16:00–20:00 SAST · Dinner 18:00–18:45 SAST

Open Day 3: activities & timing →

Act II / Duration & dates to be agreed

Business design → ninety-day execution

A short intermission follows Act I. Act II proceeds only through the continuation gate. Travel planning must account for the whole program, not just the first three sessions.

01 · Business model & offers

Decide what Truffle is becoming. Test the shared specialist-capacity platform across Audit and Data Center / Built Environment offers; do not assume it.

02 · Sales & pricing ownership

Choose markets, founder selling capacity, US presence, pipeline support, pricing authority and evidence-based handoff criteria.

03 · Economics & cash

Resolve funding, cash requirements, partner income needs, reserves and financial mechanics.

04 · Leadership & operations

Agree roles, realistic capacity and decision rights. Name a real finance/operations owner and measurable operating safeguards.

05 · Customer-valued technology

Scope technology around measurable customer value. Decide what to build, test or park; avoid overhead ahead of proven demand.

06 · Ninety-day commitments

Set no more than five measurable outcomes, with named owners, milestones and a weekly review rhythm.

Decision boundary: matters requiring Ilan or advisers remain proposals pending their input. Act II’s detailed time slots are not yet agreed.

Before Session 1 — complete individually

Preparation for all three participants

At least 5 days beforeSend the detailed participant pre-work pack.
48 hours before Day 1Completed participant submissions are due.

Ready-to-use worksheets: Before the workshop: each person completes seven pre-work sheets independently; approved submissions are due 48 hours before Session 1. At the end of each session: complete and approve that session’s shared output pack together with a named note owner. Session-output packs are not advance submissions.

Choose pre-work or session-output worksheets →Pre-work: start the 18-month retrospectiveSession outputs — finalise together at each session’s close
  1. Retrospective timelineEighteen months, backward-looking—not a vision.
  2. Twelve-month future storyFirst person; life and work, not only targets.
  3. Confidential partner feedbackBehavior → impact → request for each partner.
  4. Capacity & role statementCurrent role, outside commitments, weekly capacity and desired role.
  5. Three hard-thesis cardsCore beliefs and assumptions for the business.
  6. Outcomes & biggest fearThree must-have outcomes; biggest fear if the workshop fails.
  7. January / Makosi reality checkWhat still holds, what to preserve, what must not recur, and leadership feedback applied equally.

Handling: recording requires everyone’s consent. Private feedback is not automatically shared business material. Do not distribute the raw January transcript by default.

Still to lock

Review decisions & logistics

Ask Seth and Graham what to add, change or remove, what the workshop must deliver, and which dates and travel windows work.

  • Three Act I dates
  • Act II duration & dates
  • Travel constraints
  • Private Cape Town room
  • Dinner ready at 18:00 each day · host, location & dietary needs
  • Reliable audio / video
  • Feedback facilitator
  • Timekeeper & notes owner
  • Pre-work submission location
  • Recording consent