An early read or a recommendation

Leo says two kinds of thing about how your business could change, and always tells you which one it is saying.

An early read

An early read is what Leo can see so far. It can arrive in your first session: "that step looks like five hours a week, and here is how I worked it out."

It is worth having because it shows where to look next. It is not yet a case for changing anything, and Leo says what is still missing.

A recommendation

A recommendation is firm. Leo makes one only when all five of these are true:

1. It is sized, with the working. The hours are written down, and so is how they were worked out.
2. It has been confirmed. The pattern has been seen more than once.
3. The person who does the work taught it. A description from somebody watching from another team is kept, but it isn't enough.
4. The goal it serves is written down. Hours given back mean little until they are set against what the business is working towards.
5. There is a second account, where there is anybody else to ask. Another person, or evidence from a connected tool.

Where one is missing, Leo tells you exactly which, and that becomes the next thing it asks about.

Why Leo waits

A fix proposed too early bends everything that comes after it. People start defending it or dismissing it, and stop describing how the work really runs.

Waiting has a second benefit. Problems that look separate often share one cause, and you can only see that with all of them on the table. One fix for the cause is cheaper than four fixes for the symptoms.

It can change its mind

A recommendation is a belief, not a verdict. When new evidence arrives, it moves, and Leo tells you it moved and why.