Built from more than four decades of advising privately held companies through every stage of business — from startup through exit and beyond.
Seven critical stages. One leadership journey. Lasting legacy.
Each book is a standalone guide for exactly the stage you're in — and a chapter in a larger story that runs from first dollar to lasting legacy.
The framework that ties the entire series together. A leader's guide to understanding which trail you're on, where it leads, and how to read the terrain ahead.
Buy on Amazon →For founders who are still the center of everything. How to build the structures, systems, and team that let the business run without you at every decision.
Buy on Amazon →Growth that outpaces your systems and people is growth that breaks things. How to scale deliberately — building the infrastructure before the weight crushes it.
Buy on Amazon →Stability is not the end state — it's the riskiest place to get comfortable. How to lead through the long middle, stay sharp, and prepare for whatever comes next.
Buy on Amazon →For leaders whose company is in distress. A clear, direct guide to diagnosing the real problem, stopping the bleeding, and building back from an honest starting point.
Buy on Amazon →The complete guide to preparing your business for sale — from closing the value gap to choosing the right buyer to planning the life that comes after the deal closes.
Buy on Amazon →What you leave behind matters as much as what you built. The final book in the series is about the leader's legacy — beyond the business, beyond the transaction.
Buy on Amazon →Every business is on one of five trails. The Cycle Assessment tells you which one — and how urgently it needs attention. It's not a test to pass. It's a map reading.
Complete all five trail sections — not just the one you assume applies. Your placement comes from how you score across all five, and it's common to land on a trail that surprises you. Your score also generates an urgency rating: how much time pressure surrounds your situation, regardless of which trail you're on.
A single-day workshop designed so that every attendee — regardless of which trail they're on — experiences content built specifically for their situation. No one sits through a session that doesn't apply to them.
Everyone opens together with The Trail Map philosophy and completes the Cycle Assessment. Then the room splits — each person moves into a breakout built precisely for their assessed trail.
Each trail has its own 165-minute facilitated session — three core exercises, a built-in break, and a close that hands attendees their specific action plan.
The full group reconvenes to tie five different trail experiences back to one shared framework — and every attendee leaves with a specific, scheduled next step.
Available as in-person live events or fully virtual workshops — for business owner groups, leadership teams, professional associations, and corporate learning programs. Format and scheduling are flexible.
Seminar pricing depends on format, group size, and delivery method. Contact Brian directly to discuss your group's needs and get a proposal.
Individual or small-group coaching, delivered virtually. For clients who want ongoing structured guidance — with or without first attending the seminar. Four phases that take you from placement to sustained progress, at a cadence matched to your urgency level.
Completed the Assessment and attended your trail's workshop. Coaching begins immediately in the Core Cadence — Session 1 reviews your workshop action items.
Completed the Assessment but no workshop. Coaching begins with the Foundation Sequence — 4 sessions that deliver the same core exercises the workshop covers, paced individually.
Coaching is available individually or in small groups, delivered virtually. Pricing is based on cadence tier and program entry path — contact Brian for details.
Start with a Free ConsultationFour sessions that deliver the trail's three core exercises plus a Map Check — the same ground the seminar covers, delivered 1:1 at your pace.
Ongoing sessions using the Universal Session Structure: check-in, action review, trail-specific prompts, next action, and confirm the next session. Cadence set by your urgency rating — weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly.
A quarterly check for early signals that the next trail is approaching — before it becomes a crisis. The one thing a seminar can't do that 1:1 coaching can.
When a real trail transition is confirmed, a full re-assessment and re-placement — including the choice of a new workshop or a 1:1 Foundation Sequence for the new trail.