From Firefighter to Strategic Leader in 12 Weeks
Master the 5 Ps framework that fixes today's chaos while building tomorrow's growth. Your first win starts in 72 hours.
This Is Your Journey IF…
You're exhausted from constantly firefighting instead of driving strategic initiatives
Your best engineers are leaving while you're drowning in broken processes
You know you're meant for the C-suite but feel trapped as the "tech guy"
This Isn’t Your Path IF…
You believe leadership is just about writing better code or hiring more devs
You're satisfied being an order-taker instead of a strategic business partner
You think "that's just how tech leadership works" when nothing gets done without you
The Tech Leader's 5Ps “Flight” School
Master Today's Operations While Building Tomorrow's Career
Over 12 transformative weeks, you'll earn your wings through:
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MODULE 1: Pre-Flight Assessment & Emergency Diagnostics
Stop the bleeding while planning the cure.
In this breakthrough session, you will:Complete your 5 Ps organizational health scan in under 60 minutes
Identify your top 3 "fires" and get immediate firefighting tactics
Create your 72-hour emergency action plan
Map your biggest career blocker and the first steps to remove it
Immediate Win: Scripts for your three toughest conversations this week
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MODULE 2: People – From Attrition Crisis to Talent Magnet
Transform your revolving door into a talent incubator.
By the end of this session, you will:Diagnose why your best people are leaving (or thinking about it)
Master the "re-recruiting" conversation that saves $200K+ per retained engineer
Build your 30-day culture turnaround plan
Create your talent pipeline strategy for next year's growth
Take-home Tool: "Stay Interview" template that prevents exit interviews
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MODULE 3: Process – From Chaos to Predictable Delivery
Turn your anxiety-inducing releases into boring, predictable events.
In this module, you will:Map the broken processes costing you nights and weekends
Design the CI/CD pipeline that gives you back 10 hours/week
Create accountability without micromanagement
Build the Process Playbook your team will actually follow
Measurable Outcome: Cut your deployment time by 50% within 30 days
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MODULE 4: Product Partnership – From Order-Taker to Strategic Partner
Become the tech leader Product Management can’t succeed without.
This module will guide you to:Master the "Platform Investment Pitch" that gets instant buy-in
Transform tech debt conversations from whining to winning
Create your Product-Engineering Alliance Charter
Build credibility as a business leader, not just a tech expert
Power Move: The 5-minute framework that turns any feature request into a strategic discussion
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MODULE 5: Platform – From Technical Debt to Strategic Asset
Convert your architectural nightmares into competitive advantages.
During this module, you will:Quantify technical debt in CEO-friendly metrics (dollars & time)
Design your "Lego block" architecture roadmap
Create the platform strategy that enables 10x growth
Build the business case that unlocks platform investment
Executive Tool: One-page "Platform Health Dashboard" for board meetings
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MODULE 6: Production – From 3am Pages to “Boring” Reliability
Sleep through the night while your systems self-heal.
This powerful session teaches you to:Design monitoring that prevents outages, not just detects them
Create SLAs aligned with business reality, not engineering perfection
Build the incident response playbook that turns chaos into process
Implement security without slowing down delivery
Peace of Mind: Your "Never Get Paged Again" automation checklist
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MODULE 7: Your 5 Ps Playbook – The Operating System for Success
Compile your custom leadership operating manual.
This synthesis session delivers:Your complete 5 Ps Playbook with quarterly review cycles
Team alignment tools and communication templates
Red/Yellow/Green dashboards for each P
Your 90-day implementation roadmap
Deliverable #1: Personalized 5 Ps Playbook (20–30 pages)
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MODULE 8: Career Trajectory Audit – Where You’re Really Headed
Face the truth about your career path before it’s too late.
Together in this session we’ll:Complete the "Career Reality Check" assessment
Identify hidden blockers sabotaging your advancement
Map the gap between where you are and where you want to be
Define your non-negotiable career criteria
Clarity Tool: "Career GPS" showing exactly where you're headed
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MODULE 9: The Skills Vault – Building Your $1M+ Skill Stack
Develop the rare combination of skills that commands top dollar.
Use this session to:Identify the 3 skills that will double your market value
Create your personalized learning sprint plan
Build your expertise positioning strategy
Design your skill demonstration portfolio
ROI Focus: Calculate the exact dollar value of each skill investment
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MODULE 10: Executive Presence – From “Tech Guy” to Trusted Leader
Command the room—whether it’s engineers or executives.
In this session, you’ll master:The "Executive Translation" technique for any audience
Your authentic leadership voice (not corporate speak)
The art of saying no without damaging relationships
Building influence without playing politics
Breakthrough Moment: Record your "CTO pitch" and witness your transformation
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MODULE 11: Strategic Network Architecture – Your Career Insurance Policy
Build the relationships today that create opportunities tomorrow.
After working through this session, you will:Map your "Career Board of Directors" (mentors, sponsors, peers)
Create your strategic networking plan (quality > quantity)
Design your thought leadership platform
Build your opportunity attraction system
Long Game: The 15-minute weekly ritual that builds million-dollar relationships
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MODULE 12: Your Leadership Flight Plan – The Blueprint for Your Next Level
Create the strategic document that guides your next 10 years.
In this final week, you'll complete:Your comprehensive Leadership Flight Plan with multiple scenarios
Integration strategy linking daily operations to career goals
Quarterly milestone markers and course correction triggers
Your "Future You" vision and reverse-engineered path
Deliverable #2: Personalized Leadership Flight Plan (15–20 pages)
Your Transformation Promise
In just 12 weeks, you’ll evolve from:
Firefighter → Leader: Build systems that prevent fires instead of reacting to them
Order-Taker → Strategic Partner: Shift from task execution to driving business outcomes
Overwhelmed → In Control: Use clear, repeatable playbooks for every challenge
Stuck → Ascending: Gain a concrete path to your next career level
Testimonial
Working with Derrick has been transformative for my journey as a founder. His supportive, collaborative coaching style creates a safe space where I can candidly explore the chaotic yet energizing challenges of leadership. He brings structure through various frameworks, including his developed "5 Ps" methodology (People, Process, Product, Platform, Production). What sets Derrick apart is his ability to help me articulate thoughts while pushing me beyond immediate operational hurdles toward long-term strategic planning and personal growth—essential elements for scaling our company. Through our work together, I've reshaped our product vision with a balanced approach to technical rigor and business focus. After every session, I leave with actionable insights and practical strategies that have measurably improved my leadership. Derrick has equipped me to embrace uncertainty and drive sustainable growth with confidence—exactly what I needed as a founder navigating complex challenges.
Fernando Ramirez
Co-Founder and CTO
SumIt
www.getsumit.com
I wanted to take a minute to thank you for all your guidance, support, ideas, methods of management, approaches in many different scenarios we discussed regarding managing my team, my time and my self-promotion. Your kindness and the tools you have opened my eyes too will have a long-lasting positive effect on my career. I value your mentoring style, encompassing not only work life but the balance of home life as well. Your genuine interest in my wellbeing first and career development are commendable.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this experience with you.
Keep up the great mentoring.
All the best to you and your family.
Ken Knapp
Director of Engineering & Quality
Arch Medical Solutions - Newtown
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You’ll Walk Away With:
systems and practices
for sustainable success
and growth.