pro·logue
/ˈprōˌlôɡ/

a separate introductory section of a literary or musical work.
"this idea is outlined in the prologue"

a speech often in verse addressed to the audience by an actor at the beginning of a play

an event or action that leads to another event or situation.
"This series of local meetings became the prologue to a mass movement for change"

(in professional cycling) a short preliminary time trial held before a race to establish a leader.

Prologue is a guided set of reflections and actions for leaders ready to explore something new.

It is intended to help you do the things you say you want to do. The things that you know you need to do. And the things that you haven't realized are important to you (yet).

It is less investment than a full coaching engagement.
It is a lower commitment than a Fellowship program.
It will efficiently channel the energy and wisdom you already have.
It is a prologue for the new things you will create.

Prologue will set you in motion toward a fulfilling new chapter.

If you have read this doc already and are looking for the intro form to get started, it is here.

Here is how:

Prologue Program Flow

First Six Weeks - individual work

THREE 1:1 Sessions with a guide

Supported homework exercises

Month 2-6 and beyond - ongoing sessions and networking

Transition Group: 3 small group sessions with pre-set dates

Ongoing Community: Join recurring monthly sessions with other Prologuers for accountability, networking, and idea sharing.

Sometime during month 6-12

Follow-up Session: 1:1 checkpoint with your guide to assess what has moved for you and inspire you to maintain momentum.

Program Fee

Historically Prologue has operated with a flat program fee that is accessible for a wide range of leaders. As Prologue evolves, the fee structure may shift based on the time inputs required by the Prologue guide. There is more on this in the FAQ section below.

The Program fee for 2026 is $950.

Read on to learn about whether you might be a Prologue leader…

After you read the pages below, you can introduce yourself here as the next step.

SPECIAL NOTES FOR 2026:

It isn't really a "regular" hiring market right now, if such a thing exists. I expect that in 2026 groups there will be even more conversations than usual about what it can look like to do contract, consulting, fractional, and interim work. This doesn't mean that the program won't be a very positive support to a search for a full-time W2 role, but it is anticipated that participants will feel more compelled than usual to entertain compensated work in a variety of formats.

I feel compelled to say clearly that this program is designed to get you started, not to close your job search. Have some past participants locked up their next role during the program? Absolutely. Is that the general expectation for most participants? No.

About you:

You are seeking the next chapter in your career. You have gotten results over time, and led through organizational change. You want a role that feeds your desire for learning, growth and new challenges. You also need a role that allows you to work flexibly toward ambitious goals while balancing life outside of work.

You have demonstrated success as a leader. Your direct reports and colleagues respect you and are excited to collaborate with you. You have great management abilities, but you don't feel the need to lead a large team in order to feel fulfilled. You love working on creative or challenging projects with the team members most affected by them, because that usually gets the best results for the organization.

You probably don't really want to be a CEO (at least not right now). You have learned enough about yourself and your strengths to understand that you are most fulfilled working as part of a leadership team, or as an individual contributor, coach, or consultant. Or maybe you have been a CEO, and you are looking for a bit of a reset. Your career progression puts a little pressure on you to feel like you should be at the top of an organization, but in your quiet moments you know that isn't what would make you happiest.

You can name your strengths, but it begins to turn into a lengthy list. You have been through enough organizational challenges that you function as a generalist at the executive level as needed. So, sometimes it is tricky to articulate exactly what you want to do next.

You take great joy in connecting with people. Helping an individual or team succeed gives you as much satisfaction as completing something yourself. You like figuring out the needs and strengths of others and helping them grow.

You are careful about process. An effective process allows the people in it to experience more joy, to reach greater insights, to find more meaning. You can see the collective potential in diverse groups of people and love creating the conditions for collaborative learning and action. It is easy to see this in the things you have run and the teams that you have led. Whether or not it is your greatest strength, you understand the importance of a plan, and either happily create or delegate plans so that a team is working off the same page.

You are values driven and have experience in equity focused work. You have been part of organizational initiatives, facilitated trainings, and done your own self-study and reflection to be a more equitable, anti-racist leader. You are humble as a learner, and actively curious about other human beings.

What you are looking for in an employer:

You aren't totally sure yet. Maybe you have been at the same organization for a long time. Maybe you are busy enough with life and your current role that you haven't had time to pull your head up to see the whole landscape. Maybe you are ambivalent for some other reason or have LOTS of things that seem interesting.

But you know these things...

You aren't looking to take a pay-cut. (though you may be interested to work less at the same hourly rate).

Or to be in a role where your perspective isn't actively desired at the leadership team level.

You are happiest working for a mission driven organization that is making positive change in the world. You might be curious about mission driven organizations that are structured differently than the ones you have worked for so far.

You know that leadership is critical, so a supervisor that is self-aware and focused on having a leadership team that they can actively empower is a must.

If all this sounds like you, read on to learn more…

Ok, how does it actually work?

  1. It is already working! If you clicked to this page and read the content so far, you are already thinking. Step one, check.
  2. You tell me a little bit about where you are at, so that I can be prepared. The introductory form should only take you 30 min, I promise. Questions are in the FAQs.
  3. We start a conversation. You can do some additional prep if you want to, but I will come with questions based on your introductory form.
  4. You will come out of that conversation with a little bit of homework, but it will be specific and manageable.
  5. This conversation/homework combination will repeat a few times over a few weeks. You will have moved your thinking forward, updated some key concrete assets, and be ready to share with others where you are at.
  6. Next, I will invite you into some conversations to safely test the work you have done.
    - A small group of peers that are in a similar place.
    - Some low-stakes informational conversations with other interesting people.
  7. Finally - we will have a follow-up conversation where we recap what you have gotten clear on, what you still want to explore, and set some concrete goals and action steps to make them happen.

There are lots of possibilities beyond this sequence, but this set of activities is intended to get you to a place where you feel equipped to seek out the leaders, organizations, and roles that you want to engage with in your next chapter.

The nuts and bolts:

Total time investment is 5-25 hours over 2-4 months.

5-10 hours in the first six weeks for individual work and three sessions with Brandon.

0-15 hours in the following 3 months for informational interviews and small group sessions.

Program components (for those of you who like to see all the details):

Part 1 - independent work and 1:1 sessions:

  1. Interest Form - 30 minutes or less
  2. 3 conversations (60 minutes each) with your Prologue guide (Brandon)
  3. Up to 60 minutes (plus more if you like) of independent work between sessions.

Part 2 - small group sessions with 3-6 other prologue leaders

  1. Share intro content before the first meeting - 30 minutes or less
  2. Small Group Session Prep - 30 minutes each
  3. Small Group Sessions - 60 minutes each

Sessions will be pre-scheduled and set before launching. They will likely occur with approximately 3 weeks in between each one. Participants will be assigned to a small group by the Prologue guide based on a combination of scheduling availability and shared interests.

  1. Networking conversations - minimum 2 hours (2-3 conversations in 4-8 weeks)

Networking conversations are scheduled and completed independently and can be as expansive as desired. Both Prologue guide and peers may suggest introductions and make connections to facilitate these conversations, and your Prologue guide will help you create a plan and offer connections to bring it to fruition.

Phase 3 and beyond (there is no fee for any of these items)..

Connection to curated resources and supports:

Prologue Community Email List - GoogleGroup email list is active for Prologue participants who have completed 1:1 sessions. Includes Monday-Mail from Brandon on a weekly basis.

Affinity group zoom calls.

Coming soon…

  1. Active Job-Seeker Support Group - searching for a job with urgency is pretty exhausting. This group is for those doing active resume and LinkedIn work, scanning for roles, navigating hiring processes and negotiating offers.

Other things to know:

After you read the pages below, you can introduce yourself here as the next step.

Introduce yourself I have more questions