Case 03 · Turnaround · National healthcare benefits
The $30M turnaround.
I inherited a deteriorating engagement on a $30M account. The deliverables were fine. The trust was not.
01 — What was broken
Trust mechanics, not deliverables
Missed expectations compounding into silence — the client had stopped telling us what they needed.
How it was running
How we ran it
Design
Research
Proof
Outcome: the $30M account stayed — and committed to buying additional work.
Same team, same scope, same client — a different operating model.
02 — What I changed first
A weekly artifact they could hold
One small visible change, repeated until it was boring. Boring is what trust is made of.
03 — The turning point
The meeting where they argued with us again
Disagreement returned before praise did. That was the signal.
The shape of a turnaround
Relationship health on a $30M account. The dashed descent is the engagement I inherited — trust eroding for months.
Client trust
High
Low
Design takes over
near the bottom of the curve
The walk-away zone — where $30M leaves
Engagement time →
Account saved · client commits to purchasing additional work
1 Diagnosed it: designs looked great but KPIs weren't moving.
2 Mined one 1-hour walkthrough into an intuitive workflow.
3 Prototype in customer service's hands — everything shifted.
Beats verified · curve shape illustrative · client generalized
04 — The commitment
They bought more work
The account held at $30M and expanded. Reflection: I waited two months too long to name the problem out loud.