GOVERNMENT TRACTION · 90-DAY INSTALL

A 90-DAY PLAN FOR A WORKING GOVERNMENT GROWTH FUNCTION

By Tim Chrisman · Published August 2026 · Updated August 22, 2026

In ninety days, a deep-tech company can install the operating controls required to pursue government work deliberately. Leadership should finish the period with controlled company truth, a ranked buying lane, mapped decision owners, a written pursuit gate, qualified work in motion, and a result record that supports the next runway allocation.

Kedge uses the same sequence to install GTOS, operate the first qualified actions, and leave the company with a system its team can continue to own. The three management phases contain five operating moves: establish truth, qualify lanes and buyers, execute and capture, close shared evidence gaps, and make the system repeat.

DAY-90 ADVANTAGE

Leadership can state which buyer path it is funding next, the observable event it expects, the office responsible for what follows, the company burden, and the stop condition.

Ninety-day government traction installation showing company truth, buyer qualification, execution and capture, evidence gaps, and repeatable operation — The five operating moves sit inside three management phases: controlled baseline, qualified execution, and operating decision.

Install the function in three phases

DAYS 1–30 · CONTROLLED BASELINE

ESTABLISH TRUTH AND CHOOSE THE LANE

Build the fact record, first claim set, proof index, compared buying lanes, Buyer Freedom states, and the primary lane.

DAYS 31–60 · QUALIFIED EXECUTION

OPERATE WORK AND CLOSE SHARED GAPS

Gate live actions, set work-in-progress limits, verify buyer maps, run qualified responses, and fund evidence tasks that improve several lanes.

DAYS 61–90 · OPERATING DECISION

CAPTURE RESULTS AND SET THE NEXT ALLOCATION

Update the system, reconcile company burden, choose the post-pilot model, and complete the day-90 decision record.

Days 1–30: establish the controlled baseline and choose the lane

The first month produces a reliable company baseline and a reasoned market choice. Record the legal entity, ownership, identifiers, eligibility, security posture, locations, points of contact, existing vehicles, restrictions, and the material capability claims that recur across government conversations.

Each material claim receives a source, evidence state, boundary, owner, verification date, permitted wording, and next proof event. Build a proof index that points to current technical records, tests, inspections, production data, authorized customer material, certifications, and other supporting artifacts. Planned capability remains prospective. Personnel experience remains distinct from corporate performance.

At the same time, compare a small set of decision paths. Rank each path by the problem, intended buyer action, current money, usable instrument, evidence event, and funded action after success. Build the Government Buyer Map for each active lane and record what is documented, inferred, and unknown.

The first month succeeds when the company can move from general market interest to one documented lane and a controlled body of company truth. The day-30 record contains the company fact base, approved first claim set, proof index, evidence-gap list, compared lanes, Buyer Freedom states, primary lane, and written reasons for every wait or pass.

Days 31–60: operate qualified work and close shared evidence gaps

The second month moves qualified work through a stable production system. Every action enters through a written pursuit gate that names the buyer decision, expected traction event, time, company burden, evidence requirement, transition route, and reversal fact.

Set a work-in-progress limit below apparent capacity. One owner frames the buyer decision, builds the requirement matrix, assembles approved material, and routes only the material risks to technical, finance, contracts, security, data-rights, production, or executive review. The internal decision closes early enough to preserve clarification and controlled delivery.

Use live work to verify the Buyer Map. A short response may clarify the requirement. A technical exchange may identify the evidence owner. A partner action may resolve production or integration. A pass may confirm that the lane should return capacity. Each result enters the record with its exact government state and separate capital consequence.

Fund evidence tasks that improve more than one qualified lane. A controlled interface test, current production basis, cyber artifact, integration record, or authorized customer reference can remove a shared block. Custom work for one speculative conversation should carry a lower priority than proof that changes several active decisions.

Days 61–90: capture results and set the next allocation

The final month makes the rhythm repeatable. New verified facts enter the controlled core. Strong answers become approved variants. Buyer language enters the requirement record. Errors change review and delivery controls. New contacts enter the Buyer Map with their actual function. Pass reasons and reversal facts remain visible.

Recheck the primary lane against current facts. Confirm that the problem remains live, current money is available, the agreement owner can act, the evidence event can produce a usable record, and the transition owner still owns the decision after success. Then update the company burden. Integration, production, security, data rights, or working capital may look different after the first live actions.

The post-pilot operating model is a day-90 decision. Leadership chooses the cadence, ownership, capacity, and Kedge role required for the next period. The decision uses the observed record rather than the assumptions held at onboarding.

WORKED INSTALL · ONE PRIMARY LANE

Evidence, buyer mapping, and pursuit control move together

During the first month, a company identifies one qualified lane but finds that the buyer’s decision depends on an interface claim supported only by an internal engineering record. The Buyer Map is conditional because the evidence owner and transition owner have not both confirmed their roles.

During the second month, the company runs a narrow technical exchange, confirms the evidence owner, and funds one controlled interface test that supports three active buyer conversations. The result enters a claim record. A short response uses the approved wording and produces a request for a representative event.

During the final month, the program office confirms responsibility for the decision after the event. The lane strengthens, the pursuit gate admits the event, and leadership prices the hardware, engineering, travel, and transition work against the named traction endpoint.

The day-90 output is a documented allocation, not a general belief that government demand improved.

Run a weekly decision cadence

START OF WEEK

QUALIFY AND SEQUENCE

Gate new work, set the work-in-progress limit, and assign the next completed artifact.

MIDWEEK

RESOLVE MATERIAL COMMITMENTS

Close decisions that require executive authority across truth, price, terms, security, production, or partners.

END OF WEEK

CAPTURE AND UPDATE

Record results and approve changes to company truth, evidence, buyer maps, and pursuit decisions.

By day ninety, authorized teammates should be able to find current facts, assemble accurate first drafts, and identify the decisions that still require founder authority. The founder remains accountable for material allocation and exposure. The system removes repeated reconstruction and undefined approval.

Make the day-90 allocation record visible

Five-field day-90 decision record
Field	Day-90 answer
Primary buying lane	The decision path leadership is funding next.
Next traction event	The exact observable government action expected next.
Funded-transition owner	The office responsible for the action after successful evidence.
Runway thesis	Why the expected decision justifies the company burden.
Stop condition	The fact or date that ends, narrows, or changes further investment.

The 90-day installation controls the company side of the clock

The installation period controls company preparation, qualification, production, and learning. Government award timing, appropriations, certification, security review, long-duration testing, and production ramp remain governed by their own methods. The company reaches those external clocks with a clear lane, current evidence, bounded commitments, and a documented next decision.

FOR FOUNDERS

CHOOSE THE NEXT USE OF RUNWAY

Use the day-90 record to continue the primary lane, fund a bounded proof event, return to buyer qualification, partner for a defined gap, or pass.

FOR INVESTORS AND BOARDS

REVIEW THE CHANGE IN OPERATING STATE

Compare the day-90 lane, evidence, burden, transition owner, and stop condition with the assumptions held at the start of the period.

CONCISE LIBRARY ANSWER

NEED THE PILOT DELIVERABLES CHECKLIST?

The Library gives buyers the compact answer on what a ninety-day government BD pilot should produce.

READ THE 90-DAY PILOT ANSWER

SOURCE NOTES

I developed the ninety-day sequence in Government Traction as a founder-run operating method. It does not describe a government acquisition schedule, promise an award within ninety days, or alter any buyer-controlled review, test, funding, certification, or authorization period.

Any live action remains governed by its notice, amendments, funding status, delegated authority, required forms, applicable law, and official questions and answers. The ninety-day method controls the company’s preparation and allocation decisions.

KEDGE FEDERAL · 90-DAY GTOS INSTALL

INSTALL THE SYSTEM AND OPERATE THE FIRST QUALIFIED WORK

Kedge uses the first ninety days to establish controlled company truth, map the buying lane, gate live work, run qualified actions, and leave leadership with a documented next allocation.

START THE DIAGNOSTIC