Before anyone buys into a new way of working, they need to understand what’s in it for them. CBC is not another “framework” bolted onto their workload — it’s a shield against chaos and a sword for clarity. If you don’t sell the value right, people will dismiss it as yet another management gimmick. Get this part right, and you’ll find operators willing to try it because they see the personal payoff, not just the corporate one.
Show the Value to Operators (Direct Reports)
Operators don’t care about abstract leadership philosophies — they care about whether they’re set up to succeed or ambushed by shifting expectations. CBC makes their work safer and saner.
- No moving goalposts: Once an agreement is signed, leadership can’t sneak in new work without renegotiation.
- Clear definitions: They know exactly what “done” looks like, no more endless loops of “tweak this” or “just one more change.”
- Shared accountability: If leadership fails to provide clarity, resources, or approvals, that failure is on leadership, not buried under the IC’s name.
- Protection from politics: With CBC, success is defined by the contract, not by who spins the best narrative at the all-hands.
Show the Value to Leaders (You and Peers)
Leaders need discipline just as much as their teams do. CBC strips away excuses and forces leaders to show up with clarity.
- Objective record: CBC agreements become the “paper trail” of what was asked, what was promised, and what was delivered.
- Less babysitting: Because expectations are explicit, you don’t have to hover. Autonomy is built into the contract.
- Performance clarity: If someone consistently fails CBC agreements, you’re not debating “effort” or “intent.” You’ve got black-and-white evidence of underperformance.
- Fewer surprises: Dependencies and risks are spelled out upfront, so leadership can intervene before things go sideways.
Contrast with Traditional Approaches
OKRs and KPIs love to pretend they create alignment. In reality, they’re just vague targets dressed up as strategy.
- OKRs: Aspirational and elastic. They’re great for executive slide decks, but they let managers quietly shift the bar mid-quarter. CBC doesn’t allow that bait-and-switch.
- KPIs: Fine for measuring trends, useless for executing projects. A KPI tells you conversion dropped, but it doesn’t tell you who was supposed to fix it, by when, or with what output. CBC nails that down.
- Agile theater: Daily standups and sprint rituals might give the illusion of progress, but without clear contracts, they just shuffle tasks around. CBC says: no contract, no work.
Scenario: Startup in Chaos Mode
A five-person startup is rushing to build an MVP. The CEO keeps saying, “We need this feature by Friday.” By Wednesday, the “this feature” has been redefined twice. Engineers are frustrated, deadlines slip, and everyone feels like they’re drowning.
Introduce CBC: the engineer and CEO sit down and draft a one-page agreement. The Objective: launch the payment flow. Deliverables: checkout screen, Stripe integration, receipt email. Success Criteria: a customer can pay and get confirmation. Dependencies: design sign-off, Stripe account configured. Deadline: Friday at 5pm.
Now the engineer knows exactly what’s expected, and the CEO can’t suddenly decide “Oh, add subscriptions too” without tearing up the agreement. Both sides are protected, and progress stops being a guessing game.
Takeaway
CBC sells itself once people see it in action: it protects operators from chaos and leaders from excuses. Unlike OKRs and KPIs, which measure activity without guaranteeing outcomes, CBC defines success upfront and locks it in. That’s not just value — it’s sanity.
