The Red Hills Action Lab™
From Idea to Institution: A Diagnostic for Execution Readiness
Many initiatives do not fail because the idea is weak.
They stall because the execution infrastructure required to support scale was never formally built.
Governance clarity, decision rights, operating capacity, and accountability structures are often assumed rather than designed. By the time leaders recognize the gap, momentum has slowed and the window for course correction is smaller.
The Red Hills Action Lab™ was created to surface those structural questions early.
“Your facilitation created the kind of environment that serious builders and institution-makers need — one that moves beyond theory and forces us to confront the structural, governance, and operational questions that determine whether bold ideas can evolve into enduring institutions. These are precisely the conversations required if we are serious about building systems that last.”
— President & CEO, National Business League
The Lab is a facilitated diagnostic experience that helps leadership teams pressure test execution readiness before problems become visible. It moves conversations beyond vision and into the operating realities required to translate ideas into durable institutions.
The Problem
Across sectors, organizations frequently launch initiatives with strong leadership, compelling ideas, and real momentum. Yet many of those initiatives stall when the underlying architecture required for execution has not been clearly defined.
Common challenges include:
• Governance and decision rights that remain unclear
• Operating models that cannot yet support scale
• Accountability structures that are assumed rather than formalized
• Implementation capacity that is stretched or undefined
When these questions are not addressed early, progress slows and opportunities are harder to sustain.
What the Action Lab Is
The Red Hills Action Lab™ is a structured leadership diagnostic designed to help organizations examine the structural foundations required for execution.
Rather than focusing on brainstorming or vision development, the Lab focuses on the questions that determine whether an initiative can actually operate, scale, and endure.
Through facilitated discussion and targeted diagnostic questions, leadership teams examine the governance, operating model, and accountability structures required for meaningful progress over the next 3 to 12 months.
The result is a clearer understanding of what must be built, strengthened, or clarified to support the next phase of growth.
The Diagnostic Framework
The Action Lab examines four core dimensions of execution readiness.
Governance and Decision Rights
Are decision rights clearly defined, or are they assumed? Who ultimately owns the next critical decision?
Operating Model Readiness
Does the current operating model have the systems, staffing, and processes required to support scale?
Ownership and Accountability
Is responsibility centralized, diffused, or codified into durable leadership roles?
Execution Risk and Scale Readiness
If resources increased tomorrow, could the structure absorb them effectively?
Who the Action Lab Is For
The Action Lab is designed for leaders navigating moments of growth, transition, or complexity.
Common participants include:
• Nonprofit leaders scaling programs or launching new initiatives
• Foundations deploying strategic initiatives or collaborative partnerships
• Corporate strategy and transformation teams
• Cross sector partnerships navigating governance complexity
• Leadership teams preparing for a new phase of growth
Increasingly, leaders are also bringing the Action Lab into conversations about AI adoption — to assess whether their operating model is structurally ready to absorb what AI will demand of it before deployment begins. The governance, decision rights, and accountability structures the Lab examines are the same foundations that determine whether AI creates value or compounds existing complexity.
What Leaders Leave With
Participants in the Red Hills Action Lab leave with more than a conversation. Every format includes structured, actionable outputs — scaled to the depth and duration of the engagement.
90-Minute Action Lab Each leadership team receives a written Execution Gap Summary — a concise, actionable document that captures what the diagnostic surfaced and what must happen next.
The summary includes:
Three Execution Risks Surfaced The structural gaps, governance vulnerabilities, and accountability blind spots identified during the session — named clearly before they slow progress.
Three 90-Day Priorities Concrete, sequenced actions for the next 90 days, with clear ownership and a defined first decision.
A Recommended Next Step A specific recommendation for the format and scope of engagement that best matches where the organization is and what it needs to build next.
For organizations ready to go deeper, the Action Lab frequently serves as the starting point for a broader strategic planning or transformation engagement — with the Execution Gap Summary providing the diagnostic foundation that makes every subsequent conversation more focused and every investment more targeted.
Half-Day and Full-Day Action Lab Deeper engagements produce more comprehensive outputs, including detailed session documentation, working frameworks co-created with the leadership team, and a complete roadmap for the structural work ahead.
The goal is not insight alone. The goal is clarity about what must happen next.
Format Options
The Action Lab can be delivered in several formats depending on the setting and leadership needs.
90 Minute Action Lab
Ideal for executive forums, conferences, and leadership gatherings.
Half Day Workshop
Suitable for strategy retreats and leadership planning sessions.
Full Day Lab
Designed for organizations undergoing transformation or preparing for scale.
As organizations navigate AI adoption, digital transformation, and increasing operational complexity, execution readiness has never been more consequential. The structural questions the Action Lab surfaces are the same questions that determine whether new investments deliver value or create new pressure.
Sessions can be delivered virtually or in person.
Proven in Practice
The Action Lab has been delivered across multiple leadership contexts since its launch in early 2026 — including a national leadership convening in Washington, DC, a public virtual session for senior leaders navigating growth and transition, and a professional network event where a discovery call was booked before the session ended.
Across every setting, participants have described the experience as clarifying — helping them name the structural gaps that were slowing progress and identify what needed to happen next.
The Execution Readiness Pulse Check, the diagnostic tool that anchors the Lab, has been taken by leaders across sectors and consistently surfaces decision rights and execution capacity as the most common structural gaps.
The Cost of Waiting
Most leaders leave a diagnostic conversation with clarity they have never had before. Few act on it quickly enough.
Here is what happens when the structural work gets deferred:
The insight fades. Clarity without action has a short shelf life. Within weeks the urgency is buried under the next priority. The gap does not close. It just becomes invisible again.
The window narrows. Every month without execution infrastructure is a month of momentum lost and mission left on the table. The gap that feels manageable today becomes the crisis that defines next year.
The team keeps absorbing it. When governance is unclear and decision rights are assumed, the people closest to the work carry the weight. Execution drag is not a culture problem. It is a structural one.
Someone else moves first. Organizations that build execution infrastructure before they need it are the ones that scale. The ones that wait build it in crisis — at higher cost, under pressure, with less to show for it.
The diagnostic surfaces the gap. The question is what you do with it.
About the Facilitator
The Action Lab is facilitated by Renée Jones, Founder and CEO of Red Hills Consulting Group.
Renée is a strategy and transformation advisor with more than two decades of experience helping organizations move from vision to execution. She has advised global corporations, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations at the intersection of strategy, governance, and organizational transformation.
Through Red Hills Consulting Group, she partners with organizations to translate strategy into sustainable action through clear governance, operating models, and execution discipline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the 90-minute, half-day, and full-day Action Lab? The 90-minute Lab is a focused diagnostic — ideal for leadership teams that want a structured conversation about execution readiness without a full day commitment. You leave with a written Execution Gap Summary and a clear recommended next step. The half-day and full-day formats go deeper, allowing time to not only surface the gaps but begin designing the structural responses. Those engagements include more comprehensive documentation, working frameworks co-created with your team, and a complete roadmap for the structural work ahead.
Who should be in the room for an Action Lab session? The Lab is most valuable when the people who own decisions are in the room. That typically means the executive director or CEO, key senior leaders, and anyone whose role sits at the intersection of strategy and operations. The conversation surfaces alignment gaps as much as structural ones — so the right participants matter as much as the right questions.
How do we get started? The first step is a 30-minute discovery call. We will discuss where your organization is, what you are building, and whether the Action Lab is the right fit. If it is, I will walk you through the intake process, format options, and next steps from there.
Do participants need to prepare anything before the session? Yes. All participants complete a brief intake assessment before the session. This allows me to arrive prepared with a clear picture of your organization’s current state, the structural gaps most likely to be present, and the questions most worth examining together. The intake is what makes the session feel specific to you rather than generic.
Is the Action Lab available in person as well as virtually? Yes. The 90-minute virtual format typically runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is available to leadership teams regardless of location. Half-day and full-day engagements can be delivered virtually or in person depending on your team’s needs and location. Contact me to discuss what format works best for your context.
Call to Action
Interested in bringing the Red Hills Action Lab to your organization or leadership convening?
Schedule a discovery call to explore how the Action Lab can support your leadership team.
Not sure where your organization stands? Take the Execution Readiness Pulse Check before your call.
Red Hills - From vision to value 