Engagement Boundary.

What this site is

stantscherenkow.com is a published reference. It contains three artifact types written by Stan Tscherenkow: the Decision Atlas (a definitional reference), the numbered Decision Memo series (dated, signed positions on recurring patterns), and The Log (informal time-stamped observations). Each carries its own footer disclaimer that names what it is and what it is not.

The site also contains pages that describe how to start working with Stan Tscherenkow, including Pricing, About, and Apply. These pages explain the offer; they are not the advisory work itself.

What this site is not

Nothing on this site is advice for any specific owner, business, family, or transaction. The Atlas, Memos, and Log discuss patterns, frameworks, and publicly available situations. They do not analyze your situation. They do not prescribe a course of action for your situation. They are not legal, financial, tax, investment, medical, or fiduciary advice.

Reviewing any page on this site does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client, fiduciary, investment-advisory, broker-dealer, partnership, employment, or agency relationship between you and Stan Tscherenkow.

Where advice happens

Advice for your specific situation happens only inside a contracted engagement. A contracted engagement requires three things in this order:

• An application submitted through /apply. This is the only intake channel.
• A signed engagement letter. The engagement letter scopes the work, the term, the fee, and the cancellation conditions. It is signed by both parties before any work begins.
• The first invoice paid. Engagement begins when the signed engagement letter is in place and the first invoice is paid. Not before.

Until all three are in place, no advisory relationship exists. Conversations, emails, calls, replies, comments, and informal exchanges before engagement begins are not advisory work and do not create an advisory relationship.

What does not start an engagement

The following do not create an advisory relationship and are not a substitute for engagement:

• Reviewing the Decision Atlas, a Memo, or a Log entry.
• Subscribing to the Log or to any list.
• Sending an email, message, or social-media reply.
• Posting a comment on any platform where Stan Tscherenkow appears.
• A reply from Stan Tscherenkow to a public message or post.
• An informal phone call, video call, or meeting before an engagement letter is signed.
• An introductory call scheduled through /apply, until the signed engagement letter and first invoice are in place.
• Any communication that does not include a signed engagement letter and a paid first invoice.

If anything you encounter outside this site appears to claim that an advisory relationship has begun without these three steps, the claim is incorrect.

Once engagement begins

Inside a contracted engagement, the work is private and confidential. Information shared by the client is held in strict confidence per the Terms. Case patterns published anywhere on this site never identify clients, companies, metrics, or specifics that would allow identification.

The advisory relationship is bounded by the scope of the signed engagement letter. Work outside that scope is not part of the engagement and is not advice for any matter outside the scope.

References to companies and situations

The Atlas, Memos, and Log sometimes reference real companies, situations, or public figures. References use only publicly available information. The voice is descriptive and inferential. The intent is to teach the pattern, not to advise on the specific company or situation. None of these references is advice for the company referenced, for any party related to the company, or for any owner.

Outcome and risk

Nothing on this site and nothing communicated during an engagement is a guarantee of revenue, profit, growth, valuation, performance, savings, conversions, hiring success, restructuring success, or any other outcome. The client decides. The client acts. The client bears the risk of the decision. See Terms for the full statement.

No earnings, funding, ranking, or exit promises

No page, call, email, memo, review, example, or engagement promises earnings, revenue, profit, rankings, funding, valuation, exit outcome, customer acquisition, hiring success, investor response, or business survival. Any example is illustrative. It is not a forecast and not a promise.

Payment, refunds, and cancellation

No fee is charged to apply. Engagement fees are due only after a signed engagement letter is in place. Payment is due in full before work begins or before the next billing period, depending on the engagement.

Engagement fees are non-refundable except in the narrow circumstances stated in the Terms or in a signed engagement letter. Reserved calendar time, scheduled sessions, work in progress, and delivered work are treated as value delivered. Outcome dissatisfaction is not a refund basis.

Business Consultation cancellation, Ongoing Advisory three-month minimum and notice period, and Scoped Board or Ownership Work refund and termination rules are governed by the Terms and the signed engagement letter. A signed engagement letter controls if it conflicts with this page.

Client responsibility

The client remains responsible for business decisions, execution, communications, implementation, legal compliance, vendor selection, employment decisions, financial decisions, tax decisions, investment decisions, and any action or inaction after an engagement. Stan Tscherenkow does not take over management responsibility unless a signed engagement letter explicitly says so.

Professional responsibility stays with the professional

Lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, auditors, investment advisors, brokers, fiduciaries, insurance advisors, HR professionals, and other licensed or regulated professionals remain responsible for their own professional advice and work. Advisory work with Stan Tscherenkow is not a substitute for that professional review.

Implementation boundary

Advisory work is judgment, structural reviewing, decision support, and consequence clarification. It is not implementation, project management, campaign execution, hiring, firing, legal drafting, tax planning, bookkeeping, accounting, investment management, brokerage, therapy, or compliance work unless a signed engagement letter expressly scopes a permitted implementation role.

Independent professional review

For decisions that affect your business, finances, or family, consult a qualified professional licensed in the relevant jurisdiction. Independent professional review before acting on any framework, position, or observation published here is the owner's responsibility.

Verified channels

The only verified site for Stan Tscherenkow is stantscherenkow.com. The only verified application channel is /apply. The only verified email is [email protected]. Communications outside these channels claiming to come from Stan Tscherenkow should be verified through the channels above before acted upon.

Relationship to other policy pages

This page sets the engagement boundary. It is part of a small policy set:

• Terms covers the legal terms of site use and engagement, including fees, refund policy, intellectual property, limitation of liability, and jurisdiction.
• Privacy covers data handling.
• This Engagement Boundary page covers what is and is not advice, and how engagement begins.

In the event of any conflict between this page and a signed engagement letter for a specific engagement, the engagement letter controls as to that engagement.

Contact

Questions about the engagement boundary: [email protected]. Applications for engagement: /apply.