Seven principles that govern every engagement — the operating instructions for how we serve clients, hire people, and decide what to take on.
Why these matter
Most professional-services firms publish "values" that read like marketing copy. Ours are operating constraints — they shape who we hire, what engagements we accept, how we structure fees, and when we decline business that does not fit.
The consulting industry has a well-documented pattern: sell access to senior talent, deliver through a junior bench, and protect the relationship by telling clients what they want to hear. That pattern exists because it is profitable. It also fails clients — often quietly, sometimes catastrophically, almost always predictably.
These values exist because we have been on the receiving end of that failure. They are not aspirational. They are the line between work we will do and work we will decline — enforced at the engagement level, not the marketing level.
Joseph Ficocello drew these from 25+ years on the buyer side, watching consultancies fail clients in predictable ways. Cynaxus exists to be the firm that does not.
The Seven
We do not resell hardware, software, or cloud services. We earn no commissions, kickbacks, or referral fees from any vendor we recommend. The advice you get is the advice that is right for you — not the advice that pays us most.
Every Cynaxus engagement is led by a senior operator with at least 15 years of hands-on responsibility for the function being advised on. No junior bait-and-switch. No offshore handoff. The person you meet is the person doing the work.
We make complex technology and security issues clear for the people who need to act on them. Boards, GCs, and CFOs get plain-language context, practical options, and a clear explanation of each recommendation.
We tie our compensation to outcomes, not hours. Fixed-fee engagements are scoped around clear deliverables, agreed timelines, and transparent change control so budget and schedule expectations stay aligned from the start.
Our work touches sensitive matters: breaches, regulatory exposure, executive decisions, board-level concerns. We operate under NDA by default, with discipline that respects attorney-client privilege, reputational stakes, and the confidentiality expectations of regulated institutions.
We will tell you when an engagement should end, when an internal hire is the better answer, or when another firm is a better fit for a specific need. Trust earned across years matters more than revenue captured in a quarter.
If we can't have an honest conversation, we don't have an honest relationship. When we see something wrong — a flawed strategy, a poor vendor choice, a leadership gap, underfunded security — we say so directly. Diplomatically, but without softening. You are paying for our judgment, not our agreement.
Every Cynaxus engagement begins with a 30-minute call. No charge, no obligation — and no sales pitch.
