{"id":1128,"slug":"rule-bird-in-hand-pitch-architecture-default","title":"R7 — Bird-in-hand pitch architecture as default; begin from what the GC has, propose incremental improvements; reserve reinvention for growth-oriented founder-GCs","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["entrepreneur-cognition","persuasion-design"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Default Candid pitches begin from what the GC currently has — current site, current client list, current work — and propose **incremental improvements with bounded downside**. Strategic-reinvention pitches are reserved for the small subset of growth-oriented founder-GCs for whom the standard frame fits.\n\n**Why:** Bird-in-hand ([[sarasvathy-effectuation-bird-in-hand-affordable-loss]]) is the empirically-grounded decision rule of expert entrepreneurs. Most GCs Candid encounters are owner-operators, not growth-oriented founders ([[stewart-roth-2001-entrepreneur-risk-propensity-contested]]) — the bird-in-hand frame is the right default.\n\n**How to apply:**\n- Discovery question: \"What's working well right now that we should build on?\" (not \"What's broken?\")\n- Proposal structure: existing-asset inventory → identified leverage points → bounded improvements with explicit kill criteria.\n- **Exception trigger:** if the prospect self-identifies as actively pursuing growth/scaling, is crossing the $5M-revenue threshold ([[overconfidence-in-house-comparator-pattern-for-gc-pitches]] caveats), or has a second-generation owner actively professionalizing the firm — strategic-reinvention pitches are eligible. Otherwise default to bird-in-hand.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-risk-aversion-post-failure-may-2026","title":"Research brief: risk aversion, loss aversion, and post-failure decision patterns in GC and trades-business decision-makers (May 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"sarasvathy-effectuation-bird-in-hand-affordable-loss","title":"Sarasvathy effectuation (2001, 2008) — expert entrepreneurs decide on affordable loss + bird-in-hand, NOT on expected value","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"bird-in-hand-sales-architecture-for-candid","title":"Bird-in-hand sales architecture — start from GC's existing assets, propose bounded incremental improvements; NOT strategic reinvention","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"stewart-roth-2001-entrepreneur-risk-propensity-contested","title":"Stewart & Roth 2001 (JAP) — entrepreneurs higher risk propensity than managers; effect concentrated in growth-oriented founders, not lifestyle owner-operators","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[]},"created_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.106Z","updated_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.106Z"}