3HAG/Metronomics Certified Coaching: Strategy and Execution United
Metronomics is a comprehensive business operating system developed by Shannon Byrne Susko, integrating strategy, execution, cash, and team dynamics into a single cohesive framework. As a Metronomics Certified Coach, I help founder-CEOs and their leadership teams implement this rigorous system to create strategic clarity and execution discipline. The 3HAG—a 3-Year Highly Achievable Goal—anchors the methodology, breaking long-term vision into actionable quarterly priorities. I incorporate Metronomics components into most client engagements, whether implementing the full system or integrating specific tools.
UNIFIED SYSTEM
Metronomics integrates seven interconnected systems—from culture and team cohesion to strategy, execution, and cash—into one framework. Rather than juggling separate methodologies that don't connect, leadership teams operate from a single system that aligns every decision and action.
STRATEGIC CLARITY
The 3HAG methodology transforms vague long-term goals into a concrete three-year plan with clear milestones. Your leadership team develops genuine strategic differentiation and translates that strategy into priorities everyone understands—from quarterly objectives to daily execution.
PREDICTABLE GROWTH
Companies using Metronomics consistently achieve 30% or greater year-over-year growth. The system creates the rhythms, accountability structures, and visibility that turn ambitious plans into predictable results quarter after quarter.
3HAG/METRONOMICS
The Complete Operating System for Growing Your Business
OVERVIEW
Shannon Byrne Susko developed Metronomics over more than twenty years, first as CEO of two high-growth companies she built and sold, then refined through coaching hundreds of businesses worldwide. Her exit of Subserveo Inc. ranked among the Top 3 Mid-Market Deals on Wall Street in 2011.
Metronomics emerged from a practical problem: CEOs read dozens of business books covering strategy, execution, cash, culture, and leadership, but struggle to unite these concepts into a coherent operating system. Metronomics solves this by integrating proven frameworks from top business thinkers into a single prescriptive system that leadership teams can implement progressively over time.
Shannon has documented the methodology in four bestselling books: The Metronome Effect, 3HAG WAY, Metronomics, and The M Game.
COMPONENTS
Metronomics structures business growth through seven interconnected systems, divided into Soft-Edge Systems focused on team and culture, and Hard-Edge Systems focused on strategic execution and financial performance. The 3HAG—your 3-Year Highly Achievable Goal—serves as the strategic anchor that ties all seven systems together, ensuring alignment between long-term vision and daily action.
Soft-Edge Systems
Cultural System — Establishes clarity around vision, core values, and your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), creating the foundation that guides every decision.
Cohesive System — Builds trust, manages conflict productively, and fosters genuine commitment and accountability within the leadership team.
Human System — Ensures you attract, develop, and retain A-Players through clear role expectations, functional scorecards, and coaching rhythms.
Hard-Edge Systems
Strategy System — Develops differentiated competitive positioning using Michael Porter's strategic framework, ensuring you're making clear choices about where to compete and how to win.
Execution System — Creates the priorities, metrics, and meeting rhythms that translate strategy into consistent daily action across the organization.
Cash System — Implements rolling 36-month cash forecasting owned by the full leadership team, connecting financial performance to operational metrics.
Coach Cascade System
The foundation that develops leaders into coaches who can guide their teams toward high performance, often supported by an external coach to surface blind spots.
TARGET
Metronomics delivers the greatest impact for companies that want more strategic rigor and a more disciplined operating system for their executive leadership team. The methodology works across industries but is particularly suited for growth-stage companies ready to move beyond ad-hoc planning toward systematic, predictable execution.
If your leadership team struggles with strategic alignment, if your planning process produces documents that don't drive daily decisions, or if you're ready to build an operating system that scales with your company, Metronomics provides the comprehensive framework to address these challenges systematically.
CERTIFICATION
Metronomics maintains rigorous standards for coaches who implement this methodology. Approximately 80 certified coaches operate globally—a small community of practitioners trained to guide leadership teams through the complete system.
Certification involves extensive in-person training and examination, demonstrating both mastery of the seven systems and the ability to coach leadership teams through implementation. The process ensures certified coaches can deliver the progressive, quarter-over-quarter development that creates compound growth rather than one-time planning events.
I became Metronomics certified in 2018, drawn to the methodology's comprehensive integration of strategy and execution—two areas that most frameworks treat separately. Having already applied Scaling Up in my own company for a decade, I recognized that Metronomics offered a more rigorous operating system for leadership teams ready to move beyond foundational planning.
I incorporate Metronomics components into most of my client engagements. Whether you're looking to implement the full system or integrate specific tools—like the 3HAG strategic framework, functional scorecards, or execution rhythms—into your existing approach, there's significant value in these methodologies.
My background as a former Inc. 500 CEO who successfully exited, combined with more than a decade as a Lean/Agile coach, gives me practical perspective on how these systems translate into operational reality. I also hold several other rigorous certifications in coaching, leadership, performance, and strategy, allowing me to integrate Metronomics with complementary approaches when your situation requires it.
MY APPROACH
Featured Content
The 5 Most Common Mistakes Leaders Make When Crafting a Business Strategy: Creating a simple yet effective business strategy is hard. Here are the pitfalls to avoid.
If Your Business Strategy Looks Too Complicated, It Probably Is. Here’s Why: Your business strategy explains how you’re going to compete in your market. But if it’s too hard to explain, it won’t work.
The Power of a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal: How to Choose Yours: Over the years, I’ve identified five types of goals that successful companies use to set their long-term direction.
If you're exploring whether Metronomics fits your company, I'm happy to discuss your situation. Whether you want to implement the full seven-system methodology or integrate specific components into your current approach, a brief conversation can help determine the best path forward.
Learn More About 3HAG/METRONOMICS
Client Testimonials
"When Best Egg embarked on our 3HAG journey, we partnered with Bruce to kick off the process. He kept us accountable and showed us how to embed 3HAG into our day-to-day strategic planning. We continue leveraging the framework and see its value every day. If you're looking to adopt 3HAG, partner with Bruce."
Mike Urban, Chief Technology Operations Officer, Best Egg
"Bruce's 3HAG frameworks have been instrumental in mapping our three-year quarterly roadmap and identifying the key differentiators that drive our strategy. His ability to make everyone comfortable in serious strategy meetings is a game changer—it makes a big difference in session productivity."
Bailey Allread, Executive Operations
"Bruce is a unique and highly effective coach. His firsthand experience as a Founder/CEO means he knows what it's like in the driver's seat. His expert knowledge of Scaling Up and 3HAG gives leadership teams the tools to get clear on priorities, make better decisions, and drive accountability."
Ameen Nassiri, Founder/CEO, SPS Worldwide (Past President EO NYC)
"Bruce is an accomplished leader with a rich background as a founder and five-time Inc. 500 CEO. He's adept at guiding leaders through the scaling process, ensuring maximum results in an engaging manner. His philosophy: successful teams follow a roadmap with clear milestones, metrics, and meeting rhythms that keep them focused."
Jan Siderius, Board Member & Investor