About
Built by a practitioner, not a professor.
The short version
Most consultants learn operations from textbooks. I learned it on shop floors.
I've spent years embedded in operations—building onboarding systems that eliminated turnover, restructuring teams across multiple locations to drive retention and profit simultaneously. The work happens quietly; the results speak for themselves.
The longer story
I didn't set out to be a consultant. I set out to fix things that were broken.
In retail, I was sent into struggling locations to rebuild teams from the inside. Not as a manager—as someone working alongside the staff, identifying what was actually broken, and building solutions that stuck. Managers often took credit for the improvements, never knowing someone had been sent to help. That was fine. The work mattered more than the recognition.
In construction, I inherited a training problem everyone had accepted as unfixable. New employees took forever to become productive. Turnover was expected. “That's just how it is” was the standard response.
I didn't accept that. I built a complete onboarding and training system from scratch. Documented processes. Structured pathways. Clear milestones. The result: 60% faster ramp-up time. Dramatically improved retention. A system that worked whether I was watching or not.
That's when I realized: this is what I should be doing. Not fixing one company at a time while employed there—but bringing this approach to every business that needs it.
Why Indiana
I grew up here. I know these businesses—the values, the challenges, the family dynamics that make them different from corporate operations.
Family-owned trades businesses are the backbone of this state. They employ our neighbors. They serve our communities. And they deserve better than being ignored by consultants chasing enterprise contracts.
That's why CSS exists. To bring real operational expertise to the businesses that actually need it.
Why “Catalyst”
A catalyst makes change possible without being consumed by it.
That's my goal: build systems so solid that you don't need me anymore. Your success, not my billable hours, is what matters. The point is your independence, not your dependence on CSS.
Ready to work with someone who's been where you are?
One conversation. No pitch, no pressure. If we can help, we'll tell you how. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.
Schedule a conversationOr email directly: dominic@cssolutions.services