The Four Comp Ceilings

The chart is a four-box grid. Across the bottom is how hard each thing is to change; up the side is how much it moves owner pay. Shifting project work to retainers is high-impact and easier; pulling the founder out of paid delivery is high-impact but slow; the co-ownership split and the labor-cost ratio sit lower. A dotted arrow shows the instinct - push the pay number directly - landing in the weak corner. Raising the salary isn't one of the levers; it's the result the levers decide.