Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is the Synergy Stack™? Is it software, consulting, or something else? +
The Sheffield Synergy Stack™ is all three and none of them individually. It is a proprietary organizational intelligence system delivered as a combination of AI-powered software tooling, embedded human expertise, and a methodology developed over 7 years of research by Dr. Osei-Bonsu. Clients who describe it as "software" are not wrong. Clients who describe it as "consulting" are not wrong. Clients who describe it as "something we can't quite explain but that definitely works" represent our most accurate testimonials.
How is the Sheffield Synergy Index™ calculated? +
The SSI is a multi-dimensional organizational performance metric calculated using our proprietary 400-signal telemetry layer, processed by a 14-billion parameter ML model trained on data from 200+ organizations. The specific weightings and algorithm are protected IP. We are aware that "trust us" is not fully satisfying. We offer a 90-day pilot that lets clients validate the SSI against their own known internal metrics before full deployment. This resolves most concerns.
What does "privacy-preserving" mean in the context of organizational telemetry? +
Legitimate question. The SENSE layer collects behavioral and communication signals at an aggregate team level, not an individual surveillance level. Individual employee data is anonymized before analysis. No manager can use the Synergy Stack™ to monitor a specific individual's communications. This is enforced at the architecture level, not the policy level. Our ethics board reviewed and approved the data handling methodology before we launched the product. The review took four months. We considered this appropriate.
What if our SSI score goes down after deployment? +
This happens in approximately 15% of deployments during the first 90 days, and we consider it a healthy sign. The SENSE layer frequently reveals organizational dysfunctions that were previously invisible. Becoming aware of a problem looks like the SSI going down. Resolving it looks like it going up. Clients who experience an initial SSI dip outperform those who don't over 18-month horizons, because they were addressing real problems rather than maintaining the illusion of health. We tell clients this before they sign. Some of them still find it unsettling when it happens.
What is the Sheffield Synergy Token™ and why is it part of the enterprise tier? +
Sovereign tier clients receive a small allocation of Sheffield Synergy Tokens™ as part of their commercial relationship. SST represents a stake in Sheffield's IP licensing revenue. It is not a cryptocurrency. It is not publicly traded. Regulatory status is under SEC review. We mention this not because we expect it to be a primary decision driver, but because we believe in full disclosure, and because several clients have asked, and because the answer is more interesting than "it's just a loyalty program."
Can we just buy Layer 3 (ALIGN) without the others? +
No. We tried offering individual layers. Clients who deployed ALIGN without SENSE didn't know what to align to. Clients who deployed AMPLIFY without THINK created a lot of serendipitous meetings that led nowhere because there was no intelligence layer identifying which connections were valuable. The Stack works because the layers compound each other. Selling individual layers would generate revenue we don't want because it would generate outcomes we couldn't be proud of. We'd rather decline the sale than deliver something that doesn't work.