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About

Making transformation capability teachable, observable, and repeatable.

Transformation CRAFT turns the organizational conditions beneath transformation into a body of knowledge leaders can learn, apply, and strengthen. The framework is the intellectual foundation; training, advisory work, speaking, and community are how it becomes capability.

How CRAFT came about

After more than three decades in executive leadership, technology, and transformation roles, the same pattern kept appearing: the plan was sound, the intent was real, the capability existed — and progress still stalled, alignment frayed, and momentum became harder to sustain.

CRAFT is what came out of naming that pattern. Instead of treating transformation friction as part of the process, it makes the five conditions underneath execution explicit: Culture, Relationships, Acceptance, Focus, and Trajectory.

The framework is taught through a structured progression, applied with organizations and individuals, and documented in a body of knowledge so it does not depend on the person in the room.

Team

The people behind CRAFT

Darrel Popowich

Darrel Popowich

Founder & President

Darrel Popowich works with leaders who are carrying the pressure of transformation and know that strategy alone is not enough to get it across the line. After more than three decades in executive leadership, technology, and transformation roles, he has seen the same pattern repeatedly: the plan is sound, the intent is there, the capability exists — and yet progress stalls, alignment frays, and momentum becomes harder to sustain.

Using the Transformation CRAFT framework, he helps leaders understand what is really shaping success underneath execution. His work is direct, practical, and deeply grounded in the human realities of transformation.

Rick Unruh

Rick Unruh

Co-Founder, CSO, Executive Coach & Strategic Advisor

Rick Unruh is a Chief Strategy Officer, Certified Professional Business Coach (CPBC), Business Relationship Management Professional (BRMP), and Project Management Professional (PMP) with a track record of leading complex transformations across energy, healthcare, financial services, and technology. Certified in The Birkman Method and Extended DISC, he integrates behavioral science with executive judgment.

Through Transformation CRAFT, Rick partners with executives, business coaches, and Business Relationship Managers to operationalize the five CRAFT conditions that determine transformation success.

Start with the transformation you are carrying