Terms of Engagement

These terms cover two things: your use of fsaleem.com, and how I work with clients. They are written to be read. If anything is unclear, ask before we start.

Effective date: 28 September 2026

1. Who these terms are between

“I”, “me” and “my” means Faisal Saleem, the provider described in section 22. “You” means the person or organisation using the site or engaging me. If you engage me on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have authority to do so, and “you” includes that organisation.

2. What these terms cover

Website use. Sections 19 to 23 apply to anyone using fsaleem.com.

Engagements. The rest applies when you book or engage me for any of these services:

• Focused session
• Decision session
• Operations & technology diagnostic
• Mentoring (for individuals, founders and business owners paying directly, or for companies paying for their people)
• Advisory retainer
• Embedded leadership

Written scope comes first. Before paid work begins, I confirm scope, fees, timing and deliverables in writing, by email for sessions or in a proposal or statement of work (“SOW”) for larger work. If a proposal or SOW conflicts with these terms, the proposal or SOW wins for that engagement. Your own purchase-order terms do not apply unless we both sign them.

3. Pricing

Prices on the site are indicative and in US dollars. They give a fair sense of scale, not a binding quote. The price that applies is the one confirmed in writing for your engagement. Prices on the site may change, but a confirmed price does not change for that engagement.

Prices exclude taxes and duties unless stated otherwise. See section 22 for tax details.

4. Booking and approval

Session requests, by email or any booking link I provide, are requests, not confirmed bookings. I review each one to make sure I am the right person for the question and that there is no conflict of interest. A booking is confirmed only when I approve it and payment is received in advance.

I may decline a request without giving a reason. If I decline after you have paid, I refund you in full.

5. Payment

Invoicing. I invoice in US dollars. Payment is made through the payment method or processor named on the invoice or payment link. The site never collects payment details.

All fees are paid in full, in advance.

Service	Payment
Focused session	In full at booking. The session is confirmed when payment is received
Decision session	In full at booking. The session is confirmed when payment is received, and I begin the review after that
Operations & technology diagnostic	In full before work starts
Mentoring	Monthly, in advance
Advisory retainer	Monthly, in advance
Embedded leadership	Monthly, in advance

Fees and charges. Unless agreed otherwise, you pay your own bank, transfer and currency-conversion charges, so that I receive the invoiced amount. Where a payment processor charges a card or processing fee, the proposal or invoice will say whether it is included or passed on.

Monthly work. Each month is invoiced before it begins and must be paid before that month starts. If a monthly payment has not been received, I pause work until it is, and deadlines move by the length of the pause.

Expenses. Any third-party costs are agreed with you in writing in advance and invoiced at cost, payable before they are incurred unless we agree otherwise.

6. Rescheduling, cancellation and refunds

Each service has its own rule, because the work behind each one starts at a different point:

Service	Cancelling or rescheduling
Focused session	Free up to 24 hours before the session. Inside 24 hours, the fee is not refunded, although I may offer one reschedule.
Decision session	Full refund if you cancel before I begin reviewing your material. After that, the fee is not refunded, but the call can be rescheduled with 48 hours’ notice.
Operations and technology diagnostic	Full refund if you cancel at least five working days before the agreed start date. Once work has begun, I may refund the part of the work not yet started.
Mentoring	Minimum three months. After that, you can stop at any time, effective before the next month is billed. A missed session carries over to the following month, once.
Advisory retainer and embedded leadership	Either of us can end the arrangement with 30 days’ written notice, taking effect no earlier than the end of the agreed minimum term (three months unless the SOW says otherwise). Email is fine.

Anything else, ask me. If your situation falls outside these rules, email me as early as you can and tell me why. I review each request individually and, where there is a legitimate reason, I will reschedule or refund, in full or in part, at my reasonable discretion.

If I need to reschedule, I give as much notice as I can and offer new times. If none suit you, I refund you in full for the affected session.

7. How I work

• Work is remote, over video, email and shared documents.
• I’m based in Dubai (GMT+4) and schedule at times that suit your time zone.
• I aim to reply to client messages within two working days, including on retainers, unless the SOW says otherwise.
• I deliver the work personally. I do not subcontract without your agreement.

8. Your responsibilities

• Give me accurate, complete information, and tell me if it changes. My view is only as good as what I am shown.
• Share material that you have the right to share, including any personal data about other people, which you must be allowed to disclose to me.
• Make the people and access I need available, as agreed.
• Make and own your decisions. I give views and recommendations. You decide what to do and remain responsible for the outcome.

If a delay or change on your side affects timing or effort, we will agree how to adjust scope, timing or fees.

9. The nature of my advice

My work is advisory, based on operating experience across technology, operations, commercial decisions and delivery.

• No guaranteed outcomes. I give my honest professional judgement, with reasonable skill and care. I cannot guarantee a specific result, because results depend on decisions, people and circumstances outside my control.
• Not regulated professional advice. Nothing I provide is legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. Where contracts are discussed, my perspective is commercial and operational, not legal. Where a decision needs a lawyer, accountant, auditor, financial adviser or other regulated professional, I will say so, and you should consult one.
• Illustrations are illustrations. Examples and frameworks I use are for explanation. Apply them only after thinking about your own circumstances.

10. Changes to scope

If you want to change the scope of a diagnostic, retainer or embedded engagement, tell me. I will confirm any effect on fees and timing in writing before the change takes effect. Work outside the confirmed scope is not included until we agree it.

11. Confidentiality

Confidentiality applies both ways.

• I keep confidential anything you share that is not public, including your business, customers, finances, people, contracts and plans. I use it only to do the work, and I do not disclose it without your permission.
• You keep confidential any non-public material I share with you that is marked or clearly intended to be confidential, such as proposal pricing.
• Neither of us has to keep confidential anything that is already public through no fault of our own, was already known, was received independently, or must be disclosed by law. If disclosure is legally required, the disclosing party gives notice where permitted.
• These obligations continue for three years after the engagement ends, and indefinitely for trade secrets and personal data.

I am happy to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before you share anything sensitive. Ask for one when you get in touch. If we sign an NDA, it applies alongside this section, and the stricter obligation prevails.

I will never describe your situation or share any details of our work publicly in a way that identifies you. With your agreement, for example under a signed NDA, I may list your company name, and logo if you provide it, as a client reference. You can withdraw that agreement at any time by emailing me, and I will remove the reference within a reasonable time.

12. Conflicts of interest

I will tell you if I become aware of a conflict of interest that affects our work, including any link to your competitors, vendors or counterparties in the matter. We can then decide together whether to continue.

13. Data protection

Each of us handles personal data responsibly and in line with the rules that apply to us. Where I handle personal data on your behalf in the course of the work, I use it only to deliver the work, keep it secure and confidential, and return or delete it at the end of the engagement, unless the law requires me to keep it. A data processing agreement is available on request. My Privacy Policy explains how I handle personal data as a controller.

14. Intellectual property

• Your materials remain yours. You give me permission to use them only for the engagement.
• Deliverables are the written outputs I create specifically for you, such as a decision summary, diagnostic report or action plan. Once you have paid for them in full, they belong to you and you can use them as you like within your organisation.
• My know-how is mine. I keep my general knowledge, skills, methods, frameworks, question sets, templates and tools, including anything I had before our engagement or develop independently of it. If a deliverable includes any of these, you receive a permanent, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use them as part of that deliverable.
• Recording. Neither of us records a session without the other’s agreement.

15. Limitation of liability

I will do the work with reasonable skill and care. Beyond that:

• My total liability arising from an engagement, whether in contract, negligence or otherwise, is limited to the fees you have paid for that specific engagement. For ongoing services, this means the fees paid in the 12 months before the claim.
• Neither of us is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, goodwill or data, even if it was foreseeable.
• Any claim must be raised in writing within 12 months of the event that caused it.
• Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud, or any rights you have that cannot be excluded.

16. Termination

In addition to section 6, either of us may end an engagement immediately by written notice if the other:

• materially breaches these terms or the SOW and does not put it right within 14 days of being asked to, or
• becomes insolvent or can no longer carry on business.

If an engagement ends, you pay for work done and expenses incurred up to the end date, and I refund any amount paid in advance for work that will not be delivered, except where section 6 says otherwise. Sections 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 22 continue after an engagement ends.

17. Independent contractor

I work with you as an independent contractor, not as an employee, partner or agent. This applies to embedded leadership too, whatever title I use inside your organisation. I am responsible for my own taxes, insurance and working arrangements. I have no authority to sign contracts or make commitments on your behalf unless you give it to me in writing for a specific purpose.

18. Events outside our control

Neither of us is responsible for a delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as illness, internet or power outages, natural disasters, or government action, but not a failure to pay. The affected party tells the other promptly and does what it reasonably can to limit the impact. If the event lasts more than 30 days, either of us may end the affected engagement, and section 16 applies to amounts already paid.

19. Using the website

• The content on fsaleem.com is for general information. It is not advice for your particular situation.
• Case studies are illustrative. The “Selected work” examples and “Trace a situation” scenarios are illustrative situations based on the kinds of work I do. They are not specific client accounts, and they do not promise similar results.
• Writing and opinions are my own and do not represent any client or other organisation.
• I try to keep the site accurate and available, but I do not guarantee that it is always complete, current or uninterrupted.
• Links to other sites, such as LinkedIn and X, are provided for convenience. I am not responsible for their content or policies.
• Site text, design and graphics belong to me. You may quote short passages with attribution and a link. Do not copy the site or present it as your own.
• Do not misuse the site, for example by trying to disrupt it, gain unauthorised access or scrape it at scale.

20. Changes to these terms

I may update these terms, and the effective date at the top will change when I do. The version in force when your engagement is confirmed applies to that engagement. Changes apply to an ongoing retainer or mentoring arrangement only after I have told you and 30 days have passed, or sooner if you agree.

21. General

• These terms, with any proposal, SOW or NDA, are the whole agreement between us for an engagement. They replace earlier discussions about the same subject.
• If part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.
• A failure or delay in enforcing a right does not waive it.
• Neither of us may transfer an engagement to someone else without the other’s written consent, except that I may transfer it to a company I form to carry on my practice, on the same terms, with notice to you.
• Notices must be in writing. Email counts: to me at [email protected], and to you at the address you use for the engagement.
• The English version of these terms is the one that applies.

22. Provider details

• Provider: Faisal Saleem, an individual based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• Registered business: None at present. These details will be updated if I start operating through a company.
• Contact: [email protected]
• Tax: Fees are quoted exclusive of any VAT, sales tax or similar tax. If a tax applies, it will be shown on the invoice. If the law where you are requires you to withhold tax from a payment, tell me before paying so we can agree how to handle it.
• If something goes wrong: tell me in writing, and we will try in good faith to resolve it by talking first.

23. Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected].