About Plan → Do → Launch — Built by John McDonald About Plan → Do → Launch — Built by John McDonald, Chief Launcher
About John McDonald

The architect behind human-first, AI-enhanced onboarding systems.

John McDonald is the founder of Plan → Do → Launch — a consultancy dedicated to helping scaling organizations replace hero-based onboarding with a unified, intelligent onboarding engine.

With more than two decades leading product, onboarding, regulatory, and client-facing operations, John has witnessed firsthand how onboarding breaks down when knowledge lives in people’s heads, processes evolve daily, and clients wait for clarity that never arrives.

He created Plan → Do → Launch to solve this problem permanently — blending structured knowledge, AI automation, and guided workflow execution into a single onboarding system that delivers what was sold, every time.

John McDonald

A rare blend of expertise

Human Expertise

John brings exceptional client rapport, calm guidance under pressure, and deep experience leading onboarding in regulated, high-stakes environments.

His ability to “read the room” and bring clarity to complexity is one reason teams trust him with their most important client moments.

Process Architecture

John specializes in extracting tribal knowledge and transforming it into repeatable, scalable onboarding frameworks.

He creates systems where teams stop guessing, new hires ramp quickly, and clients always know what's happening next.

Technical Intelligence

John designs AI-ready knowledge architecture, builds automated data pipelines, configures OnboardingIQ workflows, and creates embedded micro-learning and change alerts.

He unifies content, AI, process automation, and portal execution into a single onboarding engine.

Creator of the PDL Onboarding Engine

John is the architect behind the PDL Engine — a unified onboarding system that integrates structured knowledge, AI intelligence, automated ingestion pipelines, OnboardingIQ workflows, and real-time learning updates.

His systems power onboarding across Canada and the United States, with more than 50,000 users onboarded using frameworks he designed.

Organizations trust John with their onboarding transformation because he blends human-first clarity with technical precision — turning chaotic onboarding into a strategic advantage.

Leadership beyond work

John is an active and committed Rotarian, serving in leadership roles at both the club and district level. His work extends across:

His Rotary service reflects the same principles that guide Plan → Do → Launch: clarity, structure, community, and helping people succeed.

Personal

John lives in London, Ontario and works with organizations across Canada and the United States.

He brings a calm, grounded presence to every engagement and is known for making complex systems feel simple, intuitive, and manageable — a skill valued equally in onboarding rooms, boardrooms, and community leadership.

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