Strategic Execution

For CEOs and executive committees

The decision is made. Now it has to happen.

The committee already knows what it wants to change.

The problem is that weeks go by and the organisation never quite puts it into practice.

In Strategic Execution I get into the work, commit alongside the team and help carry the change through until it can run without me.

For companies that know what they have to do, but need extra capacity to make it happen while the business keeps running.

Start with the diagnostic

I take part in execution · I work with your team · No handing the project to third parties

The problem

Deciding something does not mean it will happen

The committee approves a change.
It gets explained.
Owners are assigned.
And day-to-day activity takes over everything again.

Three months later

the decision still exists, but reality looks far too much like it did before.

It is not always a lack of will.

Executing a change while the business keeps running is hard.

The people who have to do it already have a job.
Problems appear that nobody foresaw.
Two areas understand what was decided differently.
A responsibility that seemed clear turns out not to be.
The urgent pushes out the important again.
And the CEO ends up stepping in again and again to keep the project moving.

If this drags on, the organisation starts getting used to working around a decision that was never fully put into practice.

When follow-up is no longer enough

Someone has to take charge of moving it forward

There comes a point where another follow-up meeting adds little.

The decision is made. Now the work is on whatever is stopping it from being put into practice.

Sometimes priorities will need ordering.
Other times, who does what will need clarifying.
Two areas working in different ways will need to sit down together.
A way of working that looked good on paper will need changing.
A problem nobody foresaw will need solving.
Or part of the original approach will need correcting.

That is not solved by sending a report.

In Strategic Execution I get into that work. I do it with the people who have to make the change work.

How it works

I come in, work with the team and then leave

There are two ways of working, depending on the problem.

0190-day programme

For a specific change that can be tackled with a defined beginning and end. The work is organised in three thirty-day blocks. There is a weekly session and concrete deliverables along the way.

Days 1 to 30

In the first thirty days what was decided starts being put in motion and the first real problems appear.

Days 31 to 60

The next thirty are for working on them, adjusting what is needed and getting the new way of working to start settling.

Days 61 to 90

The last block focuses on the team being able to sustain what has been put in motion without depending on me.

Day 90 · scope review

Weekly session

The 90 days are the starting point. At the end we review the scope together: if the change already works, I leave; if more is needed, we rethink it.

02Fractional leadership

Some situations need a different level of commitment.

In those cases I can temporarily lead an area and sit on the executive committee.

Here my role changes. For a period I am part of the leadership and take direct responsibility for the work agreed.

Commitment is agreed case by case: in some it has been a presence spread across the week; in others, several mornings a week.

Duration depends on the problem. And the exit is part of the plan from the start.

Where I can step in

When you know what you want to change, but it is not happening

Strategic Execution is not meant for any pending project. It makes sense when there is a leadership decision and putting it into practice is proving harder than expected.

Hover or tap each phrase

Why me

Because I have had to make things happen

In this service that experience matters for a very specific reason. I have not only had to take decisions. I have had to get other people to understand them, turn them into work and put them into practice while the business keeps running. And I have lived the other side too.

Track record: I have spent thirty years working with companies and leadership teams. I have led businesses in consulting, technology and professional services, with P&Ls of up to 70 million euros and teams of up to 300 people across six countries.
Sectors: I have also worked with companies in engineering, construction, infrastructure, energy, defence and industry.
Fractional leadership: And I have been a fractional executive in two technology companies: in one, leading an area from the executive committee; in the other, as fractional CEO of a startup that wanted to take its product to new clients and countries.

When the plan does not work as expected.
When a responsibility was not as clear as it seemed.
When two areas need different things.
When someone has to decide whether to keep the plan or change it.

That is what I bring when I step into execution.

What you are hiring

Capacity to make the change move forward

Meetings are part of the work, but they are not the work. Strategic execution means making an existing decision start working inside the organisation.

Turn a leadership decision into actions, owners and a concrete way of working.

A real case

When adding resources does not solve the problem

Sector: Technology
Format: Fractional leadership
Presence: Part of the week, on the executive committee
Result: 42% more capacity
Exit: The company was sold

A growing technology company had five business areas that depended on the work of the same two-person team.

The first conclusion seemed logical: the team needed to grow and a tool needed adding.

But when I looked at how the work actually ran day to day, a different question came up. Each area worked on its own. Requests arrived in different ways, with different priorities and no common criterion for deciding what came first. The team spent part of its capacity organising the work before it could do it.

That is why we did not start by adding resources. First we worked on how things ran:

01Bringing requests in through a single channel.
02Getting the areas involved to sit down regularly.
03Agreeing how priorities are set.
04Checking what changed once it was in motion.
05And correcting whatever did not work.

Only then did we ask again whether resources or tools were still missing. The company kept growing until it attracted a buyer and was sold. That is where my work ended.

That is the difference in this service. I do not hand over a recommendation and leave the team to work out afterwards how to put it into practice.

I get into the work, take part in the changes and help solve the problems that come up when implementing them. The aim is to reach a point where my presence is no longer needed.

When to act

If it is already decided, do not let it cool down

When an important decision is not executed, at first everyone knows something is pending. Then the exceptions begin.

Over time, the organisation can end up getting used to a decision that was never fully implemented. If you have already decided what you want to change, it is worth working on the execution before the old way of doing things takes over again.

One part gets postponed.
Another is done the old way because it is quicker.
A responsibility temporarily goes back to whoever had it.
The CEO steps in because something urgent has to be solved.
And the temporary starts to last.

Who this is not for

When it makes no sense for me to come in

You have not yet decided what to do

Better: Executive Decision

You want to discuss the decisions, not have me execute them with you

Better: Executive Sounding Board

You want someone to do the work instead of your team

I work with your team, not in its place.

You want a presence with no exit date

The exit is part of the plan from the start.

The proposal

Two ways to set up the work

	0190-day programme	02Fractional leadership
What for	A specific change, with a beginning and an end	Situations that need a different commitment
Pace	Weekly session and deliverables	Agreed presence, inside the organisation
My role	I take part directly in execution	I temporarily lead an area and sit on the committee
Duration	90 days as a starting point	Whatever the problem needs
Exit	When the team can carry on without me	When what I came to solve keeps running without me

0190-day programme

What for: A specific change, with a beginning and an end
Pace: Weekly session and deliverables
My role: I take part directly in execution
Duration: 90 days as a starting point
Exit: When the team can carry on without me

02Fractional leadership

What for: Situations that need a different commitment
Pace: Agreed presence, inside the organisation
My role: I temporarily lead an area and sit on the committee
Duration: Whatever the problem needs
Exit: When what I came to solve keeps running without me

I do not publish a fee. I set it after understanding the problem, the scope and the level of involvement needed. In both cases I work directly with the organisation.

The first step is not hiring a programme. It is understanding what is going on.

The diagnostic takes five to ten minutes and produces a preliminary report on screen. Then we have a 30-minute conversation, where we can see what is holding execution back and what kind of help the company really needs. It may need me to come in for 90 days, the problem may need fractional leadership, or Strategic Execution may not be the answer. That is discussed before any proposal.

Start with the diagnostic

Free diagnostic and preliminary report · Free initial conversation · Direct work with me

Frequently asked questions

If you are still trying to decide what to do, it is probably not the right service. It makes sense when the decision is made and the problem is getting it put into practice.

Executive Decision is built around a decision that has been in progress for a while. The aim is to close it and leave with the first actions clear. Strategic Execution starts when you already know what you want to do and need help making it happen.

In the Executive Sounding Board you lead the work and use me to discuss the decisions that come up. In Strategic Execution I take part directly in the work and in making it move forward.

No. I work with the people who have to carry out the change. If at the end of the project the team depends on me to keep running, the project is not finished.

The 90 days are a starting point. At the end we review the scope: it can be extended, or fractional leadership can be considered if the situation needs a different presence. The format is decided after understanding the case.

In the fractional leadership format, yes.

When the agreed objective is reached and the team is able to carry on.

There is no standard fee. First I need to understand what you want to put in motion, what is stopping it and how much involvement the project requires. Then I put forward the proposal.

Strategic Execution

If you already know what to do, it is time to make it happen

The aim is to come in, do my work and stop being needed.

If the decision is made but putting it into practice is costing more than expected, start by identifying where it is stalling. Take the diagnostic and review the result with me. From that conversation we will see what the problem really needs and whether it makes sense for me to take part in execution.

Start with the diagnostic