The Mid-Market Gap
Most mid-market leaders carry the complexity of a Fortune 500 CTO without the team, budget, or board infrastructure to match.
Generic coaching lacks the depth. Big-firm consulting adds the bloat. RLK is the third option.
of middle market companies operate without a formal strategic plan
Nat'l Center for the Middle Market
organizations fail to fully execute their strategic priorities
Kaplan & Norton / HBR
target engagement ROI: the return threshold built into every engagement before work begins
RLK Engagement Standard
Every engagement is built to clear that bar. If the math doesn't work for your situation, I'll tell you in the first conversation, and we won't start.
Who You're Working With
The strategist you talk to is the one who does the work.
Ryan L. King
Founder, RLK Consulting
Over 15 years advising CIOs, CTOs, and senior technology leaders at McKinsey, Deloitte, and now RLK. I work with leaders in transition: stepping into a new role, navigating cost pressure, modernizing delivery, or preparing for a transaction moment.
Start the conversation →Why Leaders Choose RLK
- Clarity fast: most engagements wrap in ~6 weeks
- Repeatable frameworks and rigorous analysis, not guesswork
- Direct access to a McKinsey- and Deloitte-trained strategist
Background
Engagements
Two ways to work together.
Fixed-scope sprints move in days and weeks at a flat fee. Custom strategy engagements are scoped to your situation and run longer. Both produce decision-ready output.
Fixed-scope sprints
Custom strategy engagements
Client Work
Representative engagements.
Work completed at McKinsey, Deloitte, and through RLK.
Fortune 500 Insurance CIO
Result
Board embraced the framework on first presentation
Read more ↓
A Fortune 500 insurance CIO needed a board-facing technology scorecard. Existing reporting was nonexistent and immature at best: no coherent framework, no financial translation, nothing the board could use to assess technology value. RLK designed 13 board-facing metrics and 30 underpinning IT health metrics for IT leadership, including custom indices calibrated against insurance industry peers. IT became the first function in the organization with reporting that mature. Technology went from a cost center narrative to a value creation story in a single presentation.
Global Logistics Operator
Result
Board approved multi-year program on first reading
Read more ↓
A global logistics operator carried five inherited ERPs across acquired entities and had no commercial case the CFO could take to the board. RLK built the consolidation case across twelve workstreams (finance close, inventory, planning, procurement, HR) with sequencing that ran the lowest-risk workstreams first. The board approved the multi-year program on the first reading.
Large Federal Agency CIO
Result
$4B in modernization capital deployed against named outcomes
Read more ↓
A large federal agency received a major legislative appropriation for technology modernization with no prioritization framework in place. Capital availability was not the problem; deployment discipline was. RLK built the investment prioritization framework tied to specific citizen-facing service outcomes and tranche-level accountability. Approximately $4 billion in modernization capital was deployed against named outcomes, and the program was nationally recognized with industry awards.
Regional Healthcare Organization
Result
11% technology spend reduction, zero capability reduction
Read more ↓
A regional healthcare organization faced a board mandate to cut $3M in annual technology spend without impacting operations. Spend analysis identified the savings by restructuring two major vendor relationships and eliminating redundant licensing. Full savings realized within 90 days, at zero capability reduction.
PE-Backed Technology Services Firm
Result
Board-ready growth plan cleared in a single session
Read more ↓
A PE-backed technology services firm ($220M ARR) needed a board-ready growth plan ahead of a recapitalization. RLK mapped three underserved segments with quantified revenue upside, sequenced the sprint plan, and built the supporting financial model. The plan cleared the board in a single session.
Financial Services Firm
Result
Three pilots moved to production within a single quarter
Read more ↓
A financial services firm with 14 active AI pilots and zero production deployments. Structural diagnostic identified a governance bottleneck: every AI rollout required a compliance committee cycle averaging 8 months. Redesigned approval framework cut cycle time to 6 weeks. Three pilots moved to production within the next quarter.
Six representative engagements across board analytics, systems strategy, cost optimization, growth, and AI enablement.
See all client work →Thinking Out Loud
Strategy and AI perspectives written with the same rigor applied in client work. Specific enough to share with your team.
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