The Mid-Market Gap
Most mid-market technology 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 responsible for enterprise-scale systems, large portfolios, and board-level accountability. First at McKinsey and Deloitte, then at RLK.
I work with technology leaders in transition: stepping into a new role, navigating cost pressure, modernizing delivery, or preparing for a transaction moment. The work is about repositioning technology as a front-office enabler, a function that creates value the business can underwrite.
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
Client Work
Representative engagements.
Work completed at McKinsey, Deloitte, and through RLK.
Fortune 500 Insurance CIO
Result
Board embraced the framework on first presentation
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Engagements
Two ways to work together.
Productized engagements move in days and weeks at a fixed fee. Strategy engagements are scoped to your situation and run longer. Both produce decision-ready output.
The Operating Teardown
Two weeks inside how your business actually runs. A fixed-fee diagnostic memo with ranked, priced recommendations and a 90-day execution sequence. $7,500.
The Operating Teardown: AI Edition
The AI lens on the base Teardown. Where AI cuts cost or generates revenue in your business, and how. Same disciplined memo, AI-scored opportunities. $7,500.
The AI Strategy Session
A half-day workshop with your leadership team. Three to five AI moves identified, owners assigned, plan written. Tagline: decisions by noon. From $4,500.
The 90-Day Plan
One week to turn a decision you have already made into a defensible execution plan. Owners, milestones, decision gates, and the dollar number it has to hit. $7,500.
The Board Pack Refit
One week to rewrite the materials going to your next board meeting. The page, the backup, the narrative, and the pre-empted answers to the questions the board is most likely to ask. $7,500.
AI Strategy and Capital Allocation
A custom engagement for executives deciding where to put AI investment dollars over the next 12 to 18 months. Portfolio strategy, capital allocation, governance, and the board-level reporting that defends it. $40K to $75K.
Other scopes
The engagements above are where most clients start. If your situation does not fit a category, start a conversation.
Thinking Out Loud
Strategy and AI perspectives written with the same rigor applied in client work. Specific enough to share with your team.
Why Now
The age of AI is a reason to hire this kind of consultant, not avoid one.
AI compresses the analytical groundwork. Research that once took two weeks takes two days. That efficiency goes back to the client. What it cannot do is read the room, tell you which of your five AI initiatives are real and which three are theater, or push back when the strategy misreads the organization. The judgment calls are still ours.
Start a conversation →The Dispatch
Practical strategy and AI perspectives for mid-market executives. One issue per quarter. No filler.
AI Diagnostic · Free
Know where your organization stands on AI.
61 questions scored across five dimensions of AI readiness. You get a stage classification, a financial impact estimate, a P&L business case, ranked priority actions, and competitive positioning against your sector. Delivered as a full interactive report the moment you complete it. Two sample reports available before you commit.
Free Resource
The Human and Machine Company
A strategic guide for executives navigating AI adoption without ceding organizational control. Covers how to evaluate AI investments, where human judgment stays irreplaceable, and how to lead through the transition without letting vendors or internal advocates set the agenda.