Executive Advisory and Fractional Partnership
Standing access to a senior strategist for the decisions that do not fit inside a project.
A monthly retainer arrangement. Two standing sessions per month, plus call-and-text access between, plus a quarterly working session to set the agenda. Built for executives whose decision is bigger than what a coach handles and smaller than what a project engagement justifies, and who would rather hear the answer from someone who has seen the shape of it before.
Who do I call when the decision is mine to make and there is no one in the room who has seen it before? The retainer exists so the answer is already on your phone the day the question comes.
| Start of each quarter | A 90-minute working session to set the agenda: the two or three decisions and themes the quarter is going to turn on. |
| Twice a month | A 60-minute standing session, on whatever has surfaced. Sometimes a single decision; sometimes the surface of a longer one. |
| Between sessions | Call-and-text access. Most retainers carry two to four shorter conversations a month outside the standing time. |
| End of quarter | A short written summary of what got decided, what is open, and where the next quarter starts. |
- An honest read on what you are paid to do and what you would rather be doing.
- The two or three decisions that are sitting on your desk this quarter, including the ones you have been parking.
- Whatever board and operating materials you would normally share with a strategic advisor; the same NDA as any other engagement.
- A standing slot on your calendar twice a month, protected.
- One person on your team who can reach me directly when you cannot.
Representative work product over a six-month retainer:
1. Board prep. Three of the six board cycles got a one-page pre-read built together, used by the executive to set the agenda rather than absorb it.
2. A go or no-go. One acquisition pursued, one declined, both with a written memo behind the decision that survives audit.
3. A leadership move. Two senior hires made, one senior departure managed, with the org-design implications worked through ahead of the announcements rather than after.
4. An M&A conversation. Acquired by a strategic, with the executive carrying the conversation rather than running behind it. The diligence package was clean because the work had been done already.
If the work is a project, hire RLK for the project. A retainer is an inefficient way to buy a sprint. If the work is therapy or coaching, hire a coach; pretending this is that wastes both our time. And if you do not yet have the authority to act on advice, a retainer with the right person will not fix that, and may delay the harder conversation about why.
“I have a board, a coach, and an investor. I needed someone who would tell me when I was wrong on the substance, not on the leadership style. Ryan has been that person for two years.”
CEO, PE-backed services platform
Illustrative. Composite of recent mid-market engagements, not a single named client.
RLK Consulting is Ryan King, sole founder. She spent nearly 15 years at McKinsey and Deloitte advising Fortune 50 clients, and now runs a strategy practice in Richmond, Virginia serving the mid-market. The person you pay is the person who does the work.
To begin
A 45-minute conversation. If we are the right fit for each other, the arrangement starts the following month.