Chief of Staff
Service

This might not be relevant for you...

But, you know how challenging being a CEO is. Drowning in details, have no time for strategic thinking, endless to-do's, constant back-to-back meetings, a thousand and one problems to be solved, everyone wants a piece of you...

If you ever wondering what is the best way of keeping up, then I would like to introduce how a Chief of Staff can take some of the burdens away, e.g., by attending the less important meetings on your behalf, tackling some of the to-do's, filtering the requests and problems for you, providing strategic thinking support, and helping to deliver operational excellence, etc.

The outline below is quite generic and not specific to your needs, but it should give you a quick sense if you can benefit from a Chief of Staff...

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If you are the CEO of a company between $1B and $10B in revenues and drowning in the details, then this FirstMate Chief of Staff service is for you.

1. What problems do I solve for you?

Most of the time, CEOs have a strategic agenda that they want to implement – be it corporate expansion, growth acceleration, or profitability turnaround.

However, it's not easy to implement this strategic agenda.

Imagine you are standing at the helm of a ship (the organization), navigating through a turbulent sea (market disruptions) under an intense storm (shareholder expectations)...

All while being shackled by organizational resistance, tightening budgets, and resource constraints...

Moreover, the fog of ambiguity shrouds the path, making it difficult to discern the optimal direction...

How can you successfully bring the ship to the destination?

You know the feelings...

You are drowning in details. You spend over half of each day on operational plans, managing follow-ups, and checking off items from what felt like an endless to-do list.

You are pounding a liter of black cold brew coffee a day. (You’re loading up on caffeine in advance of certain tasks that you don’t like.)

You are constantly in back-to-back meetings.

At the same time, there are big, compelling opportunities that you don’t have the chance to go after because your time is full of tasks that could be done by someone else.

You don't have any of the mental space to dig into the creative problems that you love, and your company needs you to solve. (You’re spending less than 80% of your time in your Zone of Genius.)

In such a tempest, a first mate (a trusted advisor) with deep experience can be the lighthouse cutting through the darkness, providing clarity and strategic guidance.

Their role is to help you, the CEO, navigate these treacherous waters, offering a steady hand and insightful counsel to weather the storm, break free from the shackles, and reach the shores of success.

This is why successful CEOs usually have a personal advisor that is competent, capable, and committed (3C) to help them implement their strategic agenda.

For example:

Napoleon had Berthier, his most indispensable marshal, who translated the Emperor's strategic vision into reality via meticulous execution.

Genghis had Subotai, his most adept general, who implemented the Khan's brilliant strategy and delivered his strategic goals.

Alexander had Hephaestion, his most loyal and skilled companion, whose organizational skills helped the Great King win military campaigns and establish new settlements.

Churchill had Lindemann, his most trusted advisor, who worked hard to make the Prime Minister's wishes come true.

Roosevelt had Hopkins, his most capable deputy, who oversaw crucial strategic programs that helped the President overcome the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war challenges.

Obama, Oprah, Oprah – all of them have their "killer" personal advisors, who make their life much easier.

In a similar capacity, I help CEOs (as their personal advisor) to realize their strategic agenda – while overcoming the sea of disruptions, a storm of expectations, the fog of ambiguity, and the shackles of organization resistance, tight budgets, and resource constraints.

Examples of support I provide:

1. Operations Guru: Ensures day-to-day critical projects happen, supports and manages staff.

2. Special Projects Lead: Autonomously executes important initiatives with little oversight. Implements the directive: “Can you make X happen?”

3. Thought Partner: Thinks through and acts as a sounding board to weigh ideas. Pushes you to be the better version of yourself (encourages them to do the things they need to do that they can’t delegate), may give feedback on improvement, etc.

4. Personal Brand Master: Writes and scales in your voice. Manages all of your social channels and public-facing content.

5. Domain-Specific: A focused business leader who manages and runs a specific set of domains of your business or businesses on a day-to-day and long-term strategy level.

Every effective leader has a "killer" Chief of Staff...

2. What is the Return on Investment from working with me?

I typically generate a multi-million-dollar impact. Given my reasonable daily rate (not cheap, but very reasonable), this means I generate a ten-fold return (+1,000%) at the very least.

For example:

Helped Ferrero ($12B) in their growth acceleration and post-merger integration initiatives. Impacts include $100M savings from price and cost synergies.

Aided Boparan ($4B) in their turnaround. Impacts include $75M EBITDA improvement from cost-cutting and optimization and $550M cash released from stranded assets.

Supported Sanofi ($43B) in their their digital transformation. The impact was $145M cost-saving from data-driven decision-making.

Established for Coats ($2B) their Pricing Division from zero to 140-people division across 70 countries. The impact was a $50M EBITDA improvement from better prices.

Led a corporate-wide transformation for Pertamina ($60B). Impacts include $2B sales growth, optimized processes, improved corporate reputation, and 98% customer satisfaction.

Assisted the President of Indonesia (280M population) in delivering strategic programs and improving public-sector performance. Impacts include poverty reduction by 10ppt, strategic infrastructure delivery, and metropolitan congestion reduction by 20%.

On top of this, there are 3 additional key benefits you will obtain by working with me:

2.1. Personal Success

You will achieve success in no time by having a partner-in-crime who understands your aspirations and challenges, collaborates closely with you, and helps you turn your abstract visions into tangible results.

Suddenly, your schedule has more structure and is more focused on high-leverage activities that give you energy, like creative problem-solving, strategic networking, and partnerships.

2.2. Strategic Support and Guidance

By having a strategic confidant who provides a steady hand through turbulent times, keeps a steady pace towards success, and proactively paves the way, you will have an easier time, be more agile in decision-making, and be more confident in the face of uncertainty.

Most importantly, your work-life quality will drastically improve.

2.3. Transformed Organization

With my expertise, your company will see increased operational efficiency, enhanced decision-making, improved profitability, greater resiliency, a stronger culture, better innovation, and higher adaptability. All of these will position your company for a long-term win.

You will be able to 10x revenue for your company: an outcome that would have been impossible by doing it yourself.

3. What makes me qualified to serve you?

I can help you implement your strategic agenda effectively and successfully – thanks to the unique combination of my 3C, i.e., competency, capability, and commitment.

3.1. Competency

Firstly, I have extensive experience leading and delivering CEOs' strategic agendas – across various companies, sectors, industries, and geographies.

Here is a quick highlight:

11 years of experience in leading & delivering strategic programs with the world's leading companies (e.g., the world's largest threads company, the world's 2nd largest chocolate company, Europe's largest poultry company, the UK's largest food company).

5 years of experience in designing strategic programs with McKinsey and BCG (the two most prestigious strategy consulting firms).

4 years of experience in strategic decision-making in a high-stakes, fast-paced, and complex public sector environment.

In addition, this experience is backed by a robust body of knowledge, i.e., I have a Doctorate in Strategic Management and an MBA with Distinction from a preeminent business school.

3.2. Capability

Furthermore, to help my clients realize their strategic agenda, I have the unique ability to play different roles:

Analyst: Dissect data intricacies, extracting valuable insights to inform decision-making.

Bad Cop: Adopt assertive and stern approaches needed to achieve the goals.

Change Manager: Guide the organization through transformation, navigating resistance and fostering a smooth journey towards the new, improved state.

Data Scientist: Employ advanced statistics/machine learning algorithms to uncover meaningful patterns and drive informed strategies.

Politician: Manoeuver through the intricate power landscape, garnering support to enact change.

Problem Solver: Find effective solutions amid challenges and complexities.

Program Manager: Orchestrate tasks, resources, and timelines to bring ideas to fruition with precision and efficiency.

Story Teller: Weave compelling and engaging stories to convey messages effectively and convince stakeholders.

Strategist: Craft the roadmap of success by aligning vision with actionable plans in the ever-shifting business landscape.

Technologist: Introduce cutting-edge tools and technologies needed to improve performance efficiently.

The Devil's Advocate: Provoking critical thinking by presenting opposing viewpoints to ensure well-rounded decision-making.

Thought Partner: Collaborate closely with the CEO, offering insights and ideas to enhance decision-making and problem-solving in a synergistic relationship.

Trusted Friend: Provide invaluable counsel, leveraging expertise and trust to guide strategic decisions and navigate challenges alongside the CEO.

I will play any role needed to: i) get things done, ii) deliver the strategic agenda, and iii) ensure you, the CEO, are successful.

3.3. Commitment

Finally, what is most helpful for my clients is my commitment to their success. I take pride in what I do; I go above and beyond to make them successful.

If you are my client, I will ensure your strategic agenda is achieved – despite the issues, roadblocks, and opposition.

Here are some quick examples of my unwavering dedication to successful delivery:

Crisis Resolution and Late-Night Delivery: When unexpected challenges/crises occurred, to ensure the strategic agenda wasn't derailed, I swiftly mobilized resources, rolled up my sleeves and worked round the clock without hesitation. I personally led the crisis management efforts to put the projects back on track.

Conflict Resolution and Going the Extra Mile: In delivering a strategic agenda, tensions often escalate between key stakeholders. I took the extra time to mediate, understand each party's concerns, and facilitate a resolution to ensure the strategic agenda could progress without disruptions.

Proactive Issue Anticipation: To ensure the success of strategic projects, I proactively identified and addressed looming issues before they could escalate. Staying ahead of challenges ensures smooth progress.

My commitment is the key reason I am very effective in helping you realize your strategic agenda.

I love it when my client is successful in delivering their strategic agenda, creating significant impacts for their organization, and leaving a legacy of success.

This is what makes me excited to wake up in the morning, and can't wait to go to work.

4. How is my service different from others?

I not only do strategy but also its successful execution by operating as the personal advisor to the CEO.

Big Consulting Firms usually don't do execution. Even when they do, they do it on a project-by-project basis (not at the personal level), taking an external view (not as an internal one), driving it mainly through junior consultants (the partners not deeply involved), and charging a high amount of money (several million dollars).

Business School Professors are good at research and insights but usually lack implementation capability – especially in complex organizational settings rife with internal challenges and external disruptions.

Company Executives (such as the CFO, COO, CCO, and CTO) do deliver functional projects. But they are already busy with day-to-day stuff and don't have the capacity to undertake big, cross-functional, complex strategic programs that require a massive amount of time, energy, and special skillset to implement. Furthermore, they aren't necessarily a loyal supporter of the CEO.

Interim Directors can be good thought partners, but they rarely operate both at high-level directives and low-level operations (i.e., roll the sleeves and get hands dirty).

Project Managers are good with project delivery but usually lack the high-level strategy competency, the soft change-management experience, and the wisdom to differentiate between things that can be ignored and the things that must be done no matter what.

Subject-Matter-Experts have a deep competence in certain functions, industries, or technologies. Still, they rarely have the all-encompassing, holistic views needed to deliver the CEO's strategic agenda.

By operating as your personal advisor, I am solely dedicated to your success – providing an extra hand that is competent, capable, and committed; able to operate at many levels to bring your strategic agenda into reality.

Every Batman needs a Robin.

5. Let’s Work Together

Get in touch so we can see if working together makes sense.

Alternatively, book a zoom call with me using the link below.

Chief of Staff Service
30 min

Chief of Staff Service