WHEN TO CALL
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Too many decisions, relationships, and processes still depend on you
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A new market, offering, partnership, acquisition, or channel looks promising, but the economics and operating requirements are unresolved
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A high-priority initiative keeps losing momentum because no senior leader has the capacity to own it
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You need an experienced second-in-command, but a full-time COO is not yet the right answer
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You know something must change, but the leadership team is too close to the problem to define the best path
You may be here because...
If burnout is stalling your progress, critical tasks are falling through the cracks, or not having a second-in-command is creating a growth bottleneck, ESP is your go-to. There is no reason to struggle alone. ESP can help you clearly define the problem, figure out the range of options, and implement the solution. We roll up our sleeves and help you get the work done.
The owner is still the operating system
Too many decisions, relationships, and processes depend on one person. Important work slows whenever the owner’s attention is elsewhere, and growth is constrained by the owner’s personal capacity.
A growth opportunity needs a real plan
A new market, offering, channel, acquisition, or partnership looks promising, but the economics, capabilities, risks, and operating requirements have not been resolved.
A strategic priority has no senior owner
The initiative crosses functions, sits outside normal roles, or requires more experience and sustained attention than the leadership team can provide around existing responsibilities.
How We Help
The right level of support for the priority in front of you.
You select what support level is right for you. From a Let's talk it through to I need a #2, ESP can provide the support you need to gain clarity, confidence, and capacity for breaking through the barriers to get back on track.
Decision Support
One important decision. A clearer path forward.
A focused engagement for an owner or CEO who needs experienced judgment on a consequential, time-sensitive issue. We review the context, challenge the assumptions, work through the options, and identify the most important next moves.
Duration: Up to two weeks
Decision Sprint
consequential business decision CLARITY
A focused strategic engagement that defines the real question, tests the assumptions, evaluates the economics and risks, and delivers a clear recommendation with a practical 90-day path forward.
Duration: Four to six weeks
Key Initiative Leadership
Senior leadership for an initiative that must get done
ESP steps in as the accountable executive owner for a defined priority including translating the plan into action, aligning the people involved, resolving obstacles, and driving the work toward a measurable outcome.
Duration: Eight to twelve weeks
Fractional Leadership
Executive capacity without a premature full-time hire
Ongoing strategic and operating support for owners whose businesses have grown beyond what they can personally coordinate. ESP works alongside the CEO to establish priorities, strengthen leadership accountability, improve decisions, and keep the most important work moving.
Duration: Six-month minimum
Why ESP
Not another adviser standing outside the work
The most difficult business problems rarely fail because no one can produce a presentation. They fail because the real decision remains unclear, the economics have not been tested, the people who must act are not aligned, or no experienced leader has taken ownership of execution.
Tom Reynolds has spent more than three decades working at precisely the intersection of strategy, leadership, investment, and execution.
A structured problem-solver who has had a seat on every side of the table.
Top-tier consulting background. Tom began his career at Price Waterhouse and later advised companies at Booz Allen Hamilton. He knows how to structure ambiguity, test assumptions, and turn complexity into a decision across multiple sectors and verticals.
CEO's office experience. At Viacom, he served as chief of staff to a divisional Chairman and CEO before leading strategy and business development. He understands the reality behind executive decisions: competing priorities, incomplete information, organizational dynamics, and the need to execute.
Accountability as an operator. Tom has worked as an entrepreneur and interim executive. He has had to own the plan after the meeting ends, work through constraints, and deliver results with real people and real resources.
An investor’s discipline. As a private-equity partner and adviser, he learned to evaluate opportunities through economics, risk, capability, and value creation.
Direct senior attention. Tom personally leads every engagement. There is no handoff and no layers between the client and the person exercising judgment.
CONSULTANT RIGOR
OPERATIOR JUDGEMENT
INVESTOR DISCIPLINE
The advantage
ESP can move from boardroom question to operating plan and, when needed, stay accountable for execution. That combination is uncommon because most advisers have occupied only one side of the table.
CONSULTANT RIGOR | OPERATOR JUDGMENT | INVESTOR DISCIPLINE
Contact
In a few sentences, please describe the decision, opportunity, or priority you need to move forward along with the ; the outcome you are seeking; why it matters now; and what has prevented progress. Please also indicate whether you primarily need help reaching a decision, developing a plan, leading a specific initiative, or providing ongoing executive capacity. You do not need a polished brief. If there appears to be a fit, Tom will suggest a focused 30-minute introductory conversation.