When the seat is empty
The business doesn't pause.
It leaks.
You don't need advice. You need clarity — or an operator in the seat. Interim COO and Branch GM coverage for $100M–$600M+ multi-branch landscape platforms.
The Reality
At your scale, leadership gaps are not rare events. They are operational risk.
Decisions slow down. Field confidence drops. Workarounds replace process. Margin quietly disappears. Most platforms try to cover it internally — and that works for about two weeks.
At platform scale, this cost is funded from corporate ops — not the branch P&L.
90-Day Vacancy Cost · Single Branch
Leadership bandwidth pulled off priorities
$
38–52K
Missed change orders and execution gaps
$
22–40K
Avoidable turnover during the uncertainty
$
15–35K
Total impact, per seat: $93,000 – $155,000
Two Engagement Types
Different problems. Different products.
Sprint and Full Seat are not different sizes of the same thing. They solve different problems. The Sprint is diagnostic under pressure. The Full Seat is continuity under transition. Choose based on the question you're asking yourself.
01 · Stabilization Sprint
Diagnostic under pressure.
For when something is off and the platform needs an operator's read on it — fast.
- Operational Gap Assessment — full diagnostic across the branch or platform, written and delivered
- Decision clarity installed in the highest-risk areas, week one
- Time and margin leak map — what's costing you and where
- Recommendations with priority — what to fix now, what can wait, what isn't actually broken
Outcome:
a clear picture of what's actually happening, what it's costing, and what needs to change next.
Investment
$24,000 all-in
02 · Full Seat Engagement
Continuity under transition.
For when the seat is empty — and every week it stays empty is costing you.
- Interim GM / COO in the seat — full P&L authority defined before day one
- Decision Rights Framework — every recurring decision mapped to its owner
- SOPs installed in the highest-risk processes, operationalized with the team
- Transition Memo at exit+ 30-day overlap so your permanent hire walks into stability
Outcome:
your next leader walks into a working operation, not a rebuild.
Investment
$34,000 / mo all-in
If you're asking
"What's actually going on?"
Start with the Sprint.
Start with the Sprint.
If you're asking
"Who is running this right now?"
You need the Full Seat.
You need the Full Seat.
Pricing & Terms
All-in pricing.
No travel surprises.
Fixed fee per engagement. Travel built in. Every term agreed before day one — because there are no ambiguous expectations in an interim engagement.
Stabilization Sprint
2 – 3 weeks · all-in · travel built in · diagnostic + immediate stabilization
$24,000 all-in
Full Seat Engagement
60 – 180 days · 3.5 days onsite weekly + Friday remote · all deliverables · travel built in
$34,000 / mo all-in
Travel Tiers
Standard rate covers Tier 1 markets
— Southeast, Texas, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic. Tier 2 markets(West Coast, Mountain West, Northeast metros) carry a $2,500/month premium built into the rate. Tier confirmed in the engagement letter before signing.
Onsite Cadence
Sun evening to Thu afternoon — 3.5 days weekly
for Full Seat. Friday remote.
Authority
Full operational authority defined in the Statement of Work
before day one.
Vehicle
Client provides business vehicle during onsite days. Standard PL/GL insurance carried.
Deposit
33%
on signed engagement letter. Balance in equal monthly installments.
Payment
ACH or wire. Net 15
from invoice date.
Cancellation
Either party with 30-day written notice.
Pre-engagement schedule applies.
Founding Engagement Rate
A limited number of founding engagements
are available in exchange for case study development and reference access. Inquire for current availability.
Limited Slots
Sunset Dec 31, 2026
Common Questions
The questions every COO asks.
Sprint or Full Seat — how do I choose?
Different products, different problems. Sprint
is for when you're asking "what's actually going on?" — you sense something is off but can't put your finger on it. Two to three weeks of operator-grade diagnostic work, a written Operational Gap Assessment, and immediate stabilization in the highest-risk areas. Full Seat
is for when you're asking "who is running this right now?" — the seat is empty and the longer it stays empty the more it's costing you. 60 to 180 days, full operational authority, in the seat. The Sprint is not a smaller version of the Full Seat — it's a different product entirely.
How is this different from hiring a consultant?
Consultants write decks. I sit in the seat with full operational authority,
run the branch P&L, and make the decisions a permanent GM would make. If at the end of week one I haven't delivered an Operational Gap Assessment that you would pay for on its own, the engagement ends and you owe nothing.
We promote from within. Why would we use this?
That is exactly why this works. When you promote Marcus into the GM seat next quarter, his first 60 days are the most fragile period of his career. I sit in the seat next to him
while he ramps. The branch does not lose a step. When I leave, Marcus has a Decision Rights Document and a Transition Memo that compress his learning curve by six months. I make your internal hire succeed. I do not replace it.
We have a recruiter on the search. Why add another cost?
The placement fee on a permanent GM is $40K–$80K. That fee evaporates if your candidate starts into a deteriorating branch and quits in 90 days. I protect the placement.
The recruiter and I do different jobs. The recruiter finds the permanent hire. I keep the operation running while they look.
Why is the pricing all-in? What happened to travel?
Travel is built into the engagement fee. There is no separate travel invoice, no receipts to chase, no end-of-month surprises. Standard rate covers Tier 1 markets.
Tier 2 markets (West Coast, Mountain West, Northeast metros) carry a $2,500/month premium built into the engagement rate. Tier is confirmed in the engagement letter before signing.
How quickly can engagement begin?
Typically 14–21 days from signed engagement letter, depending on calendar availability. Pre-engagement preparation — research, SOW drafting, scheduling — happens in week zero. Day one onsite is a working day, not an orientation.
What does the Statement of Work include?
Engagement scope, defined operational authority, weekly schedule, deliverable list with delivery dates, exit criteria, payment schedule, travel tier, and acceptance criteria. Drafted by Paul, reviewed and signed by both parties before week one. No ambiguous expectations.
The Next Step
A 20-minute call.
A straight answer on fit.
Tell me about the situation. I will tell you whether this is a fit — and which engagement type. If neither is right, I will tell you that too.
Book the Fit CallNo pitch. No deck. A conversation about your branch.