CEO Strategic Blueprint
A deeper diagnostic and implementation plan for CEOs who need to answer, “Where do I start?” Includes prioritised actions and a practical 90-day path.
An Extra Chair
Another senior mind at the table.
Your CEO-level strategic partner and intelligence office.
A matched CEO-level partner, senior operators and an AI-powered intelligence layer working around your priorities — from strategy and growth to partnerships, capital, people, opportunities and execution.
Human first. AI powered.
The problem
The CEO rarely lacks advice. The problem is having the right perspective, with enough context, at the moment it matters.
Boards, lawyers, accountants, executives and consultants each see part of the picture. An Extra Chair sits outside the organisation but stays close enough to understand the whole. You get a senior counterpart who can challenge the thinking, connect the dots and help turn decisions into action.
At your level. On your side.
Altitude
A general doesn't fight from the trenches. Neither should a CEO.
When you're running the business, taking a step back isn't always possible. You're expected to have the broadest view of the company while often standing closest to its problems. An Extra Chair gives you altitude: an objective CEO-level perspective outside the day-to-day, supported by an AI-powered intelligence office that researches, prepares, connects information and brings the right senior expertise into the room when you need it.
Senior judgement, supported by an intelligence capability that would be difficult for any individual adviser to replicate.
Get Your CEO Opportunity Report
See what an outside perspective sees.
The model
More than another adviser in the room.
A CEO can carry the capability internally, bring in advisers or consultants issue by issue, or put a connected senior support system around the role. An Extra Chair is designed as the third model: one continuing relationship combining objective senior judgement, research and data, wider specialist access, execution support and an AI-powered intelligence layer.
| Capability | Do it yourself | Traditional adviser / consultant | An Extra Chair |
|---|---|---|---|
| Objective external perspective | Difficult when you are inside the issue | Yes | CEO-level and continuous |
| Whole-business view | CEO carries the context | Often engagement-specific | Cross-functional context |
| Context over time | Lives with CEO/team | Often resets between engagements | Accumulates across relationship |
| Research and intelligence | Internal workload | Project-dependent | Integrated into support model |
| AI-powered research & preparation | Build/manage internally | Varies | Built into intelligence layer |
| Senior specialist network | Source individuals separately | Usually firm/network dependent | Wider senior capability as required |
| Strategy | CEO/team | Core strength for many advisers | CEO-level strategic support |
| Execution support | Internal burden | Scope-dependent | Available through wider support network |
| Opportunities & introductions | CEO's own network | Varies | Connected into wider relationship/network |
| Meeting preparation & follow-through | CEO/team | Varies | Supported by intelligence office |
| Single-point coordination | CEO coordinates providers | Usually engagement-specific | Unified support model |
| CEO bandwidth created | Limited | Project-specific | Designed to increase CEO leverage |
How An Extra Chair compares with doing it yourself and with a traditional adviser
Objective external perspective
- Do it yourself
- Difficult when you are inside the issue
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Yes
- An Extra Chair
- CEO-level and continuous
Whole-business view
- Do it yourself
- CEO carries the context
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Often engagement-specific
- An Extra Chair
- Cross-functional context
Context over time
- Do it yourself
- Lives with CEO/team
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Often resets between engagements
- An Extra Chair
- Accumulates across relationship
Research and intelligence
- Do it yourself
- Internal workload
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Project-dependent
- An Extra Chair
- Integrated into support model
AI-powered research & preparation
- Do it yourself
- Build/manage internally
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Varies
- An Extra Chair
- Built into intelligence layer
Senior specialist network
- Do it yourself
- Source individuals separately
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Usually firm/network dependent
- An Extra Chair
- Wider senior capability as required
Strategy
- Do it yourself
- CEO/team
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Core strength for many advisers
- An Extra Chair
- CEO-level strategic support
Execution support
- Do it yourself
- Internal burden
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Scope-dependent
- An Extra Chair
- Available through wider support network
Opportunities & introductions
- Do it yourself
- CEO's own network
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Varies
- An Extra Chair
- Connected into wider relationship/network
Meeting preparation & follow-through
- Do it yourself
- CEO/team
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Varies
- An Extra Chair
- Supported by intelligence office
Single-point coordination
- Do it yourself
- CEO coordinates providers
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Usually engagement-specific
- An Extra Chair
- Unified support model
CEO bandwidth created
- Do it yourself
- Limited
- Traditional adviser / consultant
- Project-specific
- An Extra Chair
- Designed to increase CEO leverage
Advisory and consulting firms vary considerably. This comparison describes typical engagement structures and the intended An Extra Chair operating model, not every adviser or consultancy.
Why it matters
One poor decision can cost more than a year of better support.
A bad senior hire. A partnership missed. A negotiation handled late. A market move nobody saw. The value is not the number of advisory hours you buy. It is better judgement, earlier opportunity detection, faster decisions and senior capacity when the stakes are high.
- 01Better decisions
- 02More senior capacity
- 03Earlier risks
- 04More opportunities
How it works
We do the homework before we take your time.
See what we see
Complete the CEO Opportunity Report assessment. We combine what you tell us with public research and any supporting material you choose to provide.
We do the analysis
Our system researches the business, checks evidence and builds a CEO-level view of priorities, opportunities, risks and blind spots. If something material is unclear, we may contact you to clarify it.
Human-reviewed before release
The draft goes through internal human QA before it is released. You receive a reviewed CEO Opportunity Report, not an unreviewed AI output.
Decide what deserves attention
The report turns the information into priorities and practical next actions and, where there is a fit, presents the recommended next step.
Start My Report
Start with a view of your own business.
What we look across
The whole business, not one departmental lens.
The point is not to produce twelve separate consulting workstreams. It is to understand where the issues connect and where one decision changes another.
- Strategy
- Growth & Sales
- Capital
- Partnerships
- Leadership & Hiring
- Brand & Positioning
- M&A
- Market Expansion
- Technology & AI
- Governance
- Execution
- CEO Bandwidth
Human first. AI powered.
The technology works in the background. Senior judgement stays in the room.
Our systems research, organise, monitor and prepare information so experienced people can spend their time on judgement, decisions, relationships and execution. We do not sell AI as a substitute for a CEO, adviser or specialist.
Human judgement
AI-powered intelligence
Senior execution support
Ways to work with us
Ways to work with us.
CEO Strategic Advisory
A recurring CEO-level counterpart for judgement, challenge, perspective and high-value decision support.
Flagship
CEO Office
Our flagship relationship — CEO-level partnership plus proactive intelligence and coordinated senior support around your priorities.
Embedded CEO Office
Deeper operating involvement with a matched CEO Strategic Partner and dedicated Senior Engagement Lead.
Start With the Free Report
Not sure which level of support fits?
Who it is for
Built for leaders with consequential decisions, not for companies looking for commodity consulting.
- 01
Decisions cross functions and cannot be handed neatly to one department.
- 02
The CEO needs another experienced person with no internal politics.
- 03
Timing, judgement or a missed opportunity has meaningful economic consequence.
- 04
The business values continuity and context rather than generic one-off advice.
If you're primarily looking for recruitment, executive coaching, commodity consulting or a large junior delivery team, we're probably not the right answer.
CEO Opportunity Report
Before you buy anything, see what we see.
The CEO Opportunity Report is the structured starting point. Tell us what matters, let us research the surrounding context, and we'll build an initial view of the priorities, opportunities and issues worth keeping visible.
Get Your CEO Opportunity ReportNo generic chatbot. No hour-long discovery form. We use what you tell us and do the research around it.
- Intelligent intake
- Public research
- Opportunity mapping
- 90-day starting priorities
- Human-reviewed output
- Board-ready report
There is usually room for one more perspective — if it is the right one.
Start with the CEO Opportunity Report. We'll do the homework, identify what deserves attention and determine whether An Extra Chair can add enough value to justify a deeper relationship.
Get Your CEO Opportunity ReportAt your level. On your side.
