Executive transitions fail through predictable, systematic patterns that emerge at specific intervals. Our research across 200+ transitions identifies four critical failure windows: inadequate stakeholder intelligence (weeks 3-4), premature strategic interventions without political capital (weeks 6-8), crystallization of internal resistance networks (weeks 10-12), and irreversible loss of board confidence (weeks 14-16). The financial impact averages €2.5M in direct costs—severance, replacement search fees, and interim leadership—plus unmeasured opportunity costs from organizational disruption, talent exodus, and strategic momentum loss.

Executive transitions operate in fundamentally different physics. You face pre-existing power structures with established alliances, board-level scrutiny where every decision becomes evidence, immediate P&L responsibility typically exceeding €50M, and the "90-day verdict" where stakeholders form irreversible judgments. Unlike leadership development focused on capability building, executive transitions require navigation of complex political dynamics, management of organizational antibodies to change, and demonstration of tangible value while simultaneously learning unwritten rules. The stakes: your reputation, the organization's trajectory, and millions in shareholder value.

We've developed a systematic methodology based on pattern recognition across 200+ executive transitions, achieving an 87% success rate versus the 40% industry average. Our approach addresses three parallel workstreams: stakeholder architecture (mapping and managing complex political dynamics), integration engineering (designing your specific success sequence), and sustainable momentum (establishing irreversible progress patterns). This isn't executive coaching—it's systematic intervention design based on documented patterns of success and failure. We provide the blueprint; you execute the construction.

We work exclusively with Managing Directors, C-Suite executives, and senior leaders with €50M+ P&L responsibility facing complex organizational transitions. Optimal timing: 6 months pre-transition through first 180 days in role. Key qualification factors include: board-level visibility and scrutiny, complex stakeholder environments (matrix organizations, multiple constituencies), significant transformation mandates, and cross-cultural or cross-functional complexity. If you're wondering whether you qualify, the complexity you're facing likely answers the question.

Investment scales with complexity and stakes involved. Typical engagements range €50,000-150,000, reflecting the value of preventing a €2.5M failure while securing multi-million euro leadership success. This represents less than 5% of typical executive transition failure costs while increasing success probability from 40% to 87%. Consider the alternative: the cost of failure includes not just financial impact but reputation, career trajectory, and organizational disruption. For context, this investment equals 2-3 months of typical executive compensation while securing 18+ months of success.

The Strategic Assessment is a focused 90-minute working session examining your specific transition context. We analyze five dimensions: stakeholder complexity and political dynamics, organizational readiness and resistance patterns, your success criteria and potential failure modes, timeline pressures and critical milestones, and resource availability versus requirements. You leave with three deliverables: a Transition Risk Analysis identifying specific vulnerabilities, preliminary architectural recommendations for your first 90 days, and a clear mutual decision on engagement fit. This assessment alone typically surfaces insights that reshape executive thinking about their transition.