Fractional COO · Ongoing Leadership
Hands-on operational leadership shaped by Fortune 500 experience—adapted to your business, your team, and your budget.
We find the gaps, lead improvements, and develop your team so more issues are resolved before they reach you.
What It Is
A chief operating officer turns business direction into organized execution. Fractional means you engage that leadership part-time, within the operating areas and authority we agree with you.
We take ownership of agreed operational priorities: understanding the problem, making the plan, coordinating implementation, developing the people involved, and reviewing the result. The work continues beyond a recommendation or an action list.
Your team leads daily execution. We handle the unresolved operational issues, strengthen how the team works, and keep the improvement program moving. You retain business direction and the decisions reserved for you.
What You Receive
The engagement connects the plan, the implementation, the people, and the performance review. Your proposal identifies the operating areas and priorities included.
We examine the agreed parts of your business, identify gaps and their impact, and set the first improvement priority.
You receive: a starting-point summary, prioritized operating plan, named owners, and success measures.
We redesign workflows, clarify handoffs and decision rules, coordinate implementation, and check that the change works with the people using it.
You receive: agreed changes, usable procedures or checklists, and a record of testing, decisions, and remaining issues.
We help your team investigate recurring problems, recognize patterns, strengthen operational judgment, and decide what to handle or escalate.
You receive: practical coaching tied to real work, clearer responsibilities, and an escalation path.
We train your team at the level of their responsibilities: following the new process, recognizing gaps, handling authorized decisions, and raising the right issues.
You receive: process training and guidance your team can return to after the session.
Your team brings unresolved, recurring, or broader issues to us. We address the cause, lead the agreed response, and bring owner decisions forward with a recommendation.
You receive: clear explanations, business impact, recommended action, and the specific decision needed from you.
We build a simple dashboard, review whether completed changes are holding, and adapt priorities as the business grows or its needs change.
You receive: progress updates showing completed work, measures, open issues, next priorities, and decisions needed.
We agree on what success means, document responsibilities, test changes with the team, and review evidence before describing an improvement as achieved. If the starting information is missing, we establish how it will be collected.
An Example Engagement
This illustrates one improvement priority. The sequence and delivery dates are confirmed around your scope, access to records, decisions, and team availability.
Days 1–30
First checkpoint: an agreed priority, baseline or measurement plan, and a clear path into implementation.
Days 31–60
Second checkpoint: an implemented improvement with usable guidance, training, and early performance information.
Days 61–90
90-day checkpoint: a results review, updated operating plan, and clear ownership of completed changes.
Illustrative Priority
We identify the repeat issues, clarify team authority, create a decision and escalation guide, train the team, and track what still reaches you. The improvement becomes part of how the business operates.
How It Works
| Who | Primary responsibility |
|---|---|
| The Lettsome Firm | Lead agreed operational improvements, coach the team, resolve escalations within authority, coordinate delivery, and review performance. |
| Your team | Run daily work, apply agreed processes, recognize gaps, resolve routine issues within assigned responsibilities, and escalate unresolved or wider problems to us through the agreed path. |
| You, the owner | Set direction, approve reserved spending and people decisions, provide access, and make timely decisions when your involvement is needed. |
Kickoff, discovery with the owner and your team, access to the agreed records, and clear priorities and authority.
Generally weekly or biweekly working meetings, with escalation between meetings under agreed response expectations.
Monthly progress updates and a review of priorities. A stable engagement may move to monthly owner meetings.
Availability, communication channels, response windows, decision authority, and who carries out technical work are confirmed in writing. This is scheduled, part-time leadership; your internal team continues daily execution.
The Investment
Starting at $3,000 per month, with an initial three-month engagement. Your quote reflects the operating responsibilities, complexity, participation, and support agreed for your business.
Full-Time Hire · Illustration
$200,000annual salary scenarioAbout $16,667 per month in salary, before employer benefits, recruiting, and other employment costs.
Lettsome · Starting Retainer
$36,000annualized fees at $3,000 per month$9,000 across the initial three months at the starting rate. Continuing service follows your written agreement.
$164,000 difference in annualized cost in this illustration.
The $200,000 salary is an illustrative hiring scenario. A full-time employee and a fractional engagement provide different availability and responsibilities. The comparison excludes benefits, hiring costs, software, and separately scoped work.
Salary context: BLS reports a $213,990 median annual wage for chief executives in May 2025. This broad category includes COOs and other executives; it is not a COO-specific salary benchmark. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Top Executives · May 2025 pay data.
Is This Your Fit?
This service fits an established law firm, medical practice, accounting firm, or other professional service business with a team that can take ownership of daily execution.
Decision Questions
We act as a fractional operational leader within the responsibilities and authority agreed with you. We lead implementation and follow-through, coach your team, address escalations, and review results. Your team carries out its assigned work; you retain business direction and reserved decisions.
No. Reviewing the agreed operating areas and establishing priorities can be part of the monthly engagement. A standalone assessment is available when you want a plan before deciding whether to proceed with implementation.
Your operating plan identifies owners, milestones, and success measures. Updates show completed improvements, current performance, remaining issues, and next priorities. We separate measured results from estimates and explain any missing information.
We start with your existing tools and compare useful technology with simpler process changes. We review expected benefit, cost, information readiness, and human review. Additional tools, technical delivery, or an AI build require an approved scope and cost before proceeding.
We review the first priorities, evidence of improvement, and the next needs. Continuing support, any change in responsibilities, cancellation, and handover follow your written agreement.
Your Next Step
Bring the problem to a free 30-minute discovery call. We’ll discuss the result you want, the people involved, and a useful scope.
Book A COO Support Call
