The CEO Perspective

Most fractional engagements don’t fail because the executive lacks the skills. They fail because the fractional misreads what’s happening on the other side of the table — inside the CEO’s head. Having placed and coached hundreds of fractional executives, and worked directly with hundreds of CEOs who hire them, Henning Schwinum has watched the same patterns repeat: unclear expectations, vague scope, insufficient authority, and communication that quietly stalls out. Fractionals who recognize these patterns early, and know how to address them before day one, dramatically improve the odds that an engagement succeeds.
In this session, Henning flips the lens. Rather than teaching fractional executives how to sell themselves, he shows them how CEOs actually think: what they say versus what they mean, what they consistently get right and wrong when engaging fractional talent, and where the “window of opportunity” for a fractional role opens and closes across a company’s growth. Drawing on his book, Right-Sized, Right-Skilled™, and hundreds of real engagements, attendees leave with a practical framework for asking the right questions upfront, securing real authority instead of advisory status, and positioning themselves as an embedded leader rather than “the consultant.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS
•The four conditions that cause most fractional engagements to fail — and how to test for them before signing
•How to spot a good-fit CEO versus a bad one during the very first conversation
•The five mistakes CEOs make with fractional talent, and how to head off each one
•Why timing matters more than talent — and how to identify your “window of opportunity” in any prospective engagement