Structure that holds without you.
I install the operating structure founder-led businesses run on — forward cash visibility, decision authority, a leadership rhythm that produces decisions, and one accountable owner per outcome — then develop your leadership team to hold it, so the business stops depending on you to hold it together.
The bottleneck is structural, not personal
Most founders do not stall from bad decisions. They stall because responsibility grows faster than structure — until the business depends on one person to hold it together. The partners could run the firm, the team could carry the work, but neither can, because the operating model was never built. I install that structure and develop the leadership team to hold it, so the business becomes structurally independent of its founder.
The Firm Foundation Framework
Four pillars. Each maps a human symptom to a structural correction, installed in sequence.
Financial Visibility
You find out about a cash problem when it has already happened.
Predictive 30–90 day forward cash flow and margin-by-service-line tracking.
02Decision Authority
Every discount, hire and purchase still waits for your yes.
Threshold-Based Authority Maps — who decides what, without the founder.
03Leadership Rhythm
The weekly meeting happens. Nothing changes because of it.
Decision-First Cadences that replace activity-reporting meetings.
04Accountability Design
Everyone agrees it matters. No-one's name is against it.
Outcome Governance — one accountable owner for every critical KPI.
Two ways to work together
Most engagements start with the 4-Week Operational Assessment — a paid, no-obligation look at exactly how I work, ending in a prioritised plan that's yours to keep. From there, two ways to continue:
Founder Operational Advisory
Installs operational structure and develops the leadership team to hold it, then hands ownership back — install, stabilise, exit.
£2,600–£5,500PER MONTH · 3–6 MONTHSRight when revenue is £500k–£2M and the right systems do not yet exist.
Fractional COO
Embedded operational leadership for businesses that need ongoing governance rather than a time-limited correction.
£6,500–£11,500PER MONTH · ONGOINGRight when drift keeps returning and revenue is £1M+ with compounding complexity.
The first ninety days of an embedded engagement are set out week by week — what gets installed in days 1–30, 31–60 and 61–90.
Proven outcomes
Where the drift shows up first
The four pillars are the same in every sector. The failure pattern is not. Each sector page names the pattern, the numbers that matter, and the fix.
Law firms
Partners as the operational engine, lock-up creeping past 130 days, collections inconsistent.
02Digital agencies
Margin unknown until year end, utilisation guessed, the founder inside every account.
03Construction
The founder on site and in the office, delivery tied to one person's presence.
04Professional services
Fee-earners lead, no-one owns operations, capacity invisible until it breaks.
I work with founders at the point where the business has outgrown the way it is run. The job is to redesign the system so it no longer depends on any one person to hold it together.David Schofield · Fractional COO, Purpose In Action
What founders say
AAWe love working with David. It may end up being the most impactful decision we have made in our business.
Law firm partner
LTHe builds operating rhythm. Getting a leadership team to meet consistently, with a real agenda and a place for issues to land, sounds simple. It isn't. David makes it stick, and the results show.
Lloyd T · Founder, business consultancy
TTDavid has a rare ability to help you cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters.
Tomáš Tašić · CEO
MWHe turns operational insight into meaningful change. I recommend him to any founder looking for not only measurable efficiencies, but sustainable top-line revenue growth.
Max Warren · Fractional COO & CRO
What founders ask before they start
Do you install a framework before you understand the business?
No. Engagements start with the 4-Week Operational Assessment: four weeks inside the business, talking to each key person, before any dashboard, map or meeting goes in.
What if a senior person can't own their area?
Give them a written limit, a number and a weekly review, and you'll know within a quarter. If they still can't hold it, we check the role before the person. Hiring stays your call.
What if I'm the bottleneck?
I'll say so. Your team gets written limits, and you get one rule: a decision inside someone's limit goes back to them, every time. I hold you to it each week.
Can I speak to your clients?
Engagements run under confidentiality, so no. Clutch verifies my client reviews independently, and you can treat the assessment as the audition: four weeks of the real work before you commit to more.
The longer answers are on the fractional COO page.
Reference data
Published, sourced and maintained — the numbers this practice works from.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional COO?
A senior chief operating officer who works inside your business part-time — one to three days a week — with the authority and accountability of the role and none of the full-time overhead. The full picture: what a fractional COO does.
How is this different from a management consultant?
A consultant diagnoses and hands you a recommendation. I install the operating structure, develop the team to run it, and stay accountable until it holds. The outcome sits with the person who designed the system — not with a report.
Who do you work with?
Founder- and partner-led businesses between £500k and £15M — law firms, digital agencies, construction, and professional services — in the UK and US. The common thread: growth has outpaced the way the business is run, and the founder has become the single point of failure.
What does it cost?
Founder Operational Advisory runs £2,600–£5,500 per month, for three to six months. The embedded Fractional COO engagement runs £6,500–£11,500 per month. Both prices are on the page because you should not have to book a call to find out.
How do we start?
A 30-minute Operational Clarity Call — a direct read of where the business stands, not a sales pitch. Most founders then start with the 4-Week Operational Assessment: paid, embedded, no obligation to continue, ending in a prioritised written plan that is yours either way.
Begin with a conversation
A focused 30-minute Operational Clarity Call — a direct read of where the business stands, not a sales pitch. Time-boxed work, ownership handed back, no obligation.
Book an Operational Clarity Call →