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Executive advisor for founders, CEOs and senior leaders
The more senior you get, the fewer people will tell you what they really think.
I work with founders and senior executives who want someone outside the system to think with them properly. Sometimes it is about the company. Sometimes it is about them. Usually it is both.
No fixed method. No need to make the problem fit the process.
Why this work exists
At a certain level, a bad assumption is rarely cheap.
What people bring
The question you arrive with is not always the one we end up working on.
You may start with a hiring decision and end up talking about whether you still want the job yourself. Or come in with a strategy question that is really about trust, ownership or timing. That is often where the useful work starts. I do not try to force it back into a neat category.
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Is this really the best decision, or have I already decided and am I now building the argument around it?
03
Why does this team not work as well as it should, even though the people are good?
04
Do I hire, fire, sell, stay, step back, push harder or leave it alone for now?
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What do I do when money or title are no longer the main reason to keep going?
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What would I choose if I did not have to explain or defend it to everyone around me?
How I approach it
I do not care much what we call the work.
Sometimes I will ask questions. Sometimes I will tell you I think your reasoning is weak. Sometimes we will map out options, read through a board paper or prepare a difficult conversation. Whether that is coaching, advisory or just a useful conversation matters less to me than whether it helps.
01 · Check the premise
Before we get into the answer, we check whether the assumptions underneath it still make sense.
02 · Look at the whole picture
Business decisions are rarely only about the business. Ownership, timing, ego, family and energy tend to show up whether you invite them or not.
03 · Say the awkward thing
If I think you are avoiding something or talking yourself into an answer, I will tell you.
04 · Make it useful
At some point we need to get to what you are actually going to do, say or stop doing.
Ways to work together
Sometimes one conversation does the job. Sometimes we need more time.
I keep the practice small because this work gets better when I know the context. But I also do not want to create meetings for the sake of meetings. We use the amount of time the situation needs.
Ongoing
Advisory
€2,500 / month
For people who want one person outside the company who knows enough of the history to be useful when something changes, a decision gets messy or a conversation needs preparing.
- Two substantial one-to-one sessions per month
- Voice or message access between sessions when something genuinely matters
- Quarterly extended working session
- Six-month minimum
- A deliberately small number of clients at any one time
Portugal, five days
The Portugal Week
€15,000
Five days in Portugal for the things that never quite fit into a one-hour call. You step out of the normal rhythm and we work through the issue without having to stop because the next meeting is starting.
- One client for five focused days.
- Preparation and document review before you arrive
- Long-form working sessions with room to walk, think and rework
- Business, leadership and personal context where it matters
- A clear set of decisions and next moves
- Two follow-up sessions after the week
One question
Decision Session
€1,500
A 2 to 3 hour session for one specific decision, conflict or conversation that deserves more than a quick call.
- I read the relevant context beforehand
- One focused 2 to 3 hour session
- A short written summary of the decision logic afterwards
- No follow-up obligation
Company-sponsored
Leadership Advisory
By agreement
One-to-one work for senior leaders, paid for by the company. We can work on leadership, stakeholders, role changes or difficult business decisions without turning it into a standard HR coaching programme.
- Confidential one-to-one work
- Clear agreement on what is and is not reported back
- Leadership, stakeholder and business decisions
- International and hybrid formats
The Portugal Week
A week lets us go further than a call can.
This is not a retreat and I am not going to fill five days with back-to-back coaching sessions. The point is to get enough distance from your normal week to think properly and work hard on the issue. There also needs to be room for your view to change between conversations.
You come to Portugal and we take the time to look at the whole picture. The business, your role, the people involved, the decisions you keep postponing and what you want the next few years to look like all belong in the room. We do not have to pretend those are separate questions.
Before
Start before you arrive
Before the week, you send me the material that matters. I read it, we speak once and I make sure I understand the people, history and decisions involved. We should not spend Monday morning on background you could have sent me on Friday.
Day 1
Work out what is really going on
We unpack the issue properly: what you say the problem is, what else may be going on, who has an interest in what, and which decisions have already been half-made without being named.
Days 2 to 4
Pull it apart and put it back together
We talk, analyse, walk, write things down and test different versions of the decision. There is also unplanned time. That matters. Something that feels like the answer on Tuesday can look quite different on Wednesday morning.
Day 5
Decide what changes
By the end of the week, we get specific. What changes, what stays, which conversation needs to happen first and what can finally come out of your head and become a decision.
After
See what survives the real world
Then you go back to your company, your calendar and your people. We speak twice in the following month to see what still holds up once the decisions meet reality.
€15,000 advisory fee. Travel and accommodation are separate. That keeps the week flexible and avoids turning it into a packaged retreat.
Client feedback
What clients noticed.
I work very discreetly. I do not publish client names or company names here. These are senior leaders I have worked with over longer periods, across different industries and transitions.
“We worked together for several years, through promotions, difficult situations and a much more visible role with the board. Rogier often gave me a perspective I was not getting inside the company. That became especially valuable when the obvious answer was not necessarily the right one.”
“We worked together through the full journey from Director to Executive Committee. Confidence was part of it, but just as important was learning to read the organisation properly. The sensitivities, the timing and the things nobody writes down. That made a real difference.”
“Rogier helped me see the human side of numbers and decisions more clearly. We worked on strategic choices, leadership and on building a finance function that people actually wanted to work with. It changed the way I made decisions and the way the department was seen inside the company.”
Titles and sectors are shown in broad terms only. Client names and company names are intentionally omitted.
About Rogier Bouman
I usually look at the person and the business at the same time.
I’m Rogier Bouman. I have been an entrepreneur for most of my working life and have spent the last years coaching and advising senior people across Europe. I also build and invest in technology businesses myself.
My background is an unusual mix of sociology and technical business administration. That is probably why one part of a conversation can be about incentives, product or ownership structure and the next about why you keep avoiding one particular conversation.
I do not have a trademarked method. I try to understand the situation quickly, notice what does not quite add up and be useful. Sometimes that means asking a better question. Sometimes it means saying that I think you are wrong.
Rogier BoumanFounder & advisor at Say Otherwise.
Entrepreneurial perspectiveI know what it is like when the decision is yours.
Executive advisorySeveral years of one-to-one work with senior leaders.
Technology fluentI can follow the business conversation, not only the people conversation.
Based in PortugalWorking with clients internationally.
Starting
You should know fairly quickly whether this works for you.
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Tell me what is going on
You do not need to prepare a perfect story. Tell me what is happening, what makes it difficult and what you keep coming back to.
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See how I think
I will not spend the first conversation just asking you to explain yourself. I will ask questions, push where something feels off and tell you what I am seeing.
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Keep it as light as possible
If one session is enough, we leave it there. If the issue needs more context or time, we can work together for longer or spend a week on it in Portugal.
FAQ
A few practical questions.
Partly. I have a coaching background, but I do not limit myself to coaching questions. I may challenge your reasoning, give you my view, work through a document with you or help structure a decision. That is intentional.
Mostly founders, CEOs and senior executives. Usually people who are already functioning at a high level but have reached a question that is hard to think through with the people around them.
There is no group, curriculum or wellness programme. It is you and me working for five days. Portugal gives us distance from your normal routine, but the week is about the work, not about pretending it is a retreat.
Mostly one-to-one. If it helps, I can join a founder conversation, management discussion or important meeting, but the core relationship remains with you.
Yes. If your company is paying, we agree in advance what, if anything, is reported back. I do not want you editing yourself because you are wondering where the conversation will end up.
Because the work gets better once I know the history and the people around you. That said, if you only need help with one decision, I would rather do one good session than sell you six months you do not need.
First conversation
Tell me what is really going on.
A few sentences are enough. Tell me what is happening and why it is proving difficult to resolve with the people already around you.
If I think I can help, we decide what makes sense. If I do not, I will say that too.