HOW WE WORK
Not a consultancy model.
An advisory relationship.
ASG engagements operate fundamentally differently from traditional consulting. We embed ourselves deeply into your challenges, work at the executive level, and deliver outcomes designed for implementation, not just recommendations gathering dust.
OUR PRINCIPLES
How we bring value
Senior-Led, Always
Aaron is on every engagement. There's no junior staffing or bench rotation. You work directly with the principal, not a rotating cast of consultants.
Scope to the Challenge
No retainer padding or scope creep. We define exactly what you need solved and price accordingly. You pay for impact, not hours logged.
Built for Implementation
Deliverables are designed to be executed. We create playbooks, roadmaps, and frameworks your team can actually use, not theoretical abstractions.
OUR PROCESS
The engagement lifecycle
Diagnose
We identify what is actually slowing execution, not just what is easiest to blame.
Prioritize
We help leadership teams make sharper strategic choices and define what matters most now.
Align
We clarify roles, decision-making, and operating rhythm so teams can move together.
Execute
We stay close enough to help momentum build, not just hand over a deck and disappear.
Transfer Capability
We build systems and leadership muscle so progress continues without long-term dependency.
THE DIFFERENCE
ASG vs. traditional consulting
Traditional Consulting
- ✕Junior-led teams with senior review
- ✕100+ page decks and reports
- ✕Knowledge leaves when consultants do
- ✕Retainer-based with scope expansion
- ✕Recommendations handed off for execution
- ✕Team rotates, continuity breaks
- ✕Billable hours drive delivery
ASG Approach
- ✓Principal-led engagement, always
- ✓Concise, actionable deliverables
- ✓Knowledge embedded in your team
- ✓Fixed-scope, fixed-fee engagements
- ✓We guide execution alongside you
- ✓Consistent leadership throughout
- ✓Impact drives delivery
ENGAGEMENT MODELS
Choose the model that fits
Project-Based
A defined scope with clear deliverables and timeline. For strategy refinement, organizational redesign, or focused problem-solving.
- →Fixed scope and fee
- →Defined timeline
- →Specific deliverables
- →Executive-level engagement
Advisory Retainer
Ongoing executive counsel on evolving challenges. For sustained guidance as you navigate strategy, build capabilities, or work through complex decisions.
- →Monthly advisory hours
- →Flexible scope within retainer
- →Principal continuity
- →Strategic counsel focus
Embedded Support
Fractional executive presence on your team. For organizations needing experienced leadership during transition, buildout, or execution phases.
- →Flexible time commitment
- →Part-time executive role
- →Direct operational involvement
- →Strategic + tactical work
FAQ
Common questions
What does a fractional COO actually do?+
A fractional COO gives you experienced operational leadership without a full-time executive hire. Through our Embedded Support model, Aaron joins your team part-time, installing operating cadence, governance, and accountability systems, and working directly with leadership to turn strategy into consistent execution.
How is Aspen Strategy Group different from a traditional consulting firm?+
Traditional firms staff junior teams, produce long reports, and leave execution to you. ASG engagements are principal-led from start to finish, scoped to the challenge rather than a retainer calendar, and built for implementation. We guide execution alongside your team and embed the knowledge so it stays after we leave.
Who actually leads the engagement?+
Aaron Poh, ASG's founder, leads every engagement. There is no handoff to junior consultants and no rotating bench; you work directly with the principal throughout.
How long does a typical engagement last?+
Engagements are scoped to the challenge. If the work takes four weeks, it takes four weeks; if it takes six months, it takes six months, but it doesn't last a day longer than it needs to. We don't pad retainers or expand scope.
How is pricing structured?+
Project engagements are fixed-scope and fixed-fee: you receive a clear scope, timeline, deliverables, and investment before work begins. Advisory retainers and embedded (fractional) support are structured around a defined time commitment. You pay for impact, not hours logged.
Who does ASG work with?+
Founders and growth-stage businesses, CEOs and executive teams, and chiefs of staff and senior operators. ASG is U.S.-based, with presence in Aspen, CO and Washington, DC, and serves organizations nationally.
How does an engagement start?+
With a discovery conversation: not a sales call, and no RFP required. We listen to your situation, determine whether ASG is the right fit (and tell you honestly if it isn't), then design a scoped proposal around the challenge.
Part of a broader ecosystem
ASG is rooted in the Aspen Strategy Collective, a network of experienced operators and advisors.