Is Your C-Suite Balancing Brains and Boots?

Is Your C-Suite Balancing Brains and Boots?

Let’s start with a fictitious (but very realistic) cautionary tale. At a recent board retreat for a mid-sized AE firm, the CEO began a PowerPoint presentation on the firm’s long-term vision—2035, to be exact. It was full of sleek charts, megatrends, and words like “resiliency,” “carbon-positive,” and “hypergrowth.” Fifteen minutes in, the COO quietly flipped open his laptop and began furiously working on a staffing matrix to address the fact that the firm was about to be swamped by three major projects. The CFO, meanwhile, leaned over to whisper that if they didn’t send out invoices by Friday, payroll might be delayed.

The tension in the room wasn’t personal. It was philosophical.

One person was in the clouds. One was on the factory floor. And the third was trying to pay for both.

This kind of scene plays out every day across AE firms of all sizes—where timing, situational awareness, and role clarity make the difference between a firm that thrives and one that tiptoes along the edge of chaos.

In today’s landscape of economic wobble, inflation indigestion, capital consolidation, and an ever-shrinking talent pool, it’s no longer enough for the C-suiters to just “stay in their lanes.” Those lanes have merged. And yet, not everyone should be doing the same kind of thinking all the time.

So, when should the CEO think tactically? When must the COO go strategic? When should the CFO step away from spreadsheets and ask, “Where are we really headed?” And how do they all avoid stepping on each other’s toes—or worse, leaving blind spots?

Let’s map this out.

Why Strategy and Tactics Get Confused—Fast

Strategic thinking is about shaping the firm’s future—what bets to place, which markets to enter, how to stay relevant over the next decade. Tactics are about execution—who does what, by when, with what resources.

In theory, strategy is the compass, tactics are the boots. But in practice, the lines blur constantly—especially in AE firms where the C-suite may be just three people and all of them are being cc’d on just about every email that comes in and goes out of the company.

Let’s take each role in turn—and where they need to live on the strategy-tactic spectrum to keep the firm chugging along.

The CEO: Visionary, But Not Unplugged

The CEO is the face of the firm, the brand steward, and the ultimate accountable party for long-term success. They must think strategically by default—because no one else is going to do it if they don’t.

When the CEO should think strategically:

• Market positioning. Should we double down on health care, move into EV infrastructure, or finally exit federal work?
• Geographic expansion. Are we ready to open in Denver? Or are we chasing a mirage because one client dropped a hint?
• Leadership development. Who’s going to take the reins in five years? Or ten? (Hint: It’s not the guy who keeps declining your calendar invites.)
• M&A targets. What kind of firms will actually fit—and move the needle?

When the CEO must get tactical (briefly):

• During a crisis. If the firm’s largest project goes sideways or key staff walk, the CEO can’t sit in the “strategy-only” ivory tower. Clients need to hear from the top. Staff need reassurance. The ship needs a hand on the wheel.
• Early-stage initiatives. When launching a new practice area or service line, the CEO often needs to be in it to win internal buy-in.
• Culture enforcement. It’s one thing to declare “we value innovation.” It’s another to tactically back that up when someone takes a risk and fails.

What to avoid:

CEOs that drift into COO land—fixating on billability and parking spaces—lose altitude fast. It erodes trust in the big picture.

The COO: The Orchestra Conductor Who Needs to Hear the Future

If the CEO is trying to keep the firm off the rocks, the COO is keeping it moving forward at the right speed. That means capacity planning, systems, and performance—but also understanding what the firm needs to be good at doing five years from now.

When the COO should think strategically:

• Operational readiness for growth. Can we scale our delivery if we win that giant contract—or will it expose every process we have failed to fully integrate?
• Technology investments. Which tools are worth investing in now to prevent bottlenecks later?
• Talent development. Are we training project managers just to survive or to lead full offices someday?

When the COO must stay tactical:

• Process improvement. If scheduling is a mess, proposals are lagging, or change orders get lost in the ether, the COO needs to fix it—personally if necessary.
• Project margin protection. Is our PM discipline slipping? Are fee burn rates being tracked in real time? That’s COO territory.
• Internal accountability. When teams aren’t meeting their targets, the COO is the one who calls the meeting—and brings the chart.

What to avoid:

The COO who tries to “vision-cast” without fixing the basics is essentially rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.

The CFO: Beyond the Bean Counting

Most AE firm CFOs are already wearing more hats than they signed up for: financial strategist, risk manager, HR referee, and, increasingly, data storyteller. But where they focus their brainpower—strategy or tactics—can make or break the firm’s financial future.

When the CFO should think strategically:

• Capital allocation. Where should we be investing—new markets, digital tools, marketing and business development?
• Ownership transition. Is our valuation approach preparing us for a fair and feasible internal sale or a painful reckoning?
• Long-term profitability. Are we building a business model that thrives on complexity—or survives on volume?

When the CFO must stay tactical:

• Cash management. This is especially important now. Interest rates are real. Working capital matters. The money has to be there, every Friday.
• Billing and collections. Unsexy but essential. And yes, the CFO still needs to get involved with delinquent clients when needed.
• Forecast accuracy. Finance isn’t just a scorekeeper—it’s a spotlight. Tactical reporting accuracy powers strategic decisions.

What to avoid:

CFOs who talk only about “optimizing EBITDA” without understanding how projects actually work can lose credibility fast. Likewise, getting lost in tactical details without shaping the capital picture is a missed opportunity.

Other C’s Worth Mentioning

I’d be remiss not to acknowledge other important C’s in many AE firms:

CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)

• Strategic: Brand positioning, market differentiation, digital footprint
• Tactical: Proposal response tracking, campaign execution, CRM cleanup

CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer)

• Strategic: Workforce planning, talent development, recruiting brand
• Tactical: Staffing logistics, training program implementation, resolving that one office’s ongoing interpersonal drama

The magic isn’t in everyone being strategic all the time. That’s a strategy session. And it’s not in everyone being tactical all the time. That’s a panic.

It’s in knowing when to shift, who’s covering which ground, and how to trust each other to take care of the concerns of the firm.

How to Get the Balance Right

Here are a few practical tips to help:

1. Quarterly C-suite “mode” check-ins. Once a quarter, explicitly discuss which members are focusing where (strategy vs. tactics) and why. This coordination helps to avoid overlapping effort—and missed ground.

2. Shared dashboards that reflect both worlds. Strategic metrics (market share, backlog, win rates) and tactical metrics (utilization, collection period, flow efficiency) should sit side-by-side.

3. Respect the shift. If your COO needs to think strategically to position the firm for a major long-term contract opportunity, they may have to temporarily rise above the daily grind, so the CEO may need to temporarily oversee more of the day-to-day in the meantime. But make those swaps conscious, not reactive.

4. Bring scenarios into planning. Have everyone walk through different scenarios—best case, worst case, weird case. It forces each executive to consider both strategy and tactics in context.

There’s no fixed formula. Strategic vs. tactical thinking isn’t an either/or proposition—it’s fluid. These days, disruption is the only constant, and clarity is in short supply. The firms that will win in these conditions are those whose leaders know when to climb up into the crow’s nest—and when to stay on deck and get their hands dirty.

Contact Mark Goodale at 508.254.3914 or email [email protected].