KKPM Strategic Partners

Senior-level leadership for the businesses that need it most.

Fractional Executive Leadership · Strategic Consulting · Charlotte · Raleigh · Wilmington, NC & Nationwide

I work directly with small business owners, growing teams, and mid-sized organizations, delivering the strategic leadership and operational clarity that was once only available to companies with much bigger budgets.

Services

What I do and what you get from it

Each service is built around a specific client outcome. The capability is what I bring. The benefit is what you walk away with.

Core

Fractional Project Management

I take ownership of your highest-stakes initiative end to end, managing stakeholder alignment, timeline, risk, and delivery so you can stop personally unblocking every bottleneck.

Your project crosses the finish line on time, without burning out your team

Core

Strategic Operations & Implementation

I bridge the gap between a great plan and a functional workflow, translating strategy into execution with stakeholder alignment, roadmap development, and friction removed before it stalls progress.

Your strategy becomes a plan your team follows, not a document they ignore

Core

Human-Centric Process Design

I identify the places in your workflows where the work is breaking down, where processes exist on paper but not in practice, and redesign around the people doing the work, not just the process itself.

Change that sticks, because your team owns it, not just tolerates it

Specialized

E-Discovery & Litigation Support Operations

Precision workflow management for legal teams, streamlining the handoff between legal requirements and technical execution, with accuracy, defensibility, and operational efficiency built in from the start.

Reduced risk, defensible processes, and a team that's synchronized under pressure

Core

Strategic Roadmap Development

I translate your goals into a sequenced, prioritized plan with clear milestones, realistic timelines, and a logical path from where you are to where you want to go.

Your team knows exactly what to do next and why it matters

Kristine A. Rawls — Founder & Principal Consultant, KKPM Strategic Partners
Kristine A. Rawls Principal Consultant & Founder

About

The gap between strategy and execution and why it became personal

No matter who I was working for, federal agencies, law firms, corporations with millions of dollars to throw at any challenge, the work got done. Initiatives landed. Projects closed. But something kept standing out.

Leadership makes decisions with the big picture in mind. Teams execute with the day-to-day reality in front of them. Those two perspectives don't always connect. And when they don't, even the best strategy falls short. That's the space I work in. Translating leadership objectives into something the team can own, while making sure teams are part of the conversation from the start.

My biggest issue was the level of support. The ability to sit at both tables and bring both sides forward was only available to organizations that could afford it.

When I stepped into my own community, I saw something different. Small business owners pulling things together on ingenuity and instinct. Brilliant ideas that never got off the ground, not because they weren't good enough, but because nobody had ever shown those owners how to take the next step.

The moment that changed everything was a conversation with a young woman at a seminar. When I shared just a few minutes of the kind of thinking I'd been doing for years, she looked at me like I'd handed her the keys to the kingdom. In just a few minutes of conversation, I could tell that I asked questions that she hadn't considered. They were her missing link.

That's when it clicked. The work I'd been doing my entire career wasn't meant for just boardrooms and billion-dollar budgets. It was meant for people like her.

That's why KKPM exists.

"My job isn't to hand you a strategy and walk away. It's to make sure it actually works in your business, with your team, on your timeline."

— Kristine A. Rawls, Founder
MBA PMP Certified Prosci Change Management Federal Governance Legal Operations E-Discovery

Is this you?

You're running hard. But something isn't clicking

Most business leaders aren't lacking ambition or ideas. What they're missing is the bridge between where they are and where they want to be.

Your projects keep slipping. Deadlines move, scope expands, and nobody's sure who owns what.

You're too close to see it clearly. You know something's off, but you can't get outside your own perspective long enough to fix it.

You're wearing every hat. CEO, ops manager, project lead, and client-facing all at once. Something has to give, but you can't afford to drop any of it.

You can't justify a full-time hire. You need senior-level judgment, just not 40 hours a week of it at $150k+ a year.

What changes when you engage me

You get clarity, a concrete plan, and momentum, fast

Think of it as having a trusted thinking partner, someone who listens, asks the right questions, and helps you see what you're too close to notice. I work through it with you, build a practical plan, and you decide what happens next.

Let's Talk →
The KKPM Perspective

KKPM Strategic Partners is a DBA of The KKPM Perspective LLC, built on the belief that a fresh, outside-in perspective is the most powerful tool any business can access.

How I work

Engagements built around how your business actually works

I communicate with intention, not interruption

I work primarily through email and your project management tool. Live meetings are reserved for strategic alignment or milestone reviews, always with a clear agenda, capped at 2 hours per week.

Your team gets their time back while the work moves forward

Right-sized agreements

A focused project uses a simple one-page engagement letter. Larger engagements use a full MSA and SOW so expectations are documented and protected on both sides.

You always know what you're getting, what it costs, and when it ends

Flexible and right-sized for your situation

Work can be structured as a retainer, project-based, time-and-materials, or embedded fractional placement. I scope to your actual situation, not to a pricing tier that doesn't fit.

The engagement fits your business, your budget, and your timeline

How to get started

Three steps to moving forward

01

Tell me what's keeping you up at night

Fill out the contact form. Describe the challenge, the initiative, or the leadership gap. No need to have it all figured out. That's what I'm here for.

→ I respond within one business day

02

I scope the engagement with you

A focused discovery conversation to understand your situation, confirm which engagement type fits, and agree on scope, timeline, and price before any work begins.

→ Clear agreement, no surprises on either side

03

Work starts and you see results fast

From the first week you'll have visible progress: a prioritized action list, aligned stakeholders, or a first-draft roadmap. I move with urgency because your time matters.

→ Momentum in the first two weeks

Choose your path

Choose the path that fits your situation

Every engagement is scoped before any work begins. You always know what you're getting and what it costs.

Best for: quick wins and focused decisions

Project-Based

A defined deliverable, a fixed fee, and a clear end date. You know exactly what you're getting before you commit.

  • Fixed scope and fixed price agreed upfront
  • Simple engagement letter, not a multi-document contract
  • Typically 2–8 weeks in duration

Best for: ongoing strategic advisory

Retainer

Consistent access to strategic leadership on a monthly basis. A trusted partner in your corner when decisions need to be made.

  • Fixed monthly fee with defined advisory scope
  • 2-hour/week live meeting cap keeps things efficient
  • Month-to-month with 30-day notice to cancel

Best for: flexible, fluctuating needs

Time & Materials

Hourly support with an agreed cap so you're never surprised. Right for engagements where scope is hard to define upfront.

  • Transparent hourly rate with an agreed ceiling
  • Weekly reporting so you always know where you stand
  • Full services agreement protects both sides

Best for: leadership gaps and major transitions

Fractional Placement

Embedded part-time executive leadership with dedicated hours per week, for companies navigating growth or a senior leadership gap.

  • Fully embedded: your meetings, your team, your decisions
  • Backed by a full MSA and Statement of Work
  • Typically 3–12 months, renewable

Not sure which fits? We'll figure it out together. No commitment required.

Let's Talk →

For small business & micro-projects

You can get real strategic support without a long-term commitment

If you're a small business owner, solo founder, or lean team with a specific question to answer, a project to move forward, or a process to sharpen, we build from there.

  • Fixed price before any work starts
  • Results in weeks, not months
  • Same caliber of thinking as my largest engagements
  • One simple agreement with scope, price, and end date locked upfront
Start a Small Project

Fast start

Scoped and underway in days. Momentum visible within the first two weeks

No surprises

Price and scope are agreed before a single hour of work begins

Senior thinking

Same outside-in strategic rigor as my largest engagements, scoped to your situation

Room to grow

Small engagements that grow naturally transition to a full services agreement

Client results

What clients say about working with me

Client stories are added with permission. Real work, real outcomes.

"

"Starting a business is tough. I had enough knowledge to be dangerous but not enough to be completely successful. I had the pleasure of being connected with KKPM Strategic Partners in the middle of my company's rebuilding. I met with Kristine and she was knowledgeable, great to work with, and listened to my ideas and goals. She was really able to take my project goals and provide a broken-down plan that will get me to the next level for success. I will continue to call on her for support!"

Tamed The Wax Studio

Client

Service: Strategic Planning

"

"When I started my traveling hair business, I struggled to set boundaries and structure my operations. Working with Kristine was a game-changer. During our consultation, she asked crucial questions I had never considered and helped me figure out how I actually wanted my business to run. She provided a clear plan that got my business in order. Highly recommend booking a consultation if you need organization and structure!"

SinclairAura Beauty

Client

Service: Strategic Planning

Frequently asked questions

Everything you want to know before reaching out

If your question isn't here, send it through the contact form. I'll answer it directly.

What is fractional executive leadership?

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Fractional executive leadership means you get an experienced senior leader: COO, Chief of Staff, Director of Operations, or PMO-level, working inside your business on a part-time or project basis. Instead of hiring that person full-time at $150,000–$200,000 per year, you bring in the same caliber of expertise for the specific hours, scope, and duration your business actually needs.

What does a fractional project manager actually do inside my business?

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A fractional PM steps directly into your operations and takes ownership of what's slipping. If you're a 12-person agency with a software migration that's been "almost done" for eight months, I come in, map every open task, assign clear owners, reset the timeline with realistic milestones, run weekly accountability check-ins, and remove the blockers stalling your team. The work is hands-on, not advisory.

How is fractional different from hiring a full-time employee?

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Three key differences. First, speed: a fractional engagement can begin within days; hiring a qualified senior executive takes three to six months. Second, cost: a full-time senior hire comes with salary, payroll taxes, benefits, onboarding time, and severance risk. Third, flexibility: if your needs change, you adjust the scope.

How is KKPM Strategic Partners different from a large consulting firm?

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Large consulting firms typically send junior analysts led by a senior partner who appears at kickoff and the final presentation. At KKPM, you work directly with me, with 20+ years of enterprise experience, on every engagement, from the first call to the final deliverable. No handoffs. No billable-hour padding. No six-month discovery phases before anything gets done.

What size businesses do you work with?

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I work with businesses across a range of stages, from solo founders tackling a specific challenge, to small teams of 5–25 people managing growth, to mid-sized businesses of 50–200 employees navigating a leadership transition. The common thread isn't size. It's that the business needs senior-level strategic thinking that isn't currently available in-house at a price that makes sense.

What if I only have one specific problem, is that enough?

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Absolutely. Some of the most impactful work starts with one focused challenge. You don't need a full engagement or a long-term commitment to get real value. One question, one process, one initiative. That's enough to get started.

How much does it cost?

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Engagements are priced based on scope, not by the hour. After my initial consultation, you receive a clear proposal with a fixed fee or monthly retainer tied to specific deliverables. No surprise invoices, no scope creep without your approval. Pricing is always transparent before you commit to anything.

What is e-discovery and litigation support operations, and do I need it?

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E-discovery and litigation support operations refers to the operational side of managing legal matters — organizing teams, building workflows, and developing internal processes for responding to discovery requests and legal holds. I help organizations build and improve the operational structure around their legal work: how their teams are set up, how work flows between departments, and how they respond when a legal matter requires coordinated action. This is operations and process work, not legal advice. I am not an attorney and do not provide legal counsel.

How do I know when I'm ready?

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If any of these sound familiar, it's probably time for a conversation: something important has been on the list for months but keeps getting pushed; a change you tried to make didn't stick; you're making a significant business decision but aren't sure what the execution actually looks like; or you just feel like the business is moving slower than it should be. You don't need to have it all figured out before we talk. That's what the first conversation is for.

Insights

Thinking on strategy, operations, and small business growth

Fractional Leadership

What Is Fractional Executive Leadership and Why Small Businesses Are Choosing It Over Full-Time Hires

"Fractional" sounds like a finance term. But that's exactly who it's for, 12-person service businesses trying to figure out why projects keep stalling.

Read the article
Operations & Growth

Why Small Business Owners Are the Bottleneck in Their Own Business (And How to Fix It)

If you took two weeks off with no phone and no email. What would break? That pause tells me everything.

Read the article
Operations & Process Design

Why Automation Won't Fix a Broken Process. What to Do First

Most operational problems aren't technology problems. Until the process is fixed, all you're doing is automating the confusion.

Read the article
Fractional Leadership

How to Know If You're Ready for a Fractional Executive (And When to Wait)

One of the most honest things I can do is tell you when the timing isn't right. Here's the real framework.

Read the article

Get started

Ready to move forward?

Tell me what's going on in your business. You don't need to have it all figured out. That's what the first conversation is for.

1
Choose how to connectSend a message or schedule an initial consultation directly.
2
I scope the engagement with youA focused conversation to understand your situation. No lengthy onboarding.
3
Agree on scope before work startsNo surprises. You see the price and deliverables before you commit to anything.
Not sure if I'm the right fit? Reach out anyway. The worst case is I point you in the right direction, even if that direction isn't me.

Prefer to call?

(980) 374-2688

Available Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm EST

Tell me about your situation

No commitment. I'll reach out within one business day.

No spam. No sales pressure. Just a real conversation about your situation.