Sparring & Advisory
Clarity through dialogue.
Decisions with backbone.
I am a sparring partner for decision-makers – confidential, candid, on equal terms. No politics, no detours.
Typical triggers
When you call me in
People rarely seek sparring out of curiosity. They seek it when a decision is due and nobody challenges them any more. These three situations are the most common.
Trigger 01
You decide alone, and everyone nods
The longer you are successful, the less often anyone contradicts you. Those around you have learned to read your signals. That is comfortable – and, over time, dangerous.
Trigger 02
Too big to handle on the side, too confidential for the team
You have been turning it over for weeks. It is not ready for the management board, cannot be discussed with the team, and is not fair to take home. What is missing is simply a counterpart.
Trigger 03
You want to test the decision before it goes public
Before a position is final, it should have met real resistance at least once. Better in a confidential conversation than in the supervisory board meeting.
To be candid
And how you can tell I am the wrong person
Sparring fits very well – or not at all. This is so that you know before the first conversation, not after it.
A good fit if
- You are looking for a counterpart who thinks with you but does not decide for you.
- Confidentiality is a prerequisite, not an add-on.
- You are a bank or financial services provider in Austria, Germany or Switzerland.
- You prefer being challenged to being agreed with.
Probably not a fit if
- You are looking for confirmation of a decision already made.
- You want someone to make the decision for you.
- You expect an expert report or a presentation.
- You want a standing subscription rather than individual sessions.
Process
Three formats, one rhythm
Sparring does not need weeks of lead time. It needs a question, an hour and someone who challenges you before you decide. Three formats, depending on how often that is needed.
Single session
90 minutes
by video or in person
For a specific decision that is due. You send the question and the documents in advance, and I prepare. The conversation is about your situation, not my method.
Retainer
4–6 hours
per month · fixed regular slot
A regular session plus short calls in between when something cannot wait. Retainer clients reach me within one working day. After the third conversation I know your organisation and the people on the other side of the table.
Board Advisory
Annual mandate
before and after every board meeting
For supervisory board members, advisory board members and owners: an assessment of the board papers before the meeting, the questions you should put to the management board, and afterwards a brief evaluation of what was decided.
The entry point is the same for all three formats: a reply within 24 hours on working days, a 30-minute first conversation usually within five working days. In it we clarify whether sparring is the right format. If it is not, I tell you so in the same conversation.
Fees
What sparring costs
Three formats, three prices. You pay for experience and candour, not slides.
Single session
€500 to €700
per session · 90 minutes
Where a session falls within the range depends on the preparation required: a management board resolution with a hundred pages of papers takes more preparation than a personnel question with no documents.
Sparring retainer
€3,500 or €5,000
per month · four or six hours
Guaranteed availability instead of searching for appointments. More expensive per hour than a single session – you pay for time when it matters, context that does not have to be explained again, and challenge that comes in time.
Board Advisory
€45,000 to €75,000
per year · annual mandate
Support for a programme over its entire duration from the board’s perspective. In Programm Adler I regularly prepared papers for supervisory boards and the banking supervisor. I know both sides of the table.
Prices for businesses, net plus VAT. Travel expenses at cost. Guide values; the written proposal is authoritative. Prices as of October 2026. Errors and omissions excepted; subject to change.
Why the hourly rate is the wrong number, and when you do not need a sparring partner:
Region and evidence
Where I work – and what you can verify
Sparring works by video just as well as at the table. In Vienna and Lower Austria I can be with you quickly; elsewhere in Austria, Germany and Switzerland by arrangement. Confidentiality applies in both cases: what we discuss stays between us.
Why you should let me challenge you is not stated here but in my employment references and in programmes from my own practice:
More than 20 years of leadership responsibility in banks
Up to 360 employees under my leadership, 4 major transformations, restructurings in the banking sector. I know the situation in which you are deciding from the inside – not from a case study.
Programm Adler: both sides of the table
Nine banks, one structure. As the staff function, I regularly prepared papers for supervisory boards and the banking supervisor. I know how a board paper is written – and what is missing from it when the management board would rather not say something.
“Expertise, objectivity and reliability”
CRONBANK AG, employment reference, 2013 (Translated from German). One of fourteen reference quotations you can read for yourself. Sparring depends on you believing me when I disagree. There is evidence for that.
All reference quotations, my career history – and why the smart entrepreneur no longer decides alone:
FAQ – Sparring & advisory
The evidence
When it comes to managing complex challenges, Markus Slotta is exactly the right person. No distance is too far, no analysis too laborious; every detail finds its place in the mosaic of the solution.
Elisabeth Fritz-Fraisl · General Management and Market, Volksbank Wien · (Translated from German) · eight pieces of evidence on the question “Does he keep the big picture?” →
Your next step
Any questions? I answer personally.
No form. No call centre. A direct conversation – within 30 minutes you know whether and how I can help.
Confidential and free of charge.
WHERE TO GO NEXT
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Further reading
Three analyses on leadership and decision-making
The higher the position, the thinner the air – and the rarer honest disagreement becomes. These three articles (in German) deal with what follows from that.
Decisions at the top
Sparring: why the smart entrepreneur no longer decides alone
Why experienced entrepreneurs bring in a counterpart who does not share the decision but thinks it through with them – and how to tell that the time has come.
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You will find all analyses on transformation, leadership and sales in the Insights.