The Executive Nomad Operating System, a book by Jamie Sylvian
The job ended. Your experience didn't.
If you've led teams, run budgets and carried real responsibility, you can turn what you know into a business of your own. Consulting, coaching, mentoring, board work. Run from wherever you choose to live.
Read it, and you'll know what you're selling, what to call it and who will pay for it.
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Why I wrote it
I wrote this book after meeting a man called Peter in Neos Marmaras, a harbour town in Greece.
He was 54, and he'd just left a senior job in logistics after 25 years. His company had been bought by a competitor, and the incoming CEO was bringing his own C-suite with him. Peter was made redundant.
The payoff was good, so money wasn't what worried him. What worried him was that he felt untethered. He felt he had nowhere to go, and that he was too old to find another job.
We talked for a couple of hours. Somewhere in that conversation it became obvious to me that Peter didn't need another job. He had so much experience that he could build his own business. All he needed was some guidance and direction.
He also wanted to live the way I do, running his business from wherever in the world he wanted to be. He just had no idea how. I'd been doing it for three decades, and I thought I could help.
By the end of that conversation we'd agreed that Peter was an Executive Nomad. That's where this book started. I'd guess some of it sounds familiar.
Written for people who have already done the hard part.
You've led teams, run budgets and carried real responsibility. Maybe the job has ended, or you can see it coming, or you're simply done with it. Either way, you want to decide what the next chapter of your working life looks like.
This book is for you if you are
- A manager, director, VP or executive who has left a corporate role, or is thinking about it.
- Looking to build income that gives you control over your time, your location and how your experience is used.
- Curious about consulting, coaching, mentoring, facilitation or non-executive director (NED) work.
- Done with tweaking your CV for roles that pay less than you earned ten years ago.
It is not for you if you want
- Another conventional job.
- A tidier CV, a pile of job-board applications or a passive LinkedIn strategy.
- Likes and followers. This is a business built on authority, and the book doesn't chase attention.
- A magic button. This is a professional services business, not a lottery ticket.
It's a book about building something of your own. That takes work, and the book says so.
What's inside
Three parts. Each one answers a question you'll already be asking yourself.
Rewire: what do you actually have?
You audit your career for the problems you solved, not the roles you held. Your most valuable work probably feels ordinary to you. So might the projects that went wrong, and those can be worth more than the ones that went well.
Repackage: what do you call it?
A long list of capabilities sounds like someone hoping the client will work out what to buy. You turn your experience into one named, specific service that a buyer understands in a sentence, and you price it on value, not hours.
Repurpose: where else does it work?
Your industry is the wrapping paper. The problem you solve inside it exists in other sectors and other countries. Learn to spot it, and your market gets a lot bigger than the industry you left.
Also inside
- Why a clean track record counts against you when you sell advice, and why your failed projects may be your most valuable asset.
- How to spot your "Problem Twins": the problem you solved years ago, turning up in a different industry.
- Why you don't need a personal brand, and how to be found without posting every day.
- How to earn a client's trust when you'll never meet in the same room, so where you live stops mattering to them.
A page from Chapter 7
Peter is at an industry event, and a CFO next to him asks the usual question: “So, what do you do?” Here's how the book has him answer it, twice.
“Well, I'm currently transitioning. I used to be the VP of Operations for a large logistics firm, but now I'm doing some consulting. I mostly help companies with strategy, operational efficiency, and leadership mentoring.”
Answer one. The listener nods politely and scans the room.
“I provide the Integration Risk Audit for logistics mergers. When two logistics companies combine, I find the hidden leakage points before they lose the first million.”
Answer two. The listener stops drinking and leans in.
Same man, same 25 years. The difference is a name for what he sells. Chapter 7 shows you how to find yours.
What people say
Bloody Brilliant!!
Louise Medve, Most Influential CEO 2026 (Professional Coaching, UK) and Best Speaker Development & Coaching Programme 2026 (UK), CEO Monthly
Jamie helped me solidify some of my thinking around branding. He offered suggestions on how to launch and bring in initial clients. With re-purposing, this led to potential ways to grow my consulting business post-launch.
Debra Mitchell PhD, Clinical Research Advisor and Consultant, on working with Jamie
About the author
Jamie Sylvian has been independent since 1991 and has run a location-independent business since the 1990s. He has lived in 13 countries, worked at board level with British Gas, London Electricity and BetVictor, and held contracts with 13 UK government departments. He co-founded SIRA Utilities, the company that became uSwitch.com.
Today he still consults, coaches executives, runs workshops and mentors experienced professionals who want to build a business around what they already know. He also hosts The Executive Nomad Podcast.
I've been living this way, running a low stress, location independent business since the '90s. I know how this stuff works.
From the introduction to The Executive Nomad Operating System
This book sets out how he built it, so you can build yours.
Tomorrow morning, you can do one of two things.
You can check for recruiter alerts, tweak your CV again and apply for a role that pays less than you earned ten years ago. It feels safe because it's familiar.
Or you can start working out what your experience is worth as a business of your own, and who will pay for it.
Paperback, $19.95.
You'll go to our BookSpace store to order securely.