The carve-out
separating two entities.
Two entities are separating, the business date is fixed, and IT is the long pole nobody costed. Shared systems, shared networks, shared vendor contracts — and a TSA clock ticking, because every extra month is margin bleeding to the parent. Here’s how I’d get to a clean Day 1.
What an under-planned separation looks like.
- A fixed close date, and an IT plan that’s still a wish-list.
- Shared systems and vendor contracts nobody has fully untangled.
- Hidden licensing and legacy dependencies surfacing late and blowing budget.
- A TSA that keeps getting extended — and getting more expensive.
- Two management teams smiling in the SteerCo, protecting opposite interests.
- “Day 1 readiness” defined by everyone differently, which means not at all.
Define Day 1 → Map & sequence → Exit.
A carve-out is an integration problem in reverse — disentangling shared people, systems, networks and contracts against a fixed date. A typical TSA exit is 1,500+ interdependent decisions; the fix is a ruthlessly scoped Day 1 and a governed exit sequence. Click through each phase.
Define Day 1
Scope the minimum to run independently — and nothing more.
What I do
- Define Day 1 readiness ruthlessly: the minimum capability the carved-out entity needs to operate alone.
- Cut everything that’s “nice to have by Day 1” into the post-separation backlog.
- Baseline what the TSA must cover, and for how long — the shorter the better.
- Fix scope boundaries in writing before workstreams start filling the gaps themselves.
The political read
- The parent has no incentive to help you leave — the TSA is their revenue and their leverage.
- An over-scoped Day 1 is how separations quietly become permanent dependencies.
- Get the scope decision made at the top before it’s made by drift.
Map & sequence
Turn 1,500+ interdependent decisions into a governed backlog.
What I do
- Map the full dependency web — systems, data, networks, shared vendor contracts.
- Sequence the TSA exit as a governed backlog, ordered by dependency, not by team preference.
- Surface hidden licensing and legacy costs early, while there’s still time to act on them.
- Run parallel workstreams across geographies with governance that keeps decisions moving.
The political read
- Internal teams whose jobs end at separation won’t sprint toward their own last day.
- Everyone protects their own P&L in the workstream — govern around it, don’t assume goodwill.
- The interdependencies are where separations die; make them visible and owned.
Exit the TSA
Execute the separation in sequence — and get off the TSA on schedule.
What I do
- Execute the exit sequence with tested cutovers and clear go/no-go gates.
- Retire TSA services as each dependency is severed — on schedule, not on extension.
- Hold hypercare on the carved-out entity through its first independent operating period.
- Close out cleanly: no surprise dependency discovered on cutover day.
The political read
- Every TSA month you remove is margin returned — that’s the number the board actually cares about.
- A schedule the parent can’t quietly stretch is your only real leverage.
- The clean cutover is the proof; the extension avoided is the value.
Clean Day 1 separation, TSA exited on schedule instead of extended, and no operational surprise on cutover day — every month off the TSA handed back to the deal as margin.
Not your situation? Try another.
TSA clock ticking?
If a separation is drifting and the TSA keeps getting extended, I can help you get to a clean Day 1. Interim or freelance, via broker or direct. References from previous clients available on request.
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