(FORTUNE Magazine) – F. Ross Johnson, the former CEO who lost RJR Nabisco to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in last year's most publicized takeover battle, is not crying too loudly over spilt Oreos. Instead he is following the age-old corporate maxim: If you can't run a company, tell someone else how to do it. Helped by at least $23 million in walking-away money, Johnson, 57, has formed RJM Group, an Atlanta firm that is dispensing advice to executives, directors, politicians, and athletes -- all wealthy individuals, all Johnson pals or business acquaintances. The name of the firm is an amalgam of his initials and those of his partner, John Martin, a former RJR Nabisco executive vice president who was part of the management team that proposed the buyout. Johnson will not reveal RJM's clients, though he admits that they include executives considering management- led buyouts. At the very least, Johnson could give them a good example of how not to do an LBO. When his management team tried to take RJR Nabisco private last fall, the CEO was widely excoriated for appearing greedy. The alienated RJR board eventually spurned Johnson's offer and accepted KKR's $25 billion bid. Maybe that's why Johnson doesn't charge his clients a fee. ''I have enough personal income to cover the rent,'' he says. ''I'm a dollar-a-year man now.'' At least until a better offer comes along.