A consigliere's responsibility is to anticipate scenarios that threaten the family. It is not to wait until a threat scenario arises and only then to physically intervene.

When discussing Sonny's murder during the past year, someone posted that Tom should have anticipated Sonny's potential reactions by by arranging with Connie to have her contact him and only him when something went wrong in the Rizzi household. That's one way that Tom could have fulfilled his consigliere responsibilities.