Posts
Longer writing on business applications, operating models, delivery, and how organisations make systems useful.
- Principles
The ideas that shape how I approach work, technology, and organisations.
- Most Companies Don't Have a Value Stream. They Have a Map.
A value stream map is only a diagnostic. Without end-to-end ownership, shared measures, and authority to act, it remains a workshop deliverable.
- Translation Is a Real Job. It Just Doesn't Have a Title.
Commercial and systems teams need someone who can translate intent into workable decisions. The role rarely has a name, but often determines delivery.
- The Quote Is the Customer Experience
A quote tells customers how your company works. CPQ projects focused only on internal accuracy can miss the experience that matters to the buyer.
- Every Problem Has a Shadow Problem
The problem people describe is often only the surface. The real blocker may be an unspoken fear, loss of control, or lack of trust.
- The Space Between "Yes" and "Done"
Getting to yes is only the start. The harder work is helping people through the uncertain middle where deals and change initiatives quietly collapse.
- You Don't Have a Reporting Problem. You Have a Definition Problem.
When marketing and sales report different pipeline numbers, the fix isn't a better dashboard. It's agreeing on what the words mean.
- AI Doesn't Fix a Broken Process. It Scales It.
Before you add AI to your sales or support process, make sure the foundation is ready. AI accelerates what exists, good or bad.
- If Nobody Is Uncomfortable, Nothing Is Changing
Change creates friction. That friction is not failure; it reveals what people value, what they fear losing, and where the real work must begin.
- Before You Build Anything, Find the Real Problem
The brief says "we need CPQ," but quote speed, discount control, or channel scale may be the real problem. Each requires a different project.
- The Document Is Never the Hard Part
The document is rarely the hard part. Consulting succeeds when people understand why change is needed and see it as the obvious next step.
- Your Business Case Is Probably Framed Wrong
Most business cases lead with savings and features. Stronger ones begin with what the current situation already costs and what changing it makes possible.