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.
Value stream mapping has become a workshop deliverable instead of an operating model. The map ends up on the wall, the stream never gets walked, and six months later nothing has changed.
- Translation Is a Real Job. It Just Doesn't Have a Title.
Between the commercial team and the system team sits one person who turns one side's language into the other. The role rarely has a name, never gets measured, and disproportionately determines whether revenue operations projects deliver.
- The Quote Is the Customer Experience
A confusing quote signals a confusing company. A slow quote signals a slow company. Most CPQ projects focus entirely on internal accuracy and miss the moment that matters most to the buyer.
- Every Problem Has a Shadow Problem
The problem people tell you about is almost never the problem that's blocking progress. Not because they're dishonest, but because the real problem is usually invisible, even to them.
- The Space Between "Yes" and "Done"
Getting to yes is the easy part. The real work is accompanying someone through the uncertainty that follows a commitment, the messy middle where deals die 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 and friction are not opposites. They're inseparable. The friction that follows isn't failure, it's information about what people value and what they're afraid of losing.
- Before You Build Anything, Find the Real Problem
The brief says "we need CPQ." But the real problem might be quote turnaround, discount governance, or channel scalability. Each leads to a different project.
- The Document Is Never the Hard Part
Good analysis that nobody acts on is worthless. The work that determines whether a consulting engagement succeeds isn't the deliverable. It's understanding why the organization works the way it does, and creating the conditions where change feels like the obvious next step.
- Your Business Case Is Probably Framed Wrong
Most business cases lead with cost savings and a feature list. That's the weakest argument you can make. The strongest one starts with what the current situation is already costing you.