Practical writing for product leaders and boutique advisors – on deciding what to build, answering the hard questions, and running a sharper practice.
Latest in Field Notes
A boutique strategy firm cut proposal time from 16 hours to 5 and raised win rate from 31% to 44%. The variable wasn't the AI tool — it was what they fed it.
Field Notes
The 2026 SPI benchmark shows a 17.9% vs. 6.0% EBITDA gap. The difference isn't which AI tools consulting firms use — it's what's organized underneath them.
Field Notes
When boutique advisory practices hit the capacity ceiling, most reach for headcount. What we see consistently: it's a knowledge problem, not a bandwidth one.
Field Notes
AI drove a 46% fractional COO demand surge by restructuring the role itself. Here's what the unbundling left behind – and why it matters for boutique advisors.
Field Notes
Boutique advisors don't need more research help – they need a synthesis layer. Here's what that looks like, and how to tell the difference.
Field Notes
64% of mid-market executives expect real-time consulting visibility, up from 31% in 2023. Here's why the static deliverable is now a structural problem.
Field Notes
Hebbia runs $3K–$10K per seat per year. Blueflame is now part of Datasite. Neither has a boutique tier — and the gap is structural, not cosmetic.
Field Notes
DiligenceSquared delivers M&A research for $50K vs. $500K–$1M from McKinsey. Bridgetown raised $19M on the same thesis. The model this validates matters.
Field Notes
Generic CRM AI flags at-risk consulting clients correctly just 41% of the time. Here's why that gap exists and what the firms hitting 79% built instead.
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