Field Notes

Practical writing for product leaders and boutique advisors – on deciding what to build, answering the hard questions, and running a sharper practice.

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Consulting Operations

The Squeezed Middle: Why the Consulting Market Is Splitting in Two

Fieldway's take on the 2026 consolidation data (AlphaSense + Consultancy.eu deal flow + Management Consulted rankings): the top 5 firms now hold ~40% share and

5 min read
Minimalist white table
Consulting Operations

Your CEO Has Detailed Opinions About Software Delivery and No Idea How It Works

Fieldway's take on Rebecca Murphey's 'Physics of Software Delivery': why executives hold firm delivery expectations they were never taught to understand.

6 min read
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Consulting Operations

Getting Faster at the Wrong Things: What Atlassian's 2026 Product Report Actually Says

Fieldway's data-led read on Atlassian's 2026 State of Product Report: half of product teams save 10–60 min/day with AI, yet 49% still lack time for strategy

6 min read
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Consulting Operations

AI Passed the Professional Licensing Exam. So What's the Moat Now?

An AI passed every recent U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. When a machine can pass the credential, knowledge recall stops being the moat – judgment and

5 min read
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Consulting Operations

How Boutique Advisors in Fintech and Healthcare Stay Ahead of Regulatory Change

AI-assisted regulatory-change monitoring for high-value verticals – using verified tooling (privacy: TrustArc; trade/sanctions: Descartes) plus the

7 min read
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Consulting Operations

Boutique Advisory Beats the Big 4 on AI Transformation (4.28 vs 2.78)

Why the buyer evaluating AI-transformation approaches should pick boutique: vendor independence, senior delivery, integrated change management — with the

7 min read
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Consulting Operations

Document Synthesis Is the Leverage Point

Why document synthesis is the single highest-leverage AI capability for boutique advisors.

6 min read
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Consulting Operations

The Knowledge Recreation Tax: How to Calculate Your Number

Knowledge recreation — rebuilding context you already built — is a cost most advisors never calculate. Here's the arithmetic to find your number.

5 min read
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Consulting Operations

Why Solo Advisors Max Out at 5–6 Concurrent Engagements

The solo advisor capacity ceiling sits at 5–6 engagements. Here's the working-memory physics behind that number — and the two unlocks that move it.

4 min read