Field Notes
Practical writing for product leaders and boutique advisors – on deciding what to build, answering the hard questions, and running a sharper practice.
If a Client Plus Claude Plus One Engineer Can Do It, the Work Isn't Yours Anymore
A sharp test for advisory work: could your client plus a good model plus one engineer deliver 80% of it? The usual answer to that test is too soft.
It's the System 98% of the Time. Deming Said 94%. Your Instinct Says It's the Person.
In my engagements, what arrives as a people problem turns out to be a systems problem about 98% of the time. Deming put it at 94. Here's why we get it wrong.
The Five Whys Finds About 3% of Your Problem
Researchers drew the full causal tree for one incident and found 75+ causes. A Five Whys pass finds one of them. Here's when that's fine, and when it isn't.
I Wrote Down Eight Risks. All Eight Happened. Nobody Moved.
I logged eight risks against a product at Adaptavist. Within a year all eight had happened and we killed it. Writing them down changed nothing.
47% of Boutique Firms Lost a Quarter to Half Their Pipeline to ‘No Decision’
Nearly half of boutique firms lost a quarter to half their closed-lost pipeline to no decision. That isn't a closing problem. It's an evidence one.
The Five Lenses I Run Before I Diagnose a Team
A team blamed an engineer for 90-day tickets. His actual time in queue was five. Here are the five lenses I run before I diagnose a team.
The Person Closest to the Problem Is the Last to See It
The person closest to a problem is often the last to see its gaps — that's how expertise works. Which is exactly why a solo advisor needs outside eyes.
'MBB Depth Without the MBB Team' Is Half an Answer
A wave of vendors offers boutique advisors MBB-depth research without the MBB team. It's real, it's cheap, and it's only half of what the work needs.
How to Research an Audience You've Never Served
Researching an audience you've never served is a different job: the whole task is telling real demand from polite interest. Here's how it's done.