Field reports

Operator notes from the bench.

Specific, blunt, anti-hype. Pattern-naming from actual engagements inside 5 to 50 person businesses, plus the frameworks I run on every assessment.

• That's Not an AI Problem

  Every discovery call lately starts with 'we need AI.' Most of the time the actual fix isn't AI. Here's the diagnostic that sorts the difference.

  May 14, 2026

  • ai-skepticism
  • sequencing
  • operational-pain-first
  • smb-ai