Operator notes from the bench.
Field reports are operator notes from real engagements inside 5 to 50 person businesses. Each one names a pattern we keep finding on the bench: the missed calls nobody counts, the follow-up that lives in someone's memory, the pricing rules that exist in one person's head. What broke, what fixed it, and what the numbers looked like before and after. No hype, no tool pitches. If it didn't happen inside a real operation, it doesn't get written up.
Your AI Isn't Failing. Your Data Is.
Most AI projects in 5-50 person businesses fail because the data underneath is broken. The fix sequences data first, automation second.
Neither Camp
Consulting splits into vertical specialists and horizontal generalists. The operator who wins hires neither. Harder to find, easier to verify.
Your Data Lives in Brian's Head
In a 5-50 person business, the database has a face. Data discipline at this size means extracting what one person knows, not buying better software.
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.