01
Coffee
Is there a good fit?
Start with an informal conversation. What are you trying to achieve? What decision is in front of you? Is there a good working fit on both sides?
Understand first. Recommend second. Build when it makes sense.
Good technology advice starts with the business, not the technology.
My goal is not to sell you a particular solution. It is to help solve the problem in the way that makes the most sense for your company.
Five steps
02
Understand
What is the underlying need?
Understand the underlying need behind the decision. Look at the business context, constraints, systems, people, economics, risks and history. Understand how the company arrived here, why important previous decisions were made, and what outcome now matters.
03
Challenge
Are we solving the right problem?
Test assumptions and alternatives—including my own. Which constraints still matter? Which no longer do? Is the stated problem the real problem? Is the proposed solution actually necessary? Disagreement stays focused on the problem, evidence and consequences—not the people involved. The purpose of challenge is not to win an argument. It is to improve the decision.
04
Recommend
What is the practical direction?
Give an initial assessment where possible. If the decision needs more evidence, use a focused deep dive, workshop or review before making the options, trade-offs and practical direction explicit.
05
Execute, if useful
Only when execution genuinely adds value.
Help prototype, build, review or guide implementation when that adds value. Execution is never the predetermined destination.
Working principles
No technology theatre.
No predetermined platform to sell.
No unnecessary team around a problem that needs one senior person.
Challenge the idea, not the person.
Clear about uncertainty and trade-offs.
Respect the reasoning behind previous decisions without assuming those decisions should remain unchanged.
Comfortable recommending not yet or don’t build it.
If you have a decision in front of you, we can start with an informal conversation and see whether there is a useful fit.