The technical lead on your side of the table.
For owners and operational leaders who don't have a technical lead on staff: I find the real problem, scope the fix, coordinate the people building it — vendors included — and stay close so it doesn't drift back.
Before, during, and after the build
Major systems decisions — a new platform, a big vendor, a prototype that has to grow up — are where I do my deepest work. Always as the technical lead on your side of the table. Never the one selling the hours.
Selection diligence
Someone technical in the room before you sign. I translate what vendors are actually promising, pressure-test the demos against how your business really works, and make sure the contract matches the pitch.
Implementation oversight
Your representative inside a major implementation. I review the plan like it's going to fail, track what the integrator owes you, and keep your requirements from getting negotiated away one status call at a time.
Rescue and make-it-real
When it went sideways or when an AI-built demo quietly became production. I work out what actually happened versus what everyone says happened, then turn what's salvageable into software a team can own.
The systems you run on every day.
Most advisors can't open the hood. Most builders can't tell you whether you should. The analysis work above is backed by two decades of hands-on delivery — the kind that usually shows up as duct-taped tools.
Numbers nobody trusts
Reports that disagree with each other, and data that needs a human ritual before every meeting. I clean it up, document it, and make it boring.
The spreadsheet running the company
The workbook nobody's allowed to touch and everybody depends on. I replace it with something durable your team can actually share.
Tools that don't talk
The copy-paste relay between systems that were supposed to save time. I connect them so they sync reliably — and complain loudly when something breaks.
Make the prototype real
Turn an AI-built or half-finished prototype into maintainable and secure software a team can own.
A calm, four-step path out of the chaos.
Map the mess
I sit with your actual files and tools and trace how work really flows — not how the org chart says it does.
Stabilize
Stop the bleeding first: backups, validation, and guardrails so nothing gets worse while we work.
Systemize
Rebuild the parts no one dares change into documented, tested systems — in small, reversible steps you can follow.
Hand off — or keep me on
You own it. Clear docs, sane defaults, and a maintenance plan so it doesn't rot back into a risk.
No jargon walls. You'll always know what I'm doing and why.
Small steps, full backups, nothing you can't undo.
Everything documented and owned by you — no lock-in.
I'm the person you call before that spreadsheet takes the whole operation down with it.
For over two decades I've worked inside small and mid-sized teams — the ones running on heroic spreadsheets, half-finished automations, and tools that don't talk to each other. I make those systems boring, in the best way: predictable, documented, and quietly reliable.
I'm hands-on and pragmatic. I won't sell you a platform migration you don't need. I'll fix what keeps breaking, connect what's disconnected, and leave you with something your team can rely on — documented, owned by you, with no lock-in.
More about meField notes from the actual work
Short, practical write-ups from the work — no thought-leadership, just what actually helps.
When a spreadsheet quietly becomes a liability
The workbook that runs your business didn't start dangerous. Here's how to spot the moment it crossed the line — and what to do that isn't a full rewrite.
Read note →The duct-tape tax
Held-together tools feel free because the cost is hidden in everyone's time. A simple way to make that cost visible — and worth fixing.
Read note →Making an AI-built prototype real
AI got you a working demo in a weekend. Turning it into software your team can run for years is a different job — and a worthwhile one.
Read note →Running a process you'd rather an auditor didn't see?
We'll start with a short systems review. I'll tell you, honestly, whether I can help and what it would take.