Fig. 01 — work out what to doOne to two weeks

Work out what actually needs doing.

Something isn't working and nobody can tell you exactly what. Or you know where it hurts, and what to do about it is anyone's guess.

So I come and work it out with you. A week or two alongside the people doing the job, until what is wrong is clear to everyone. Then we plan what happens next, and I write it down.

The plan is yours. Have me build it, or take it anywhere else.

Fig. 02 — what I go and look at

Five things, and the answer is usually in the first two.

The process as it actually runs

Not the version in the handbook. Who touches the job, what they type, what they copy from where, and what they do on the day it goes wrong. This is where most of the answer turns out to be.

Where the truth actually lives

Every business has one place that is really right, and it is often a spreadsheet on somebody’s desktop. Finding it, and finding what disagrees with it, explains most of the double entry and most of the arguments.

The systems you already pay for

What you have, what you actually use, and what overlaps. A surprising amount of what people are about to buy is already sitting unused in something they renewed last year.

The people holding it together

Who keeps the whole process in their head, and what happens when they are on holiday. Their workarounds are the most reliable description of the problem you will get from anyone.

Anything you are being asked to buy

If there is a proposal or a quote on the table, I read it as part of this, and say whether it addresses what I have found. That is one input to the plan rather than the whole exercise.

Fig. 03 — what you end up withOne to two weeks

A plan

What is actually wrong, what to do about it, in what order, and what each part involves. In plain English, short enough to read in one sitting, and written so you can hand it to your board or to a supplier.

Built with you

I take you through what I found. Then we build the plan together. You know your business, I know how these things tend to play out, and a plan that actually moves things forward needs both.

The plan is yours

Have me build it, hand it to your own team, or take it to another supplier and get it priced. Plenty of these end with somebody else doing the work. Knowing the plan is also what lets you push a quote further, and ask the questions that get you what you actually need for the money.

Fig. 04 — how I do thisJonathan Gill

I ran technology inside Watchfinder from employee number four through to CTO and CIO. Most of that job was working out what was actually wrong before anybody built anything, across ecommerce, the warehouse, the retail estate, finance, and all the joins between them.

I am independent of whoever you are already working with. I take no commission from any supplier, and I have nothing waiting at the end of this that you have to buy.

If the plan says something needs building, I can build it. If it says you need somebody senior alongside the team you already have, that is keeping it on track. If it says neither, you still have the plan.

Fig. 05 — get in touch

EnquiryFree 30-min call

Tell me what's going on

A few lines about what you're stuck with. You don't need a defined project or a brief. It comes straight to me and I'll come back to you to sort out a call.

CassAI assistant · no sign-up

Not sure how to explain it?

Cass is an Agent I built to help you work out what to tell me. It asks a few questions and gets the detail down, so our first call is a productive one.