I read the systems a business already runs on, find what's creating drag, and rebuild it to run cleaner — with automation and AI doing the heavy lifting where they actually earn it. For small and midsize teams who know something's slowing them down but can't quite see where.
Let's find your frictionI've spent my career inside operations — finance, billing, systems, the machinery that keeps a business actually running. Staffing first, now professional services. Different industries, same instinct: read the system that already exists, find what's creating drag, and improve it incrementally until the whole thing runs better.
Most companies don't need a rebuild. They need someone to look closely at how work actually flows, name the friction everyone's stopped noticing, and fix it — without blowing up what's working. That's the work I'm drawn to, and increasingly it's the work I do for other businesses, not just my own. Automation and AI are just the current tools; the companies that get burned by AI are the ones that bolt it onto a broken process, while the ones that win fix the process first.
That instinct shows up outside of work too. I automate my home the same way I'd approach a workflow problem — start with what's actually annoying, fix it, see what's next. I homebrew beer with the same mindset: measure, adjust, iterate. Same philosophy, different feedback loops.
Understand the whole system before you touch any one part of it. That's the difference between work that gets clearer over time and work that just gets more complicated.
These aren't principles I arrived at — they're patterns I keep finding to be true.
Understanding the problem clearly is half the solve. Most friction comes from complexity that hasn't been examined closely enough.
Hidden work is a broken system. When the solve is visible — how decisions get made, how work flows — people can trust it and improve it.
Metrics should answer real questions, not just fill dashboards. If the data doesn't change behavior, it's decoration.
A mix of professional work and personal experiments. Find the friction, reduce it, measure what changed.
I work with small and midsize teams to diagnose operational friction, tighten how systems and data connect, and find where automation and AI actually move the needle. Fractional, project-based, or just a sharp second opinion.
Available nowAn umbrella for projects, experiments, and ideas. From AI tools to automation workflows — things that are, well, slightly cool.
slightlycool.comField notes on systems, work, and ideas. Where I think out loud about friction, efficiency, and how things actually work.
SubstackThe day-to-day: owning the systems, integrations, and data flows that keep an operation running — and steadily making them clearer and harder to break.
Professional workBrewing is systems thinking you can drink. Measure, adjust, iterate — and actually enjoy the results.
The craft sideIf your team is wrestling with a process that should work better — or you're trying to figure out where AI actually fits — I'm open to advisory and consulting conversations.
And if you know me from the staffing world: I still keep a hand in staffing technology. If that's where we crossed paths, let's catch up.