Field notes
Where value gets stuck, and what it took to move it.
A browsable diagnostic library. Every piece is tagged to one of the seven constraint layers — filter to the layer that sounds like your business today.
Constraint index
Every post here solves one real constraint. Yours is probably in here.
More field notes
- Constraint layer: People and execution
The Founder Bottleneck
Every decision routes through the founder; the team stalls waiting on answers. Fix it with a 3-tier decision-rights matrix and an escalation threshold.
July 10, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: People and execution
Tribal Knowledge Is Not a System
The business runs on what's in three people's heads. Fix it with an 80/20 SOP sprint: document only the twelve processes that touch revenue or clients first.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: People and execution
They Hired an Operations Manager to Fix a Missing System
Hiring into chaos gives the chaos a salary. Define the workflow, the owner, and the standard first. Then hire — with a six-item readiness checklist.
July 8, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Cash and decisions
Meetings Without an Operating Rhythm
Fourteen recurring meetings, zero decisions. Collapse the calendar into one weekly operating meeting and one monthly working session, with a strict agenda.
July 7, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Cash and decisions
Flying Blind: The Business With No Scorecard
The founder hears about problems from angry clients, weeks late. Fix it with a 5–9 number weekly scorecard, each owned, each with an off-track trigger.
July 6, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Customer and delivery
Why Clients Quietly Leave: Inconsistent Delivery
Churn is rarely a relationship problem — it's variance. Define the standard client experience, instrument it, and run a five-question autopsy on every loss.
July 5, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Cash and decisions
Revenue Up, Cash Unpredictable
Top line grows, monthly cash panics. Fix the rhythm, not the number: a 13-week rolling view, invoice-on-trigger, standardized terms. Process, not advice.
July 4, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Technology and scale
Fourteen Tools, Zero System
Every tool was bought to solve a symptom. Data fragments, nobody trusts any number. Map the workflow first, then collapse to one system of record per noun.
July 3, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: People and execution
Delegation That Boomerangs
Delegated work returns half-done, so it feels faster to do it yourself. That's the trap. Delegation is a system, not a handoff — use the 4-level ladder.
July 2, 2026 · 4 min read
- Constraint layer: Customer and delivery
The Capacity Ceiling
Pipeline is full, but one more client breaks delivery. Growth stalls on undesigned capacity, not demand. Treat capacity as math with a defined hiring trigger.
July 1, 2026 · 4 min read
Start with the constraint