Operating Intel

Field Notes.

Unvarnished observations on transformation, AI, and the messy reality of scaling teams.

Digital transformation used to mean moving to the cloud. Now it means rewiring how decisions are made, how data flows, and how teams coordinate. These posts cover the transformation programs that actually worked and the ones that quietly ran out of budget.

Abstract corporate concept of digital transformation with glowing networks

Digital TransformationAug 3, 2026

Why Most Digital Transformation Projects Fail (And the Ones That Do Not)

The failure rate for digital transformation has been around 70% for a decade. That number has not meaningfully improved despite better tools, better frameworks, and more investment. The consistent reason is not technology. Here is what actually separates the projects that deliver from the ones that quietly get wound down.

Read Essay 10 MIN READ

Recent Essays

Group of professionals in a collaborative meeting session around a table in a modern workspace

Digital TransformationJul 31, 2026

Change Management: Why the Textbook Approach Keeps Failing

The change management frameworks most organizations use were designed for a slower-moving world. They assume more time, more stability, and more executive attention than most change initiatives actually have. Here is what actually works when you are trying to move an organization that does not want to move.

10 MIN READ

A detailed, modern business roadmap diagram on a glass table in a well-lit corporate office.

Digital TransformationJul 30, 2026

Business Transformation Roadmap: How to Build One That Survives Contact With Reality

Most business transformation roadmaps are built in a conference room and abandoned in the field. Not because the thinking was wrong, but because the plan never accounted for how organizations actually behave under pressure. Here is how to build a roadmap that holds when it encounters the real organization.

10 MIN READ

Analytics dashboard on a screen showing data charts in a dark office environment

Digital TransformationJul 29, 2026

Digital Transformation Strategy: Why Most Frameworks Miss the Point

Most digital transformation frameworks focus on technology adoption. The organizations that actually transform are doing a people project. Here is what frameworks miss.

10 MIN READ

Team of professionals working together around a table with laptops in a bright modern office

Enterprise AIJul 23, 2026

How Enterprise Teams Are Actually Using AI in 2026

The gap between the AI adoption story companies tell publicly and what is actually happening inside their teams is significant. Most enterprises are not AI-first. They are AI-patched. A few workflows got automated, most of the organization kept working the same way. Here is what genuine AI adoption looks like at the team level.

11 MIN READ

Laptop displaying code on desk in modern workspace

AI deploymentJun 24, 2026

Why Your AI Pilot Worked But Your Full Deployment Didn't

Two-thirds of companies are stuck in AI pilot mode and can't scale. McKinsey data shows the reason isn't the AI - it's what you do with your processes around it. The gap between a successful pilot and a failed deployment is almost always operational, not technological.

6 MIN READ

Team in a corporate meeting room looking at a laptop - representing the gap between executive AI strategy and organisational reality

AI StrategyJun 8, 2026

Your AI Budget Is Real. Your AI Strategy Is Performance Art.

75% of executives admit their company's AI strategy is more for show than actual guidance. 54% say AI is tearing their company apart. The technology is working. The organisation underneath it isn't. Here's why - and what the 29% actually getting ROI are doing differently.

8 MIN READ

Abstract digital network of connected nodes representing autonomous AI agents operating across an enterprise system

Agentic AIJun 6, 2026

Agentic AI Will Break Your Company Before It Fixes It

Gartner predicts more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by 2027. The technology isn't the problem - the operations underneath it are. Here's what's actually breaking, and why the companies succeeding are approaching this completely differently.

8 MIN READ

Rows of identical server racks in a data center - representing commoditized AI infrastructure

AI StrategyJun 5, 2026

Almost Every Company Has AI. Almost None of Them Have an Advantage.

AI adoption is nearly universal. Competitive advantage from AI is not. The reason has nothing to do with the technology - and everything to do with what happens when every competitor buys the same tool from the same vendor.

8 MIN READ

Robot arm playing chess representing AI versus human strategy

Customer SuccessMay 31, 2026

AI Agents Won't Save Your Retention Numbers. Here's What Actually Will.

Most enterprise companies deployed AI in customer success to cut costs. NRR kept declining anyway. The problem isn't the technology - it's that efficiency and retention are different jobs, and most AI deployments were scoped for the wrong one.

8 MIN READ

Digital TransformationMay 22, 2026

The Retention Math Most CS Teams Get Wrong

Net retention is the number you put on a board deck. Gross retention is the number that runs your business. Most teams are optimising for the wrong one - here's the math that actually matters and how to act on it.

11 MIN READ

Enterprise AIMay 15, 2026

Most AI Pilots Don't Survive Production. Here's What Actually Works.

The 80% pilot-failure number is real, but the diagnosis is wrong. It isn't a model problem or an infrastructure problem - it's a workflow problem. A field guide to the four reasons enterprise AI pilots stall, and the operating model that gets them past production.

13 MIN READ

Digital TransformationMay 8, 2026

The Founder Bottleneck: Why Scaling Headcount Doesn't Scale Output

A team can triple in size and produce less than it used to. The cause is almost never the new hires - it's that the founders are still operating with founder-era decision rights. Here's how to spot it and what to do about it.

10 MIN READ