Field notes on data infrastructure, modernization, and the work of getting operations right.

01 — Latest Insight

1. 01Buying Software Won't Fix ItWhy the tool you are about to buy will inherit the problem you already have.
2. 02Excel Isn't the ProblemThe rebuild that keeps the spreadsheet your team likes and removes the part that breaks.
3. 03Put the Constraints in the Solver, Not the SpreadsheetWhat it looks like when the rules finally live where a machine can enforce them.

• June 2026An Answer Without a Citation Is a GuessTrust the source, not the model. A citation turns a leap of faith into a ten-second check.AI & Data · 6 min read
• June 2026The Best Migration Is the One Nobody NoticesBig-bang cutovers fail because reality arrives all at once. Migrate value, not screens.Operations · 5 min read
• May 2026What “AI-Ready” Actually Means for Financial OperationsThe infrastructure prerequisites nobody talks about before they buy AI tools.AI & Data · 6 min read
• April 2026Excel Isn’t the Problem. Your Architecture Is.Spreadsheets become systems of record by accident. The fix is structural, not categorical.Architecture · 5 min read
• March 2026Buying Software Won’t Fix a Broken ProcessSaaS doesn’t clarify logic. It just rebrands the dysfunction.Operations · 5 min read
• March 2026The Hidden Cost of Tribal Knowledge in Financial OperationsWhen the logic lives in one head, the org chart is the disaster-recovery plan.Operations · 6 min read
• February 2026The Audit Trail You Wish You Had — Design It NowThe cheapest time to add lineage and access logs is before anyone needs them.Governance · 6 min read
• February 2026Why Most Automation Projects Fail (And How to Avoid It)Automation amplifies what you give it. Give it a poorly understood process and you get a faster mess.Automation · 6 min read
• January 2026Reconciliation Is a Symptom, Not a WorkflowContinuous validation, canonical keys, and a system of record beat heroic spreadsheets.Architecture · 5 min read

• Architecture

  How systems should be structured so spreadsheets, code, and SQL each do what they’re actually good at.

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• Operations

  What changes when business logic stops living in someone’s head and starts living in a system.

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• Automation

  Where automation creates leverage, where it creates risk, and how to tell the difference up front.

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• AI & Data

  What “AI-ready” actually requires — and what teams should fix before they buy another model.

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• Governance

  Designing audit trails, lineage, and access controls in from day one, not bolted on under deadline.

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