WHEN FAMILY BUSINESSES BRING ME IN

I’m usually engaged when the business is changing — not when everything’s steady.

Common situations:

• Technology spend is rising and the board wants a clean explanation

• Growth is stretching systems, process, reporting, or customer experience

• Succession or professionalisation is underway (new leadership layers, clearer accountability)

• An acquisition/integration is forcing systems to line up

• Delivery is noisy: delays, scope creep, rework, surprises

• You’ve got too many priorities and no agreed sequence

• Vendor trust is shaky and you want an independent view

• There’s no CIO / strategic layer to own decision-making end-to-end

If you’ve said any of these lately, it’s a signal:

• “We can’t get approval.”

• “We keep changing direction.”

• “We don’t have a clear story for the board.”

• “We’re not confident this is the right sequence.”

• “We can’t tell what’s justified and what’s fluff.”

TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS, IN BUSINESS LANGUAGE

Most family business leaders aren’t struggling with technology — they’re struggling with decision clarity.

Technology decisions rarely arrive as neat choices. They arrive as:

• a proposal you’re expected to approve

• a renewal or price increase with a technical explanation

• a “we need to modernise” program with unclear value

• a security recommendation that feels hard to challenge

• competing priorities and no agreed sequence

I help owners, executives and board members get clear on:

• What decision are we actually making today?

• What’s driving it — and what happens if we don’t?

• What are the real options (including doing nothing or doing less)?

• What will it cost — and what’s included vs assumed?

• What are the risks, dependencies, and trade-offs?

• What comes first — and what can wait?

So instead of approving a bundle of technical work on faith, you can approve a clear business decision with your eyes open.

WHAT CHANGES WHEN THIS IS WORKING

• Faster approvals and fewer reversals later

• One roadmap leadership can repeat (and delivery can execute)

• Clear priorities and sequencing, with trade-offs made explicit

• Fewer surprises because risk, cost and dependencies are surfaced early

• Less churn because decisions are logged and priorities stay stable.

SERVICES

I provide independent technology advisory for family businesses across three areas:

1. Technology investment decision support
   Board-ready clarity on options, costs, risks, consequences and recommendations.

2. Prioritisation and roadmap sequencing
   What comes first, what depends on what, and what can wait.

3. Governance that keeps decisions moving
   A simple rhythm for decision forums, decision logs, and accountability — so choices don’t stall.

Typical deliverables (board-ready and practical):

• Decision papers (options / cost / risk / consequences / recommendation)

• Business rationale and investment logic

• “Decide vs park” view for meetings

• Dependency map

• Sequenced roadmap (near-term + medium-term)

• Decision log (what / when / who / why)

• Lightweight governance cadence

HOW IT WORKS

1. Clarify the decisions that are required (and who owns them)

2. Gather the operational truth from the people doing the work

3. Translate it into plain-English decision papers and clear choices

4. Build a sequenced roadmap with dependencies and trade-offs visible

5. Run a simple governance rhythm so decisions keep progressing

6. Maintain dependencies and the decision log so the sequence stays stable

WORKING WITH YOUR DELIVERY PARTNERS

I don’t compete with your IT team or providers.

I work alongside your delivery partners — your internal IT team, managed service provider (MSP), system integrator, and software/platform vendors — to turn technical inputs into clear business decisions.

• Your delivery partners bring the operational truth: options, costs, risks, dependencies, constraints

• I translate that into decision-making: what matters most, what comes first, and how to explain it

• You get one roadmap, one set of priorities, one story that leadership and delivery can run with

Good for you: clearer approvals, fewer surprises, less churn.
Good for them: cleaner scope, faster decisions, fewer last-minute changes.

And just so it’s explicit: I don’t resell services or try to take delivery work.

WHO THIS IS FOR

Core fit: family businesses undertaking meaningful change where technology investment is under board-level scrutiny.

Common patterns:

• Family-owned businesses transitioning to professional management structures

• Second-generation (or third-generation) businesses scaling operations

• Businesses modernising systems and governance to support growth

• Boards frustrated with technology spend and outcomes, but not sure how to fix decisioning and sequencing

• Mission-critical operations with no CIO (or not enough strategic capacity)

Not a fit:

• Steady-state BAU where it’s mostly minor improvements

• Situations where you only want delivery resourcing or “project management” without fixing decisioning, priorities and sequencing

• Scenarios where you want a single vendor to recommend the plan and sell the delivery, and you’re not open to independent advice

ABOUT ME

I help family businesses make confident technology investment decisions — especially when the business is growing, changing, integrating, or under pressure to justify spend.

I’m industry-agnostic by design. Whether you’re in manufacturing, agriculture/horticulture, software, legal or financial services, the pattern is consistent: when decisions are unclear, delivery gets expensive.

If you’re facing a technology investment decision and want clarity without the jargon, let’s talk.

Book a short fit call and we’ll get clear on:

• what decisions are required

• what’s missing to get confident approval

• what a sensible sequence looks like

FAQ

What do you mean by “technology investment”?
Material spending on systems, platforms, security, infrastructure, data, or major change programs — where the business needs a clear rationale, sequencing and governance.

What do you mean by “delivery partners”?
The people who implement and support your technology: internal IT, an MSP, system integrator, and software/platform vendors.

Do you deliver projects or implement systems?
No. I’m independent advisory. I work alongside your delivery partners who do the delivery. I’ll make sure they’re focussed on the right things and are meeting their commitments.

Will you replace our current IT provider?
No. I’m not trying to take delivery work — I make the decisioning and sequencing clearer so delivery runs smoother.

Can you help us assess a proposal, renewal, or price increase?
Absolutely. I can translate what’s being proposed, test the assumptions commercially, and help you understand the decision you’re being asked to make.

When should we bring you in?
When technology spend is material, board scrutiny is high, priorities are unclear, or delivery is noisy (delays, scope creep, surprises).

What will we get when working with you?
Regular communication with senior leadership, board-ready decision papers, a sequenced roadmap, dependency map, decision log, and a governance rhythm that keeps decisions moving.