Insights
Ideas for better business systems
Practical thinking from the digital edge.
All insights
AI in Practice
A Practical Guide to Prompt Engineering in September 2026
Most of my prompt engineering now happens before the prompt. Here is when to use a direct prompt, when to work up a confirmed brief with an agent, and when the whole method belongs in a reusable skill.
AI in Practice
What 30 AI models got wrong on ordinary business work
I ran 324 tests across inbox triage, browser invoice entry and a month-end close. The results changed how I think businesses should test and deploy models.
AI in Practice
How much does model inference cost a business each month?
At realistic business volumes, Good-performing models cost about A$75.82 to A$85.43 a month in measured inference. Here is what drives that bill.
AI in Practice
Anthropic’s usage gimmicks are becoming a trust problem
Over six months, Claude’s limits, credits and model access have kept moving. The models are excellent. The commercial uncertainty is making them harder to build a business around.
Technology
You built it in Lovable. Now what?
You described an app and over a weekend it existed. Maybe a whole department runs on it now. That's a genuinely new thing and it deserves credit. But there's a gap between an app that works and an app you can run a business on, and it doesn't announce itself on day one.
Cyber Security
The End of the Essential Eight (and What Comes Next)
Australia's flagship cyber security baseline, the Essential Eight, is being retired. Here's where it came from, how well it really worked, and why the ASD is changing course to a new threat-informed "Essentials" series — right as AI rewrites the rules.
Workflow
The Automation I Didn't Build
Someone checking supplier invoices line by line will get bored, and bored people miss things. The obvious answer is to automate it. But automation only catches half of what goes wrong on an invoice, and it's not the half that costs you. Here's what we did instead.
AI in Practice
What One Hour Actually Looks Like - Getting a Builder Started with Claude
A builder thought Claude was just a fancier Google. By the end of one hour he was pulling contract values straight from his building software. Here's what actually happened in that hour, and why most people never get past the "fancier Google" stage.
You've Outgrown the Spreadsheet. Now What?
Someone pushed back on one of my LinkedIn posts last month. They said you can do exactly the same thing in a spreadsheet. I said: "How did you go scaling that?" Because that's the real question, not whether the spreadsheet works, but what happens when the business has grown past what it can carry.
What Actually Happens When a Technology Consultant Walks Into Your Operation
Most people hear "technology consultant" and picture someone turning up with a slide deck. That's not how this works. It usually starts at someone's desk, looking at the spreadsheet that's quietly holding the operation together, and the three systems around it that don't talk to each other.
Auditing Systems in Construction and Trades
Most construction businesses don't audit their systems until something breaks. Here's what to actually look for, and where to start, when the processes that got you here stop working.
Your Business Is Your System
Most business systems aren’t designed upfront. They form gradually as responsibility moves beyond the founder, becoming the structure that determines how work flows and how the business operates.
Workflow
Transform Chaos into Order: Mastering Business Workflow for Success
Discover how to transform your business operations from chaos to order with our comprehensive guide to workflow management. Learn to identify inefficiencies, organize your processes, and leverage insights for smarter decision-making.
payroll
Payroll Systems vs. Time Tracking Systems: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
A payroll system and a time tracking system serve entirely different purposes within a business. Understanding their roles could unlock surprising insights that go well beyond just tracking hours or paying employees.
Software
How Fast Can Your Software Move?
When we talk about software speed, we're not referring to how slick the interface looks or how smoothly the menus roll out. What we're talking about is this: **how quickly can your software adapt to your business needs?**
empowering your business
Empowering Your Business with Strategic Data Insights
In the competitive world of small to medium-sized construction businesses, having the right insights at the right time can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. Empowering your business through strategic data insights involves transforming data into actionable intelligence that drives decision-making.
improving your business
Improving Your Business Systems: From Refinement to Empowerment
For small to medium-sized construction businesses, continually improving business systems is crucial to maintaining efficiency and staying competitive. By refining existing processes and integrating new ones, you can streamline operations and empower your team to focus on higher-value tasks.
organizing your business
Organising Your Business Systems: From Chaos to Clarity
For small to medium-sized construction businesses, organisation is key to driving efficiency and reducing stress for both management and employees. Organising business systems effectively helps streamline operations, minimise errors, and create a cohesive work environment.
understanding your business
Understanding Your Business: Laying the Foundation for Success
In the dynamic world of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the construction sector, understanding the fabric of your business is paramount. Whether your team consists of just five or ten people, or you’re on the cusp of larger growth, grasping how your business operates on every level can drive sustainable success.
understanding your business
Reputation: Your Biggest Salesperson in Construction and Trades
In the bustling world of construction and trades, where projects are won and lost on trust and reliability, your reputation is not just important - it is your most powerful sales tool.
advice
Tips and Best Practices for Staying Safe on the Job
G’day, tradies! As a tradesperson, safety should always be a top priority. We all know that the jobs we do can be risky and dangerous, so it’s important to take steps to protect ourselves and our mates. Here are some tips and best practices for staying safe on the job.
improving your business
Mental Health in Trades: Why It’s Important and How to Improve It
G’day, tradies! As we all know, working in the trades can be bloody tough. You’re out there on the tools, working long hours, dealing with all sorts of physical demands and dangerous situations. It’s no wonder that mental health can sometimes take a hit. That’s why it’s so important that we talk about this issue and support each other when we’re struggling.