Technology advisory
I help organisations set strategy in a landscape that won't stand still, then carry it through architecture into execution. Vendor-independent, hands-on, and drawn to the tough problems in places where getting it wrong matters.
Workshop statement
I'm insatiably curious. I want to know why things work, why they don't, and why we've decided they have to work that way in the first place.
Why can we get food delivered almost anywhere in Sydney, but not an AED when somebody's heart stops?
I've spent decades collecting a fairly eclectic kitbag of ways to answer questions like that. Some came from enterprise technology and startups. Others from teaching people to dive, sailing across oceans, facilitating teams, building things and, more recently, saving lives.
They've taught me to start with first principles, understand the whole system, and talk to the people who actually live in it.
Then get them talking to each other.
Sometimes the answer is strategy. Sometimes architecture, software or a prototype. Sometimes the most useful answer is don't build anything at all.
And sometimes you end up building a drone.
When you ask better questions, take the time to understand the system, engage everyone in the room, 100%, and build things, there's no kill switch on what we can achieve.
Questions I'm exploring
01Why can food reach someone faster than an AED?
02What happens to enterprise software when AI can reason across application boundaries?
03How should humans and AI divide the work?
04How can emerging technology improve pre-hospital and emergency response?
Things I'm building
LIFT is exploring whether drones can help get emergency equipment to people sooner. It is applied research: first principles, the whole response system, a working prototype and evidence for what should happen next.
What do people actually need to work well with AI? A free assessment that maps experience across seven practical capabilities, with individual and enterprise tracks and a prioritised action plan.
How can a group make a decision it can trust without turning the process into a project of its own? Votez is a lightweight, transparent answer, built and run by No Kill Switch.
Problems I can help with
I can advise, architect, facilitate and build. Which tool we use depends on the problem, not the other way round.
Technology, people, process, incentives, regulation and culture rarely stay in separate boxes. I help teams see how the parts interact before deciding which one to change.
Executives, engineers, clinicians, product teams and frontline workers often describe the same system in different languages. Facilitation means engaging everyone in the room, not merely inviting them.
That might mean moving from a board paper to a prototype, shaping a product decision, or working out whether to build, buy, partner or stop.
I'd rather tell you what not to build than sell you something you don't need.
The kitbag
The useful bit of decades spent in very different environments is knowing which tool to reach for, when to listen, and when the plan needs to change.
Get clear on the question, the system around it and the assumptions hiding in plain sight. Strategy and architecture belong here, but so do curiosity and a good map.
Bring different expertise and perspectives into the reasoning. The aim is not for me to arrive with The Answer. It is for us to work out a better one together.
Build the smallest useful thing, put it in front of real people and learn. Cheap to be wrong here, expensive to be wrong later.
You get me, not a bench.
About
I've spent decades at the point where technology meets people who have a job to do. Enterprise architecture and startups taught me to see systems and trade-offs. Teaching, including teaching people to scuba dive, taught me that explaining something is not the same as being understood.
Ocean sailing, building things and, more recently, paramedicine have added different stakes and different ways to deal with uncertainty. The thread through all of it is simple: understand the situation, bring people into the thinking, choose the right tool, act, then pay attention to what happens.
No Kill Switch is where that kitbag gets used. Sometimes for my own questions and prototypes. Sometimes for paid advisory, architecture, facilitation, product and technology work. I don't resell anyone's platform, so the advice is mine and the trade-offs are yours to see.
Free assessment
Seven capabilities, scored honestly, with a prioritised plan at the end. Individual and enterprise tracks.
Register interest
Tell me what you're interested in and I'll let you know when it's ready. No spam. Just the things you asked for.
Contact
A 30 minute call, no pitch. If I'm not the right fit I'll say so and point you somewhere useful.