Tristram Consultants

💡 Heartbeats. 💡 Good aren't they? If there's one bit of advice I'd give when going into a troubled business. It would be to establish a heartbeat. Regularisation brings consistency in operation. When people know what is expected and when. They know how to plan their days. When meetings and objectives are stable, people can get a good smooth run at the tasks in hand without the constant breaking of pace. A chaotic environment is often the result of an unstable practice.

Armchair Philosopher - Parenting I came across this very recently and am not sure who it is attributable to: "If you raise your children, you can spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you'll have to raise your grandchildren." Quite true I think. I manage. I Build. I fix. In a Poly Technical environment. Software, Electronics, Mechanical. Contact for a confidential discussion.

🔔 Pitching to investors - some thoughts 🔔 Pitch decks are like job interview preparations. All very well. But the person across the table also has their own prejudices and opinions. Your pitch deck is like your CV, you will never please everyone - far from it. Take a little advice and just get stuck in and soon you'll be the expert with pitching YOUR idea to YOUR kind of investor. You'll likely get plenty of practice. 😁

investors in technology businesses. Ever feel a little lost ? Not quite sure whether you are being told a reality or sold a myth? Need a reliable sounding board? Feel free to reach out confidently. I manage. I build. I fix. in a technology environment.

I'm scouting around for my next Interim Assignment. My skill-sets are managing, building and fixing issues in a Technology based environment. Whether Embryonic, SME or Multi National. Whether it's software/electronics/mech based. The last business that I worked for was a recycling start-up that I built for investors that was valued at £3M++ after a little over a year and generated 4 patent applications. Prior to that I was advising a $5bn FMCG multinational at exec level. It could be a fractional assignment or 5 days/week or maybe you'd just like an initial discussion. Feel free to reach out. I like coffee!

CTO's - a fools errand Much is written these days about the rise and the role of a modern day CTO. A job title that seems to have arisen from the increasingly abstract nuances of the software world and the reckoning as to its strategic importance in the companies business. And quite rightly so. But there IS a problem. The software world attracts the more introvert amongst us. It's no secret. It's geek heaven and a world for the communicative illiterate to exist. It's a world I understand having spent many decades trying to draw out conversations  not just from software engineers, but also electronics (less so) and mechanical designers ( even more less so). - and just there, you can see why those different disciplines are attracting different levels of natural introverts. Mechanical engineers, deal in detail and invention but have physical products at hand and often interaction with supplying manufactures and well as internal manufacturing. They have to interact with other disciplines. Electronic guys are more concerned with what happens within silicon devices. The product is real and touchable, but the processes are more prescriptive. Again, they have to interact with manufacturing and other disciplines such as Mechanical. Software guys have a product that can't be touched or seen and their interaction is increasing amongst the same community. The rise in the CTO as a discipline is driven directly from the rise of Apps and the interaction with the cloud. It's a necessary function as the company board try to understand the products that they can't see or touch. So elevating the function to board level was a necessary thing. But the problem here is the one stated at the beginning. The pool of senior engineers available to become a CTO is limited due to the pool of introverted engineers entering the profession. Great efforts are being made to raise the game of these engineers when the cohort is already tainted. So here's a thing. What is is that they lack? Communication, Business language, negotiation skills etc etc. All the things you would expect. But these are also the skill sets expected already in any other competent Cxx level. And they're expected from the start of a COO career before he got promoted. In other words these are not specialist attributes that make COO a COO. They are core abilities. So what to do? I would say, let CTO's be CTO's but have the likes of VP Engs. sitting and planning and strategising about the future and leave the Senior Software guys to look at technology strategy and not operational engineering matters. Let the VP Eng's sit at board level and the CTO's have a dotted line to the board - they will be much happier. Until we change our tack, we will continually struggle with innately disadvantaged people being presented at board level and attempts to educate them ultimately is band aid on industry.

💡 Building your team - who do you want? 💡 ➡ Employ people that you like. Why? ✅ Because you'll have fun working with them and your best work will be done whilst you're having fun ✅ You will be more free to come up with ideas ✅ You will find it easier to collaborate ✅ You will sleep (and recuperate ) better You will be buzzing N.B. Obviously make sure that they have the relevant experience and competence. 😊 I manage. I build. I fix. At senior level in a Poly Technical environment. CTO, COO, VP Eng. CPO, Business Change. Software, Electronics, Mechanical

💡 MVP - Minimum Viable Product. 💡 Some recent LinkedIn discussions have caused me to ponder some previous thoughts on MPV. My view of MVPs is that it's as much about assuring investors that there is a milestone or near term endpoint to investment as much as a viable product to be marketed. In fact, sometimes once the 'perceived' MVP is reached, it can become apparent that something slightly more or different is required. But it remains a checkpoint for investment to reach this far to assure that the product isn't just on a continually incremental path without proper market validation. But it remains essential for investors to be told, in detail, just what the MVP consists of. Additionally, prior to MVP, there may be an interim stage to reached which can be equally as important. A 'Concept Demonstrator' stage where the bare bones of the product can be shown and excised as a 'Proof of Concept' to inform both the developer, investor and possible early adopters. This can be absolutely key where behavioural or societal norms are to be changed and can be tested and challenged at this early stage. In fact, the product might not look like a coherent product and may be split into functions that can be presented, understood and remarked upon in their own right. I manage, I build, I fix. In a poly-technical environment from Start-ups to large multinationals. Operational and Technical Reach out for an informal chat.

Tough Times? My ear on the ground indicates times are a little tougher than advertised - and that probably will get worse over the coming months and possibly longer. If sales aren't forthcoming and operating costs are rising, it leads little room for improving your margins. If you are a tech business and are feeling this pinch. Reach out for a confidential chat. If you are a CEO with immediate concerns or an Investor who can see the writing on the wall. Send me a message on here. I manage, I build, I fix. In a Poly Technical environment. Software, Electronics, Mechanical and more!

🔔 Growing business? So many decisions. 🔔 Whether you are a few men in a start up or a larger business looking to grow. The question should arise as to just how to structure your business organisation in order to support that growth in the most efficient and cost effective way. The first thing to say is that all businesses are different. All will have their inherent stresses and most will need careful consideration as to how each one should grow in the best expeditious manner. But firstly, you need the vision as to where you want to head and in what time frame. In deciding that, you have to understand the pros and cons of different approaches. There's a modern type of business that I favour. This is one where you take a lean approach to employees. Only taking on the key people and outsourcing the more mundane. There are often other businesses that excel at Makerting, Order fulfilment, Installation, Services, R&D, Box build, Finance or Component assembly. In the early stages of growing an embryonic business, you really need to emphasise engagement quality and excelling in product delight. Building rapidly your Brand and Reputation. Sometimes the best route to this is outsourcing to experienced professionals and perhaps, taking a hit on profits. Later, you may bring aspects of this in house. There are many options for each function from inception to delivery, to end of life. Feel free to reach out for a discussion. I manage. I build, I fix. In a Poly Technical environment.