Last updated: January 2026
Building
Most of my time goes to Max Digital Edge, where we are expanding our AI receptionist infrastructure. The goal is handling inbound calls with the same quality a skilled human would provide, but with perfect consistency and unlimited availability. This is harder than it sounds, and most of the work is in the edge cases.
We are also rebuilding our Google Ads management systems from the ground up. Not the interface, but the decision-making architecture underneath. The question we are working through: how do you encode years of operator judgment into systems that can be maintained and improved over time?
Writing
I am working on a series of essays about marketing science and its practical implications for operators. The research from Ehrenberg-Bass and similar institutions is rigorous and extensive, but most of it is written for academics. I want to translate it into operator language.
The current focus is on mental availability and category entry points. These concepts explain more about buyer behavior than most marketing frameworks, but they are poorly understood outside academic circles.
Reading
Currently working through the IPA Effectiveness Awards database, looking for patterns in what actually drives business results versus what wins awards. The gap is instructive.
Also revisiting Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk on distinctive assets. Trying to reconcile the theory with what we observe in practice with local service businesses, where brand building operates under different constraints than FMCG.
Thinking About
The relationship between demand capture and demand creation. Most operators think about these as a sequence: first create demand, then capture it. I am increasingly convinced this is backwards for most businesses.
How AI changes the economics of follow-up. When the marginal cost of a perfect follow-up approaches zero, what does that do to competitive dynamics? To customer expectations? To the businesses that built advantages on manual processes?
The limits of optimization. When optimization makes performance worse is one of my most-read essays, and I keep finding new examples. There is something deeper here about the relationship between measurement and the thing being measured.
Not Doing
I am not consulting, advising, or taking on projects outside Max Digital Edge. The focus is narrow for a reason.
I am not speaking at conferences or doing podcasts. Writing is a better use of time, and the ideas compound better in long form.
I am not active on social media. If you want to follow what I am thinking, the essays are the place.