Field Notes

From my seat in
San Francisco.

Field Notes is the column: how the biggest names in tech really buy — pipeline, buying committees, and the quiet mechanics behind the headline numbers. No theater, no pitch.

The column is new: one essay published, three drafting below, every date a real publish date — no backdated archive. The method behind it has the longer paper trail: the case notes and templates in the Field Guide.

Discovery
Negotiation
Forecasting
Champion-building
Career

Latest

Aug 2, 2026 The forecast is a story you tell twice. Most missed forecasts aren’t a lie to the VP — they’re a lie to yourself first. Date the deal to the customer’s calendar, not your quarter. Forecasting · 4-minute read

In the works

Drafting Champions don’t close deals. They survive the meetings you’re not in. Champion-building · lands Q4 2026
Drafting The real cost of “procurement is a formality.” Negotiation · lands Q1 2027
Drafting What I’d standardize first if I ran the desk. The account plan and the commit standard, scaled from one seat to a team — forecast hygiene, coaching cadence, and what stays non-negotiable. Forward-looking opinion, flagged as such. Team systems · lands 2027

From my seat inSan Francisco.

From my seat in
San Francisco.