FREE TOOLS
Things you can use today
Templates, checklists and one-pagers from the work itself, free to use. Some you take straight away; for downloads, leave your email and I’ll send the file.
INTERACTIVE · 2 MINUTES
The bearings check
A two-minute self-assessment for data, analytics and AI leaders. Eight statements across the four bearings — strategic, commercial, operational, personal — and a clear read on where growth would pay off first.
- Eight statements, answered on instinct — no right answers
- Your four bearings plotted against each other, with a reading for each
- Your answers stay in your browser — nothing is sent or stored
PDF · 2 PAGES · STRATEGIC BEARING
The resistance diagnostic
Why the smartest people in the room push back on your data, and what to do about it. Work out what's really driving your toughest stakeholder, then plan your next conversation around it.
- Tell a useful sceptic from someone rationalising a view they already hold
- Five reasons people resist data, what each sounds like, and what to try
- A quick check on the habits that make resistance worse
- A one-page worksheet to prepare for your next conversation
PDF · 2 PAGES · OPERATIONAL BEARING
The thinking space kit
Urgency is corrosive, and a data team sells thinking. Work out how much of your team's urgency is real, protect time for exploration, and run your team so thinking can actually happen.
- Three questions that separate real urgency from the loud kind
- How to budget for serendipity — and defend it when the backlog calls
- Nancy Kline's Thinking Environment, applied to data teams
- A two-week urgency log and a one-page serendipity plan
IN PRINT
Articles & essays
Most of this comes from The Data Boardroom, my weekly newsletter for data leaders who want to operate like business leaders.
THE DATA BOARDROOM
ELSEWHERE
ON THE RECORD
Podcast conversations
Guest appearances where I’ve talked about data as an asset, strategies built from nothing and built around the customer, and the commercial habits that make data leaders heard.
JACK TO THE FUTURE
Aug 2026Intelligence on your data assets
Knowing the condition, quality and value of the data you hold is what lets you make the case for investing in it — and defend it when the money is questioned. Most organisations have never looked at their data that way.
with Jack Sullivan
Watch
JACK TO THE FUTURE
Jul 2026AI needs perfect data
There's no such thing as perfect data. What matters is condition — quality plus context: one dataset may need to be 99% accurate, another is fine at 60%. If it's relevant, timely and contextual, you don't need 100% to generate value.
with Jack Sullivan
Watch
JACK TO THE FUTURE
Jul 2026Data readiness isn't a tech problem, it's a business one
The smartest teams start with the problem, work backwards and treat data like the asset it really is. Without that, scaling AI is a leap of faith rather than a decision you can defend.
with Jack Sullivan
Watch
SIGNAL TO PRODUCT
Jun 2025What's the real value of data in decision intelligence products?
Moving product teams off the idea that data is a cost, and towards thinking about its value when they work out return on investment.
with Yaron Cohen
Listen
BOSSNDATA
Mar 2025Maximizing the value of your data
Treating data as a real asset: how it gets valued, why investment stalls, and what makes the difference in the room where the money is allocated.
Season 1, Ep. 27
Listen
Want to go further?
If something here has prompted a question about your own role or team, a 30-minute conversation is a good place to take it.
Book a call with James