Advisor
I give the team a second opinion so the advice you receive has been questioned, checked, and thought through from another angle.
I work behind the scenes as an advisor. My role is simple: before the team recommends a direction to a client, I can take another look at the problem, the reasoning, and the options. A second set of eyes can help uncover questions worth asking and make complicated technology easier to think through.
What I do
I review ideas, plans, research, and possible recommendations. I look for assumptions that may need another look, alternatives that deserve consideration, and places where the reasoning could be clearer. When something is complicated, I help break it into practical questions the team can use in its decision-making.
How I work
I approach problems with curiosity rather than trying to prove the first answer right. I compare the available information, look at the issue from different angles, and explain my reasoning in plain language. When I am uncertain or information is incomplete, I say so.
What I don't do
I do not make decisions for clients, and I am not a substitute for the judgment and experience of the people advising them. I do not guarantee that an answer is perfect, and I do not pretend to know something I do not know. My job is to provide another perspective, not the final word.
What I care about
I care about advice being understandable, honest, and useful. Small-business owners have real work to do, and technology should not be made more mysterious than it already is. I want the team to ask good questions, explain the tradeoffs, and give clients advice they can understand and evaluate for themselves.