A manifesto: in full

This is an evolving set of statements that attempts to encapsulate what my professional life as We Sort is and why it is. It is a published declaration of intentions, motives, and views.

In many ways this is for me, though clients find it a useful insight into how I work.

It includes some pragmatic working practices to encourage a steady cadence of progress.

Last updated: Jan 2026

NB: There is also a shorter version.

I believe that:

Every small business should be and can be: calm, profitable, satisfying and sustainable.

Good livelihoods emerge from curiosity and a compulsion to work on a certain type of problem. A problem that the business monetises with substantial value for both the business and the client. A symbiotic relationship where both sides are keen to work together.

Profit is the net result of processes functioning well. Make the processes better, and the profits will follow. Striving to improve how day-to-day admin gets done is an obvious place to focus as admin is sometimes tedious, often unbillable, and a distraction from the primary ‘work’ of the business. But when done well, admin is a well-considered set of processes that provides structure and predictability. Good processes allow us more time for what we want to do.

Our best work is a cycle: ideas > plans > activities > discovery > ideas…

Continuous improvement is self-evident with a steady cadence of small, incremental steps towards clear, relatable ambitions, which are written down and accountable to a timescale. We try new approaches, and persist with those that yield the best results. Momentum comes naturally from real problems, not presumed problems. Steps are taken from data learned from our specific and nuanced context.

Running a business is, at its core, the work of getting better at predicting, projecting and adapting to the future. We should be cautious when predicting the future. Rather, we should set our intentions and stay cognisant of assumptions. Working with expectations but accepting that things may change. And when they do change, reacting reasonably.

By default, honesty and transparency tend to be the best approach. In the context of prediction, we must aim to be honest with ourselves and seek out ways to reveal our biases and blind spots.

Sometimes we must work hard, but generally it’s better to find ways to work with intention. To learn from experience and do whatever will give the best results that are aligned with our aims. Hard work alone is tiresome and unsustainable for extended periods of time.

Collaboration is far superior to management. I find that we are most effective when those who do the doing are the same people who are planning the doing. Ideally, a good representation of stakeholders are inherently involved across decisions and actions — be that small stuff or wide-reaching. It’s for this reason that I’m drawn to working with small businesses.

Good work is any work that is interesting to those who do it. Success is best measured against our own clearly defined aspirations — these may align with our peers, but they may not. Defining and evolving what is good enough helps us to find satisfaction, and to progress.

Some guidelines that I’ve set for myself:

~ Work regular hours. (typically weekdays, ~40 hrs / week)

~ Have regular holidays. (at least every other month, 5+ weeks per year, at least one that’s 2+ weeks)

~ Earn comfortably and increasingly build up savings. (short- and long-term savings, earn between 80-90 percentile for UK income - ref: gov.uk… / gsheet)

~ Have a balance of clients. (six to ten separate clients within each monthly cycle, across a few sectors, varying degrees of intensity)

~ Track time comprehensively (daily, in 15 minute increments, using calendars)

Some definitions:

~ small business: actually, I mean micro, 1-10 people

~ profit: refers to financial profit as well as regained time and effort, energy and enthusiasm

Some influences:

~ The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker

~ The Goal by Eli Goldratt

~ Good to Great by Jim Collins

~ What Screens Want by Frank Chimero

~ Fix This Sign & Nerd Sniping by XKCD

~ Justin Jackson & Paul Jarvis Ep 155 of Build Your SaaS podcast

~ My lifestyle-centric career by Rachel Smith

~ The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

~ No Rules Rules Netflix

~ A Moment of Financial Clarification 2013, John Scalzi

Some quotes:

“What is measured, improves.”
— Peter F. Drucker

“Perfect is the enemy of good.”
— Voltaire

“Determining what to do with my opinions is your choice and I want you to make up your mind. When I do give feedback, it’s to be helpful. It’s not to tell you what to do.”
— unknown consultant

“ _____is the price you pay for substandard _____.”
— various

• Advertising is the price you pay for substandard product.

• Admin is the price you pay for substandard process.

• Management is the price you pay for substandard people.
  - eg: Look first to the manager, then to the managed.

“That Fatal Assumption: if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work.”
— Michael E. Gerber, from The E-Myth: Revisited
- eg: Being an excellent plumber does not necessarily make you excellent at running a plumbing business.

“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”
— Douglas Hofstadter