June, July & August 2025 - Diary of a Revenue Engineer
Quote of the month:
"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life… Tryna make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die"
- Richard Ashcroft, The Verve
What I thought…
“It’s easy to feel like an optimistic pessimist in today’s world - to genuinely believe in humanity’s infinite capacity for good, yet question if we’ll truly rise to the occasion.”
And just like that, three months passed in a whirlwind of learning and hard work. I hope you’ve been keeping well since I last posted if it’s not your first time, and welcome if it’s your first.
Like everyone, I’m thinking a great deal about the state of the world, eager for the opportunity, saddened by the inequality. It’s easy to feel like an optimistic pessimist in today's world - to genuinely believe in humanity’s infinite capacity for good, yet question if we’ll truly rise to the occasion.
The systems we operate within often feel fundamentally broken—unfair, unsustainable, and frankly, unadvisable. They barely work now. They won’t work for much longer.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d opt for this instead of the brutality I believe to be so close to the surface, and still the reality for so many people. But what we have is not that advanced and I think it would be remiss of us to think that it’s a done deal. That has always empowered humanity to find more novel solutions and, now more than ever, we need people at their best working together.
It’s a challenge, I know - one I fail at almost daily. But I truly believe that working on ones-self is the key to unlocking so much around us. For our families, our communities, our businesses, our selves.
Over the past 3 months, I worked harder at my job than I’ve ever worked before. I added a 6 week AI course from Oxford University / Said School of Business into the mix, I got COVID again (remember that) just before my Daughter’s 4th birthday, and I lost a dear furry friend... It’s no wonder that I’m bundling three months into one...
So - how did we progress to be in a better place to help myself and those around me?
What I learned…
“Grief is such a strange emotion, and to mourn is a unique pain. ”
This past month has been a period of intense learning, primarily focused on the transformative potential of AI whilst learning on the fly in the changing environment of my workplace:
AI Potential:
My course at Oxford University’s Said School of Business has opened my eyes to its vast applications, from optimising revenue engines to revolutionising operational efficiency.
I’m seeing how AI can tackle sales funnel bottlenecks, improve CRM usage, implementations and value - if you can navigate data quality challenges. The insights gained are not just theoretical; they underline the critical need for businesses to embrace AI, or risk being outmanoeuvred by more agile competitors.
However, it’s clear that successful AI integration isn't just about technology; it’s equally about transparent communication, comprehensive training, and building trust to overcome resistance to change.
In short - AI won’t replace many jobs in the immediate future, but those using AI will replace those who aren’t.
It was supposed to take 10 hours a week, but easily took me 20 to complete the course.
I don’t get things on the first read or the first pass like most people do, I have to work at understanding and remembering the information.
I’m so glad and lucky to have done it and even luckier to have the time back to work on something else.
Enablement / Operations:
As the landscape, demands and expectations of my work shift - my team and I are having to develop new skills on the fly.
This has been, at times, pretty tough on all to navigate - certainly uncomfortable and problematic
However, it’s also been deeply rewarding, engaging and, at times, deeply fun.
We’ve learned how to create better scoping docs and approaches, how to better align with stakeholders and ‘customers’.
We’ve learned how to use tools and data more effectively.
In short, we’re learning how to be more efficient and more impactful.
Jira is actually kind of great:
All these years i’ve bee obsessing about ASANA in the work place and clickup for my personal life.
Being forced to use Microsoft To Do by decisions me and my partner made years ago and Google Keep because it’s the only way we can add shopping by voice.
I was ‘at capacity’ when I found out my place of work was all about Atlassian and Jira... Was I really going to learn another system?
Well, thanks to the powerhouse knowledge of one of my team and the dire necessity to keep track of the madness, I forced myself to use Jira and it is... kind of brilliant.
Right now, I’m working on possibly the most complex project of my career and the ‘Plan’ function (previously called roadmaps I believe) is incredibly function and does everything and more I need for a complex project.
If you haven’t gotten into it yet and your company has access... I have to admit that it was worth jumping in.
Care to take some advice? Do a deep AI consultation on your project and find the best ways of working with the tool at your disposal.
Children process grief in weird but wonderful ways:
We lost our pet cat recently (a little ode to the weird little fella below) and my daughter was crestfallen.
Initially she got incredibly sad and cried a lot. Then suddenly, she stopped.
She didn’t talk about it again for days, instead telling us how ‘we should get a rabbit next’.
Then, out of the blue when we were swimming days later, she asked when he was coming back.
We had to talk it through again, which was sad all over again.
She asked when the vet was going to ‘fix his body and bring him home’ which just triggered me into sobbing again too.
And then, as suddenly as it came, it went again.
This cycle of sudden sadness, trying to process the reality of the situation and then just moving on as if nothing happened is still ongoing.
Grief is such a strange emotion, and to mourn is a unique pain. Watching her deal with it is saddening, inspiring and impossible to bear.
As a parent, your job is to teach them to live without you and deal with things on their own - grief and mortality are important lessons there... and a stark reminder of the last great lesson we’ll have to teach her one day.
What I built…
“It reminded me of one of the core tenets of sales - ‘Sell today, educate tomorrow’.”
This month I built a number of things that I was proud of:
FitBot:
Using some Gemini I created a detailed prompt to use as a narrative personal trainer.
I wanted more dynamism and stimulation from my workouts and I wanted to ‘up the stakes’ as, quite honestly, I’m training like it’s the end of the world.
I like the narrative, I like the focus, I like not knowing what’s coming next and the intensity and workout is insane.
I recently had some PT sessions and I have to say, I’m feeling much more in control, pushed and engaged with the AI. Appreciate that won’t be the way for everyone, but is for me.
GTM Hustle:
One of my clients has recently launched a major pivot in a niche market.
They’d been working in a closed room, as it were, writing and re-writing a pitch deck that helped educate customers on all the work they’d done and the amazing thing they’d built.
However, the end pitch was long, somewhat tedious and far too educational.
It reminded me of one of the core tenets of sales - ‘Sell today, educate tomorrow’.
In short, what is the hook, the pitch, the solution or the win? Start there and then work on educating the customer when they’re engaged and assured that your solution is the one they need.
After working on the pivot, the client in question reworked the pitch and it’s having a real tangible impact on their sales funnel now.
Business Plan:
I’m enjoying writing this blog and it has, since its inception, been a tool for me to generate discipline and maintain timelines.
However, as traffic has grown (incrementally and minutely) over time, and as I realise that there are many businesses out there who have nailed a thousand things I could never dream of doing, but are struggling on the niche knowledge I know inside out - I’ve started to take content creation more seriously.
A business plan emerged and is in it’s final stages.
After the AI course is over, I already know where that time is going.
Spotify Content:
Much of the research I’ve been doing for work and for personal interests have ended up with Audio Overviews from NotebookLM.
I find them to be a really great way of pre-reading or getting up to speed on in-depth projects.
Subsequently, I’ll upload any and all that relate to the content of this website to a Spotify account and share in due course.
How I lived longer…
“The thing is, all this helps me get fitter where the stakes are so high that I have to push on.”
Three things I want to share here this month:
It’s the end of the world as we know it…
I’ve been working out like it’s the end of the world.
As I mentioned, I use AI to create dynamic and narrative lead workouts which prepare me for functional fitness goals.
Being quite candid (and sharing something potentially embarrassing), I’m working out to achieve a level of fitness which would let me:
Carry my partner and my daughter out of a burning building
Then fight and beat someone who set it aflame
Covering any short distances quick enough to give me an advantage
Then carry my daughter, water and food for a few days to safety
Now, I know this seems a bit over the top, and a little bit on the ‘conspiracy theorist / prepper’ mindset.
The thing is, all this helps me get fitter where the stakes are so high that I have to push on.
I’m also fully of the belief that I’d rather be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.
Sleep and naps:
Work rarely allows it, but I’m focussing on my sleep as best I can after a few weeks of very late nights and very early mornings to do everything I’d signed myself up for.
If I can, I lean on the work between HubermanLab and Matt walker and try to get some naps or NSDR in if I can also.
Early morning walks, water and writing:
I’ve been pretty militant on my morning walks as a wake up - looking to get that early hit of bright light and outside air.
It’s a great way to start the day, and I'm certainly sleeping well.
I’m balancing this with a routine of water, tea and coffee 90 mins after waking.
When I get back from my walk, I move to journaling - again following a simple structure that really works for me at the moment.
How I stayed happier…
“My gratitude journal is probably one of the most powerful tools I’ve ever used. I’ve been doing it so long that I’ve begun to really internalise the feeling.”
Being honest with you, everything here leads me to live a more stable and contented life, but here’s something I noticed about my efforts this month:
Meditation and Mindfulness:
Meditation rarely makes me feel great in the moment, but I certainly notice when I do it or when I it’s absent from my life in general.
It’s like exercise - it’s not always easy or engaging or great in the moment, but the outcome is always better health in the time outside of the work you put in.
I also found myself, in moments of stress, specifically taking a moment to be in the moment and be mindful.
The breeze on the long grass and the way it catches the light is a unique moment, billions of years in the making just to be experienced by one lucky individual.
Gratitude and Love:
With everything moving so quickly, it’s easy to forget how good we have it and how lucky we are.
My gratitude journal is probably one of the most powerful tools I’ve ever used. I've been doing it so long that I’ve begun to really internalise the feeling.
I am most grateful for my daughter and the wonderful woman who gave her to me.
Everything I do in this world is for them. To be together for longer, in a more engaged way.
I’m also very driven to build a ‘legacy’ for them in some sense - not a massive business or billions in the bank, but something physical, connected and substantial that they can opt to continue.
And then he was gone…
So, many years ago, when I met my partner, we bought a Christmas tree together. She told me, her new boyfriend at the time, how we had to look for the tree that no one else would love, the weird little one which would never find a home.
We searched and searched that grove, walking past stout and busy specimens to uncover a short, stunted, fat at the bottom and spindly at the top weird little tree.
It was perfectly terrible. No one was going to have it, no one would take it and that was exactly why we were going to take it home.
Like some strange, super budget pixar movie where we saved the worst christmas tree from being pulped and let it have one last time in the light, to see the magic of Christmas.
We bought several trees like this, until our daughter was born and since then we’ve been fully in the ‘big and bushy’ crowd once more.
It did, however, highlight another wonderful trait of my partner - she’s beyond equality and fairness... she seeks out the unlucky and elevates them simply because she can.
Let’s not linger too long and wonder how this reflects on me... but it’s a perfect time to introduce Sketch.
Sketch was one of two brothers in a cat sanctuary that absolutely no one was going to take. They needed special care, injections, they shed hair like they’d been hanging round radiation.
She named them Sketch and Duffer and they were, without question, the weirdest cats you would have ever seen.
I still imagine the people who ran the sanctuary having to pay out to someone when those cats finally got boxed up and left, or perhaps - all bets were off for their departure?
Either way, my partner took them in and loved them like no one would.
Duffer, I’m sad to say, passed early on and I never got to meet him, which is a great shame as I’m told he was the weird one - the mind boggles...
Sketch however, was alive and kicking and about half way through his life when I came onto the scene.
A mad, white and ginger half breed cat who walked like John Wayne, had a grimace from where his lips got stuck in his teeth, one of those silent raspy meows and an issue with his eye where it would sometimes ooze with gunk or... urgh... blood...
Yes I’m still talking about the cat, not some strange pitch for the latest Bond villain... he was this super strange, oozing, rasping cat. And I fell in love with him so fast and so hard.
He has this warm, endless caring and verging on obsessive desire to be close to you and just share space and time with you.
He’d waddle up, John Wayne hips swaying, and rasp a meow to warn you of incoming weirdness and then he would be up on you... not on your lap like some regular cat - on no - he’d be on your chest, his face in yours.
He was so patient with our daughter. They too, fell in love.
Sometimes he suffered her, sometimes she him - but they always loved each other.
So, when he started to go down hill and my partner and I could read the cards - we worried most about what would happen when he went.
On a sunny but windy afternoon, after a long weekend of treats and cuddles on the sofa and hanging out, we took sketch on a final trip to the vets.
We calmed him down, cuddled him, he waddled round the blanket on the table for a moment, meowed, then lay down as the drugs kicked in and he fell asleep.
He was gone in a minute or so and lay there, still and warm and finally at rest.
He had been such a big presence in our home and then, he was gone.
We told our daughter straight up what had happened. It’s a very hard thing to do to tell your daughter something you know will break her heart. And it did.
On that same sunny but windy afternoon, a 4 year old girl’s heart broke for the first time... and all from a Cat who by all accounts, should not have been loved and yet, was loved dearly.
I will miss him - very much. But I’m so glad that this particular, strange little tree had it’s time in the light and could bathe in the warmth of Christmas.
If you have a furry friend at home - give them a hug from us and a stroke from Sketch.
Final thoughts…
Life is a miraculous gift - and yet so many people do not have theirs respected or have them taken too quickly and brutally. We do not need to live this way. Fighting and stiving and breaking ourselves over arbitrary targets and imaginary lines in the sand.
This world is miraculous, to think that millions of people live in horrible situations for lack of money, a human construct, is almost unfathomable.
This is a mad but exciting time to be alive. Never before have the potential rewards been so high, never before have so many had so much. But that opulence in some areas, highlights the injustice and horror of those living in fear of their lives or in squalor.
Perhaps creating a better future is generational, and requires one generation to willingly sacrifice their time, their effort and their money to make things much better for the generations to follow. How hard it is for people to sacrifice that time and comfort in this world is probably only matched by how much good it would do and how needed it is.
Stay happy and healthy in September, and thanks for reading.