October, November & December 2025 - Diary of a Revenue Engineer
Quote of the month:
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it."
- Seneca
“...standing at the mouth of the precipice of work before us and pausing to ask my team, my partner, myself… “Are we ready for this?””
Ah, Q4 2024…my mountain, my Everest, my sisyphean hill. For several years in a row, my Q4 goal has been to finish it without me or my team suddenly getting ill in that classic human way when the cortisol and the adrenaline fade and force our physical form to pay the bill.
I remember in early October standing at the mouth of the precipice of work before us and pausing to ask my team, my partner, myself… “Are we ready for this?”
If I had known then what I know now, would I have made the leap? It’s hard to tell, but I can with all certainty say that we pushed that boulder up the hill and delivered.
Join me as I reflect on what we did, and what it cost, in Q4 2025.
A note on image generation…
This articles images were generated using image prompts created through Gemini and then images created with those prompts in Leonardo.ai.
Inspiration for this article came from Blade Runner 2049.
What I thought…
You’re familiar, I’m sure, with the cliche of the builder who’s house is always in disrepair… after all, they’re too busy building someone else’s house for money to work on their own.
I was that builder in Q4. I was so busy architecting high-velocity systems for every other department while my own team’s onboarding was held together by string and hope. Luckily, I’m surrounded by exceptional people who know how to solve root cause problems and work autonomously… and everything else we solve with communication.
Glamorous though it may sound, when cushioned with the corporate and startup jargon of ‘fast paced culture’ and ‘build the plane whilst flying it’ and all the other countless cliches, the reality really is a human one. For me and a colleague, it manifested as 70 hour weeks, early mornings, late nights and weekend work.
It reminded me… burnout is real:
Someone left the team a few months back and, in their final meeting they said “Bye everyone… just remember… burnout is real…” and it really stuck with me. They were a high performer who had, quite simply, suddenly stopped performing.
Lot’s of startups and scaleups I’ve worked with want everyone to have their engines revved to max, 100% of the time. Push push push, sleep when you’re dead.
Economically and efficiently, it is a terrible idea.
Kudos to you if you can work 18 hours a day 7 days a week. I also know people who eat whole family-sized meals for entertainment (BeardMeatsFood is excellent by the way) but that doesn’t mean that everyone could, or should.
In the end, stop seeing people as batteries that can be plugged in, drained and then tossed to the side.
People are limitless energy and momentum if handled correctly, and become force multipliers with time.
If you’re running teams or building businesses, ask yourself if you want people at 100% for one year, or 80% for 10 years - and then stand by that intention with integrity.
What I learned…
“We often look for the next shiny AI agent, but I’ve learned that retaining a high-performer is the single most important strategic decision a leader can make.”
I love a good project plan… I absolutely geek out over spreadsheets, reports, data and the wondrous order of things as you pull them from the chaos.
So, I tracked how effectively I was assigning time to projects over the past 6 months. Unsurprisingly (as I imagine everyone else got there without having to measure it) I underestimated the work load by 20% on average:
The 1.2 Estimation Rule: I finally admitted that my internal clock is a liar. Every workload estimate now gets a 20% "reality tax" added to the top.
AI really is a fantastic tool. It’s equally as powerful a change as the introduction of the internet and SaaS tools. However, the most incredible tool at our disposal is the team around us. Holding on to those who make a difference should be your major investment this year, then empower them to do it faster and with greater reach with AI:
Retention as a Productivity Tool: We often look for the next shiny AI agent, but I’ve learned that retaining a high-performer is the single most important strategic decision a leader can make. A human who thrives is the ultimate "productivity tool."
Communication is a panacea. I have never been in a project where people complained over the communication being too much and too clear:
Stakeholder Rhythm > Stakeholder Management: Complex projects don't need more emails; they need short, direct meetings with a repeated, relentless rhythm to solve friction.
We use Gemini at work and creating a solid flow from “human >> GEM >> human review” increased our speed and the standardisation of a process:
The "Gems" Protocol: Using Gemini to build specific "Gems" (pre-programmed detailed prompts) changed our content cycle. It allowed us to produce four weeks of content with just two people, bypassing human limits without sacrificing quality.
What I built…
“...I’m incredibly proud and deeply humbled by the outstanding work of those around me.”
Well all that work and effort didn’t go without results. We increased onboarding cohorts by 400% on average whilst reducing the time it took to manage them, increasing CSAT and running the entire programme with two people.
For this, I’m incredibly proud and deeply humbled by the outstanding work of those around me. I was also honoured to be selected as a ‘bar raiser’ by the head of sales for our contributions and attended an excellent evening at Abigails in London.
To that end, let’s talk about how we wove a simple AI workflow into our content creation to speed up the process of creating accurate, high quality content:
Augmented Workflow:
Hypothesis: We can reduce content creation time by using AI for the "heavy lifting" while humans provide the creative "leap" between iterations.
Experiment:
We fed raw transcripts and resources into a "Course Copy Creator" (Highly structured Gemini prompt) to build structured outlines.
Humans reviewed the style and pacing, approach and general accuracy.
This gives us the first steer - is the correct approach?
If approved, we move to a 2nd Gem which turns the overview into detailed copy for the whole course.
This is then scrutinised for accuracy and adherence to the standards.
Finally, we used Gemini to generate "Text-to-Code" interactive games and scripts for video production - the final interactive elements of the course.
This meant we could get the copy and structure down, reviewed and approved quickly - before the time-drain of creating the content in our LMS.
Result: We reduced the time to create by 80% per module. We can now create 5 times the high-quality, gamified LMS content in the same window. Without this AI augmentation, we simply would not have been able to achieve what we did in Q4.
How I lived longer…
“I have however, like most men around their 40’s, got into fermenting foods and drinks.”
My fitness routine took one for the team in November as the 70-hour weeks hit hard.
I ended the year ill for Christmas (so yes, failed my goal again), the annual present from pushing too hard at work.
In addition to that it took (and is still taking) a long time to shake.
So, I didn’t live by my values here in Q4 - but I did pivot to the correct prioritisation and made it clear that this is not viable for long term success. Fortunately, I have an incredibly strong leader as a boss, someone who drives for excellence and outcomes, but fully prioritises the team's health - so I feel supported there.
Fermentation: I have however, like most men around their 40’s, got into fermenting foods and drinks. I started making:
Ginger beer: I made a ginger bug (which is like a starter for ginger beer) and the family and I have been enjoying the results greatly.
Sourdough: I got a new starter from the ‘Sourdough Labs’ and really went to town on loaves, pizza and more.
Kimchi: described to me as the ‘probiotic godzilla’ of fermented foods.
Sauerkraut: A slightly different, but still welcome, european answer to the Kimchi question.
Kombucha: The SCOBY needed for Kombucha looks like something from Sci-Fi horror, but the slightly fizzy and delightful tea makes it well worth the struggle.
How I stayed happier…
“It was the first time my daughter had ever really seen fireworks.”
When I knew that the work was going to be all consuming through Q4, I opted to take my Daughter’s first half term in October off work. I wanted that connected time, that planned ‘togetherness’ and I didn’t regret a single second of it.
The week was a wondrous escape filled with baking, Play-Doh, coloured water ‘potion making’ and an embarrassing amount of Gabby’s Dollhouse and Octonauts (which is excellent by the way). But the true magic happened as the week reached its finale. We went to the Halloween lights at Blenheim Palace, wandering through the illuminated trails, followed by a firework display at the local golf club.
It was the first time my daughter had ever really seen fireworks. As she stood there, wrapped up warm, her head tilted all the way back in pure, unadulterated awe, the world of RevOps disappeared. That snapshot of wonder made the 70-hour weeks feel like a footnote. In a month of professional chaos, that single moment was the only thing that mattered.
Final thoughts…
We are so lucky to have this life, even when the weeks bleed into the nights and the weekends, the work is engaging and I’m doing something I’m incredibly proud of surrounded by people I love working with.
In truth, there really is no salary high enough, or work engaging enough to feel like fair payment for being away from my daughter. But, if we must do it, then I’m incredibly grateful that it’s come in this form, at this time.
Now… time for rest… and recovery and to build something new in 2026.
Thanks for reading, stay happy and healthy in Q1!