On Wednesday afternoon I published my first n8n workflow: four nodes that check my store's overnight sales and email me a summary at 5 AM. Every test passed. Every checkmark was green. Thursday morning, no email. The power log told a story I couldn't have invented: my Mac woke at 4:57:00, exactly as scheduled, found nothing to do, and went back to sleep at 4:59:46. Fourteen seconds before the alarm. And that was only the first failure of the day.

I'm not becoming an automation engineer. I'm learning enough to understand the people I direct. Day one: Docker, a false paywall, and three bugs that taught more than the tutorial would have.

Most people treat AI like a search box: ask a question, hope for the best. That works for trivia. It fails spectacularly when real money and real people are on the line. Here's how a nonprofit director worked through an actual decision using a structured method—and how you can use it for yours.

The mechanics of program management get automated first. The part that keeps a program alive is translation, in both directions, especially when the news is bad.

Twenty-five years taught me what I'm good at and what I don't miss. Here's why fractional work is the better fit, not a stopgap between jobs.