Notes on implementation & partner health
September 8, 2026
Everyone's Selling "Proactive AI Monitoring." Almost Nobody's Built It.
Every onboarding platform now claims "proactive AI monitoring." Here's what that phrase actually requires, and why most of what's shipping is just automation wearing a new label.
September 4, 2026
Forward-Deployed Engineers Won't Fix an Onboarding Process That Can't See Its Customers
Every professional services team is betting 2026 on more delivery headcount. Here's why that misses the actual problem in onboarding, and what to fix instead.
September 3, 2026
The 90-Day Cliff: Why Onboarding Programs Are Built for the Wrong 90 Days
Most onboarding programs optimize for milestone velocity, not the psychological clock your customer is actually running. Here's the gap, and what it's costing you.
September 1, 2026
Outcome-Based Pricing Sounds Great — Until You Realize You're Not Measuring Outcomes
Outcome-based pricing is the next big idea in professional services. But most teams are still measuring milestones, not adoption — and that gap will show up in revenue before it shows up in renewals.
August 31, 2026
AI Is Coming for the Onboarding Checklist. That's Exactly Why the Implementation Manager Isn't Going Away.
AI can run a task list better than you can. If that's the whole job, you should be worried. If it's not, here's what actually makes an implementation manager irreplaceable.
August 28, 2026
Your Onboarding Checklist Is Green. Your Customer Is Already Gone.
Hitting every onboarding milestone doesn't mean the customer got what they paid for. Here's why "checklist complete" and "customer engaged" quietly became two different things.
August 21, 2026
How to Build a Customer Launch Plan That Flexes Without Falling Apart
A rigid onboarding checklist can look perfect and still miss a customer walking away. Here's how to build a launch plan with enough structure to guide and enough give to notice.
August 12, 2026
AI Can Run Your Onboarding Checklist. It Can't Save the Account.
If your implementation team's whole job is checking boxes, AI is already better at it. Here's the part of onboarding that still needs a human, and why most teams don't notice it's missing until the customer is gone.
August 12, 2026
The Real Reason Customer Launches Fail (It's Not What's on Your Checklist)
A finished checklist doesn't mean a customer actually adopted what they bought. Here's why "successful launch" and "successful customer" are two different things, and what to do about the gap.
August 10, 2026
Why a "Successful" Launch Still Loses Customers
Hitting every onboarding milestone doesn't mean you won the customer. Here's the gap between a launch that looks done and a customer who's actually bought in.
August 8, 2026
Onboarding Isn't Babysitting. It's the One Job AI Can't Take From You.
If your onboarding role is just chasing checklist items, AI will replace it. The real job is catching disengaged customers before they walk. Here's how to do it.
July 1, 2026
Getting onboarding health out of five tabs
Why implementation teams end up choosing between flexible project management and structured customer journeys — and what a cross-tool health layer actually fixes.