The Handbook: The Operations Podcast

Utilization, Scope Creep, and Rev Rec: The Finance Side of Delivery with Rich Brett

Everyone talks about being "data-driven," but many professional services businesses are drowning in data, not actually using it.  Rich Brett is back for episode three of

Revenue Up 2x, EBITDA Up 5x: The Operating Model Behind It with Andrew McBarnett

Everyone wants AI to fix their messy data. Andrew McBarnett will tell you straight: it won't. In fact, it'll just help you reach the wrong conclusion faster. A

Cashflow, P&L, and Pricing: What Every Leader Needs to Know with Rich Brett

Most leaders in professional services are making decisions every day that come back to the finance – but no one ever actually taught them the numbers.  In this episode,

8 Acquisitions: The Ops Lessons Most People Learn Too Late with Jonathan Healey

Most businesses will go through some kind of change management challenge – a new tool, a restructure, a rebrand. But what does it look like when you're doing that ac

Revenue Is Up. Profit Isn't. Here's Why with Rich Brett

Most professional services firms are generating revenue. But somewhere between producing a quote and issuing the final invoice, profit gets eroded. And more often than no

Why Only 13% of Firms Feel Ready to Scale – with Manish Kapur & Rich Brett

The data is in – and it's not pretty. After surveying 303 agencies and consultancies through the Business Maturity Quiz, we've launched The Maturity Gap Report

6 Ops Changes That Took This Business from Scrappy to Scalable – with Alex Bodini

Growing a professional services business often starts the same way: scrappy teams, generalists wearing multiple hats, and a lot of momentum driven by energy rather than s

Why Ops Is Really About Culture (Not Just Process) with Nicky Russell

The work we produce gets all the attention. But the real question is: what’s happening behind the scenes that makes that work possible? In this episode of The Handbook,

From 11% to 43% Net Profit – Fixing the Fundamentals with Robert Patin

Your numbers might look healthy. Revenue’s up. Projects are flowing. The pipeline feels… fine. But underneath? Margins are eroding. Cash is tighter than you’d like. And

5 AI Guardrails COOs Need to Put in Place Today with Sharon Toerek

AI is moving fast in professional services firms.  And while most conversations focus on efficiency gains and new tools, the harder questions are around risk – ownership

The 8 Systems Every COO Needs to Scale with Jason Swenk

Most service businesses don’t stall because of a lack of talent or ambition. They stall because the business quietly outgrows the systems it was built on. In this episod

Ops Quickie: Fixing the Sales-to-Delivery 'Black Hole'

Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿 "Ballpark" is a dangerous word. Especially when Sales sells the dream, and Delivery is left living the

Scaling Effort, Not Results? This is your wake-up call – with Michael Wark

When your business feels busy but the numbers don’t back it up, something’s off. Agencies and consultancies often confuse effort with progress – and today’s guest has th

Ops Quickie: AI isn't the threat. Flying blind is.

Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿 Flat demand, tighter budgets, squeezed margins. And AI is adding uncertainty on top of it all.  But the

How to Run Annual Planning Like a CFO (Even If You’re Not One) with Adam Cooper

Most teams treat annual planning like a spreadsheet exercise. Finance builds the numbers. Everyone else nods along. Then the plan gets filed away until next year. But r

Ops Quickie: PSA vs ERP – Same Same...or Totally Different?

Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿 So many acronyms, but what do they mean!?  This one’s for anyone wondering: what’s the difference betwe

Beyond Experiments: What It Really Takes to Operationalize AI with Luke Alexander

AI has stopped being a side project – it’s rewriting the rules of how professional services businesses operate – and – stay competitive. Luke Alexander, Chief Digital &

Ops Quickie: MCP – the Missing Link Between Ops & AI?

Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿 This one’s for anyone curious about the next big shift in how AI connects with the tools you already use

Becoming Better Ops Leaders: Lessons from Operations Nation

Ops isn’t just about keeping the lights on anymore. As Aušrinė Keršanskaitė, co-founder of Operations Nation, puts it – today’s ops leaders are expected to drive growth,

Ops Quickie: When your stack starts to crack 😬

Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿 This one’s for anyone who’s ever looked at their jumble of spreadsheets and apps and thought: “Is this n