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Stop Managing.
Start Architecting.

I coined HFML (Human-First Mechanical Leadership) and turn stories into deployable leadership mechanisms. Fewer meetings. Cleaner outcomes.

Read HFML Standard (PDF) HFML tooling Book via SSA

Intro

The LeadershipPlaybooks is a practical library of mechanisms for modern leadership problems, I built to reduce noise and increase execution.

Most teams don’t fail because people don’t care. They fail because the system is missing rails. These playbooks focus on:

  • Cutting meeting overload without losing alignment
  • Turning strategy into weekly execution
  • Making decisions faster with clear ownership
  • Building repeatable operating rhythms that survive growth

At the core is HFML (Human-First Mechanical Leadership), a framework that treats leadership like engineering: design the system, reduce friction, and let good behaviour become the default.

If you’re dealing with constant context switching, vague accountability, or endless status updates, start with a kit and implement one mechanism at a time.

Browse the Playbook Kits, explore the HFML Standard, or jump into the tools and templates built for leaders who want less waffle and more forward motion, and if you need help, drop me an email or book a SSA.

HFML also powers the tooling I build over at HackTheSims.com, where prompts and templates turn the same mechanisms into reusable system by LeadershipPlaybooks.

About

Most leadership content sounds clever and dies by Monday. This is different: decision rules, cadence, clarity rails, and execution loops you can actually run. Pop culture is the wrapper. Mechanisms are the outcome.

YOU ARE HERE: HOME
Grounding
UK tech leader turned product builder. I coined HFML (Human-First Mechanical Leadership) and built the tooling (HackTheSim) plus Leadership Playbooks the same way I ran enterprise work: define inputs, build rails, measure outcomes, iterate.
Core belief: motivation fades. Mechanisms hold.
Original framework by Dennis Knight. Not affiliated with other organisations unless explicitly stated.
What you get here
Kits you can deploy in the real world. Shortcuts for clarity, cadence, focus, energy, and execution.
If it cannot survive a Monday morning, it does not ship.
Outcome
98%
Critical risk reduction
Scale
26,000+
Users supported
Signal
2M → 500K
Vuln drop in 14 days
Method
Mechanisms
Not motivation

Playbook Finder

Pick a category, answer a few quick prompts, get a sensible starting kit. Use Search if you want to hunt by keyword.

Pick your answers and hit “Recommend a kit”.

Triage Console

Quick signal check. Set it to your weekly meeting load. If it hits the red zone: book via SSA for diagnosis, or self-serve a reset from the kits.

LowHigh
Nominal
You’re in a workable zone. Pick a kit and tighten the loop.
Book via SSA
The Collection

Search Kits

Type a keyword like meetings, focus, execution, or a name like Ferris.

For Leaders
Customers

Customer Obsession (Jeff Bezos)

How to turn complaints into clarity and products people actually love

Email help
For Leaders
Disarming Honesty

Disarming Honesty (Ryan Renolyds)

Sound more human without losing authority.

Email help
For Leaders
Mindset

Joyful Rebel (Ferris Bueller)

Why taking it easy is actually the hardest strategic move you can make for your team

Email help
For Visionaries
Vision

Make it believable (MLK)

How to turn vague strategy into a vivid, believable future

Email help
For Leaders
Strategy

Radical Clarity (Steve Jobs)

How to strip away clever chaos until the work feels inevitable.

Email help
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