Customer Obsession (Jeff Bezos)
How to turn complaints into clarity and products people actually love
HFML by Dennis Knight
Leadership Playbooks
Plain-English next steps
Too much motion.
Not enough traction.
If priorities keep shifting, ownership is fuzzy, and work feels busy without moving cleanly, start with a playbook. If the issue is live and costly, book 15 minutes.
Priority drift
Meeting overload
Unclear ownership
Execution drag
Founder bottlenecks
Got value from a prompt but realised the problem is bigger than the prompt?
That is the bridge. Use the kits if you want to self-serve. Book 15 minutes if you want help identifying the real bottleneck and the clearest next move. No pitch marathon.
Track record
98%
Critical risk reduction delivered in enterprise environments.
Operating scale
26,000+
Users supported, with systems brought under tighter control.
Working style
Direct and useful
Not motivational wallpaper. Clear next steps, working rails, and practical mechanisms.
Outcome
98%
Critical risk reduction
Scale
26,000+
Users supported
Signal
2M → 500K
Vulnerability drop in 14 days
Method
Mechanisms
Not motivation
Start in the right lane
Cold visitors should not have to guess. Pick the path that matches what is going on right now.
Choose your path
Self-serve
Use a playbook
Best when you want a practical starting point, a deployable structure, or a cleaner way to think through the issue on your own.
Browse kitsFast AI help
Use HackTheSim or the HFML GPT
Best when you want fast wording, a draft mechanism, or a prompt-driven way to get unstuck before bringing a human into it.
Open HackTheSimLive problem
Book 15 minutes
Best when the issue is costing time, creating drag, or bouncing around your team and you want a clearer next step fast.
Book 15 minutesIntro
The framing behind the kits, the method, and the operator mindset that sits underneath Leadership Playbooks.
Context first
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.
Start with the prompt. Book the call if the issue is bigger.
Use the HFML GPT when you want a fast mechanism, better wording, or a structured first pass. If the prompt lands but the problem is bigger underneath, book 15 minutes.
AI GPT
- 01Clear priority rails and focus filters for noisy teams
- 02Execution loops and cadence mechanisms you can run weekly
- 03Meeting reduction protocols, scripts, and energy protection
Useful prompt but wrong level of fix? That usually means the workflow or team mechanism needs attention, not just the wording. That is where the 15-minute call comes in.
Message sent!
A structured mechanism to turn noisy estates into predictable operations. The Focus Rail keeps the team aligned on the top priorities, strips away BAU drift, and stops the week being hijacked by everything at once.
Meetings should not be the default operating system. The Cadence Loop simplifies decision and culture mechanisms so teams know when to check in, when to escalate, and when to get on with the work.
Applying a mechanic’s diagnostic mindset to IT operations. Triage scripts create better escalation paths, cleaner containment, and stronger root-cause discipline when the pressure is on.
Playbook Finder
Pick a category, answer a few quick prompts, and get a sensible starting kit. If the issue is live and costly, skip this and book 15 minutes instead.
Pick your answers and hit “Recommend a kit”.
Triage Console
Quick signal check. Set your weekly meeting load. If it starts glowing red, either book 15 minutes for diagnosis or self-serve a reset from the kits.
LowHigh
The Collection
Browse by signal, style, or friction. Email panels stay tucked away until you actually need them.
Disarming Honesty (Ryan Renolyds)
Sound more human without losing authority.
Joyful Rebel (Ferris Bueller)
Why taking it easy is actually the hardest strategic move you can make for your team
Make it believable (MLK)
How to turn vague strategy into a vivid, believable future
Radical Clarity (Steve Jobs)
How to strip away clever chaos until the work feels inevitable.
Proof Vault
Public receipts, not just vibes. The feature, the video, and the trail behind the claims.
Receipts
Public case study
Tanium feature
A public enterprise story, not just a private claim on a CV.
Video evidence
YouTube proof
Actual speaking presence and practical delivery, not anonymous copy.
Framework output
HFML standard
The framework is documented, named, and translated into tooling.
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.
You are here: home
Grounding
UK tech leader turned product builder. I coined HFML and built the tooling behind it the same way I ran enterprise work: define inputs, build rails, measure outcomes, iterate.
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.
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