Category: Industry Insights

ARM, SaaS, and other sector-specific lessons and trends.

  • The Hardest Part of Build versus Buy

    I started thinking about the old build versus buy debate. At first, it seems obvious. AI changes everything. Software can be written faster than ever. Surely the advantage shifts toward building. Then I thought about the real cost of building. Not the programmers. Not the budget. The risk. We often say changing a core operating…

  • Discovering What Really Matters in Collections

    Call it introspective or prudent but one of the first areas I research in an acquisition is Finance. We were evaluating the acquisition of another collection agency, considering deeply the combined synergies, overlapping client businesses and prospective ROI. And here I was, like many finance executives, my first instinct was to understand the leadership team.…

  • Where Does Human Judgment Pay?

    AI is being deployed in contact centers to replace human work. For simple instructions and deterministic interactions, the argument is easy. If the task is deterministic, AI can exceed human performance in speed, consistency, availability, and probably accuracy. But collections creates a harder test. An effective collection call may require empathy, negotiation, intuition, adaptation, and…

  • The AI Contact Center Thesis Meets Regulated Financial Reality

    I spend quite a bit of time thinking about Financial Foundations, particularly in the collections industry. I am also one of the biggest advocates for the very real operational gains AI tools are already introducing into our businesses. As efficient and cost effective as many of these tools have become, however, I increasingly find myself…

  • Start With the Objective, Not the Solution

    Why a Consulting Project Did Not Fit A CEO leading a turnaround in a purchased debt business reached out looking for advice on engaging third-party collection agencies. The immediate objective was straightforward enough: reduce fixed cost. The company had already shuttered offices and reduced portions of its internal collection infrastructure. Expanding agency relationships seemed like…