Sensing
Notice what happened. Capture a signed agreement or a job that finished.
Business Nervous System · Jacob Sager
I build for people to do their best work.
I build and run the operating layer behind owner-led businesses.
Notion gives the team a shared place to work. Automations connect the software you already use, with checks that catch missing information and unfinished handoffs.
As little as one week, starting at $5,000.
A familiar place to begin
“Okay, this part is kind of stupid…”
Show me the process people apologize for when they explain it.
“When someone signs, Sarah downloads the PDF and then…”
“The CRM technically has it, but Mike’s spreadsheet is usually more current.”
“Every Friday I have to remember to…”
“QuickBooks knows that, but operations can’t see it.”
“Don’t touch that automation. Nobody remembers exactly what it does.”
“If Jennifer leaves, we have a problem.”
These are places where a person has become part of the software.
Show me yoursCustomer onboarding · an example
Follow one handoff. See what changes.
Before · carried by people
A customer signs.
- The agreement lands in an inbox.
- Someone copies the customer details into the CRM and creates a project.
- Operations gets an email and makes the folder and tasks.
- A required detail is missing. Sales has to ask the customer.
- Someone remembers to check again Thursday.
The process moves when a person carries it.
After · a designed operating layer
The signature starts the work.
- The CRM records the signed customer and the project is created in the work system.
- Documents are filed and routine tasks appear with owners.
- Operations receives the information needed to begin.
- Missing details go to the person responsible for resolving them.
- A completion check confirms the handoff is ready.
People handle judgment. The system carries the routine work and checks the handoff.
Illustrative workflow design. The exact tools, checks and exceptions follow the business.
Show me your workflowThe larger operating layer
One workflow rarely lives alone.
Onboarding reaches into sales and delivery. Finished work has to reach billing. Customer communication crosses all of it.
When those connections depend on remembering, chasing and carrying information, the owner becomes the final integration layer.
I design that operating architecture. I call it the Business Nervous System.
Signaling
Get it to the right place. Operations gets the agreement and the context it needs.
Processing
Make the information useful. Required details are checked against the work being promised.
Deciding
Give the next move an owner. A clear rule handles the routine case; a person owns the exception.
Regulating
Check that it actually finished. The project is ready for delivery, or the missing piece is visible.
Six interacting layers
Use each system for what it is good at.
Connect the company around them. QuickBooks can remain the accounting authority. Notion often becomes shared business memory. Control makes unfinished work and broken connections visible.
Systems of record
The software that knows its part.
Business memory
A shared picture of the operating work.
Integration
Information moves between systems.
Processing
Events become useful context.
Interface
Each person can see and do their part.
Control
Failures and unfinished work become visible.
Inspectable proof
See what I mean by an operating system.
These published Notion systems show how I model real operating work. An installation connects the useful structure to your business and the tools it already uses.
Published Notion system
Wood Business OS
Quote → job → materials → production → delivery
A custom manufacturing model that follows a job from the initial quote through the work needed to deliver it.
Inspect Wood Business OS
Published Notion system
Business Operating System
Sales · projects · finance · people · knowledge
Sales, projects and company knowledge connected in one workspace, with a view for each team’s work.
Inspect Business Operating SystemBusiness Nervous System Installation
A working first piece, with a clear finish line.
Starting at $5,000. As little as one week.
We agree the operating problem, what the first piece should do and how we will know it works. I build it around your existing software and the people who use it.
See what Installation includes →- The operating design
- Clear records, responsibilities and a defined outcome.
- A usable implementation
- The connections, Notion environment or purpose-built interface the workflow needs.
- Completion and exception checks
- A way to verify the result and see what requires attention.
- Team use and handoff
- Real work tested with your people, with documentation and ownership notes.
Continuing custody
A useful system needs someone responsible for it.
Business Nervous System Stewardship
$2,000/month
See what Stewardship includesI take continuing responsibility for the operating layer I’ve built.
- Working connections. I monitor the automations and repair ordinary failures.
- Useful business memory. Notion’s databases, views and operating knowledge stay aligned with the work.
- Visible exceptions. Signals, completion checks and escalation paths stay meaningful.
- Room for ordinary change. I adjust existing workflows as the company changes and check whether the overall design still fits.
A quiet month can be an excellent month. The work kept moving, and someone was responsible for catching the problems that needed attention.
A new department, major migration or substantially different workflow gets its own build scope.
The cost you already recognize
How much of the company has to pass through you?
Consider the time spent asking for status, reconciling conflicting records, rescuing a handoff or finding out why a finished job has not been billed.
Capacity you could use elsewhere
The weekly status picture takes hours to assemble. Your team spends more time copying customer details than using them. When someone is away, the work waits for what they know.
Work that moves when it should
A completed job reaches billing with the details needed to invoice it. Missing approvals surface early enough for someone to act.
The business case starts with your actual costs. If the likely improvement does not justify the project, I will tell you.
When the starting point is unclear
Don’t know which workflow to show me?
The problem may reach across the company. The Business Nervous System Read examines where work depends on human memory, disconnected systems and open loops.
$999 · 90-minute session · written Read within two business days.
You receive a written recommendation explaining what to build first and why.
Start with a ReadIf you already know which workflow needs fixing, we can scope the build directly.
Start with the real work
Show me the part your people keep holding together.
You can bring the workflow as it exists. I’ll determine whether we can fix it directly or need to understand more of the company first.
Show me your workflowInstallation: as little as one week, starting at $5,000.