Rowan Advisory · working frames

Rachel McBride

Stance before tools. Building toward intelligence at the centre.

A small set of frames I'm working to — on how leaders set position in the AI era, how firms get built around intelligence rather than hierarchy, and what individual practice becomes when the work is redesigned, not the tools layered on. Working theory, held in the open.

Working Theory — frames at altitude

The inward look: my own frames, published while they're still being worked.

The Intelligence-Centred Firm
A firm built around intelligence — human judgement plus machine — not hierarchy.
The same shape, all the way down draft
One conviction at three scales: practice, firm, data. Held private until cleared for publishing.
The Verifiable Core draft
Raw at the core, intelligence on top, the human owning both ends. Held private until cleared.
Substrate architecture soon
One substrate, many delivery shapes — what individual practice looks like in an AI world.

The Leaders Ledger — what the leaders ahead do

The outward look: observational, monthly, role-shapes not names.

№ 1 — "Clear, and stuck"
Published June 2026 on rowanadvisory.co.nz ↗
As of

Last true: 9 June 2026

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