Rowan Advisory

Intelligence at the core, built around people.

I teach this through Otago Business School and test it in real businesses.

Edition 002 · 10 September 2026 · set in Window · All editions

1. R

   The Intelligence-Centred Firm

   The firm carries the judgement.

   I drew the firm with intelligence in the working spine and people still carrying the judgement. The model has changed since I first published it.

   A working hypothesis · published

2. O

   Leading through Change ↗

   You cannot upskill your way through this.

   A course, with Otago Business School · not running in 2026

3. W

   Leaders Ledger

   Clear, and stuck.

   After 53 conversations, I kept hearing the same thing: capable leaders, real pilots, real effort, and still stuck. This is my first Ledger entry.

   A public ledger · live series

4. A

   The Human Sandwich

   Nothing it proposes becomes a fact until a person confirms it.

   I wanted a record you can check, intelligence that can work over it, and a person who decides what becomes true. I called it the Human Sandwich.

   A framework · published

5. N

   The AI Room

   How do we prepare students for a changing workforce when they’re not turning up to the room where we teach them?

   BSNS350 is my attempt at an answer to the above questions. Bring the people doing AI work into the classroom. Let students question them. Then ask students to make and defend a business decision of their own. Any Otago student with the prerequisite can take it.

   An undergraduate paper, with Otago Business School · enrolling, first class 9 November

Rachel McBride · founder · rachel@rowanadvisory.co.nz · 027 270 9624