Techtrend Group
The calls you can't outsource. Phil McKinney's advisory practice for the hard decisions about innovation and technology.
The calls you can't outsource.
Research, analysis, the first pass at almost any problem is now fast, cheap, and everywhere. When the analysis was expensive, it was also air cover. Now that everyone has the same analysis at the same time, there's nothing standing between the leader and the decision. Which innovation to launch, which program to kill, when to pivot and when to hold. That part gets lonelier.
That is the work of Techtrend Group.
Techtrend Group is Phil McKinney's advisory practice, in operation since 1996. Executives and boards bring it the hard decisions about innovation and technology. Phil has spent forty years making billion-dollar calls, in roles including Chief Technology Officer of Hewlett-Packard and President and CEO of CableLabs.
Phil works with a small number of leaders at a time. He stays close to the businesses they run, knows the stakes involved, and is there when his advice and experience are needed to help make the decision. No one is starting from zero, on either side of the table.
Between decisions, Phil tests what you're working through against what comes up outside the room: the network, the industry, adjacent fields. He brings back what's relevant.
The relationship is structured as a retainer, an equity position, or both. Engagements are confidential unless the client approves being named.
An innovation is never one decision. It is hundreds of them, every one made before anyone can prove it's right. Judgment is knowing which call each moment demands.
The difference between a good idea and a great one is rarely the idea. It's the timing.
Most advisors ask you to trust their judgment. Phil's has been on the record since 2009.
For more than fifteen years he has made technology predictions on camera, published by HP, CableLabs, Forbes, C-SPAN, and others. Dated, public, and verifiable. The hit rate is roughly 92 percent, and the record is public, so you can check it.
See the record →He is still on the record today, with predictions in play.
Techtrend takes on work selectively. Phil says yes when he can make a difference. If he can't, he says so.
One example of the work is with The Adullam Company, where Phil serves on the Advisory Board. It's a veteran-owned company founded by a Navy SEAL Master Chief, building technology to protect the people who protect us.
Eventually the analysis runs out and someone still has to decide.
That is the work of Techtrend Group.