Hi, I'm Brian Boyer.
I'm an experienced leader, technologist, speaker and award-winning journalist.
And I’m looking for kind, thoughtful, mission-driven people who are working to make the world better. Need advice, training or a temporary teammate? I'll come to you! But I'm a dad most of the time, so I max out at half-time work, and will be remote.
Read on to learn what I can do for you.
(Already sold? Jump to the end!)
Why hire me?
I’ve worn a lot of hats in my career: technologist, journalist, designer, data-wrangler, project manager, and product owner, to name a few. Those are very different jobs, but the through-line — and secret to my success — is that I care deeply about teams.
Teams kick ass when we...
- Work selflessly (not tirelessly) and care for each other.
- Question dogma, test our assumptions, and value humility and curiosity.
- Build an inclusive workplace, and a team that represents our audience.
- Know our values — why we do what we do, not just what or how.
- Set goals that align with our mission, communicate them clearly and passionately, prioritize rigorously, and measure success every day.
- Lead as servants. Leadership is not control — it's support.
What can I do for you?
For the last few years, I've been an independent consultant, helping news organizations by building better products and processes, usually in the interest of succeeding at membership. Sometimes I'm a coach, other times I get more hands-on.
I'm sort of a generalist, but with areas of deep expertise. Here's a handful of the things that we might work on together.
Build a membership-powered organization
I spent two years building successful membership programs for Denverite, Billy Penn and The Incline. And more recently as a consultant/coach, I've helped many other newsrooms in their membership efforts. It's tempting to think of this as a technical problem — CRMs and payment processing can be tricky — but it's really a human problem. The real challenge is that your organization must learn to act differently.
And, crucially, online membership is really different from how you'd do it on, say, the radio or TV.
I can teach you how to succeed at membership on the internet — from the values you must embrace, to how you communicate those values to your audience. Plus: All the nitty-gritty details of product design, vendors and tools, email marketing, and measuring success.
Develop a user-centered product strategy
There’s a thing about products that should be obvious, but that we regularly fail at. We design products to serve the needs of our audience. I can help you better understand those needs, facilitate design exercises with your team, and develop a product strategy.
We'll kill our pre-conceived notions (and internal politics) and come up with a product that works for your audience first. Also — this is fun!
Lead your technology efforts
I've led teams of developers and designers for most of my career, at startups and well-established companies. (Check my resume for the details.) We've built products, analyzed and visualized data, created award-winning visual journalism, and lots more.
I can help you consider your product/design/technical goals and support a happy team in achieving them!
Set goals and measure success
Like the person said, "What gets measured, gets done." If the metrics don’t align with your goals, your team will make poor choices. So, you must be extremely intentional when deciding what to measure.
And before that, you must first decide — and clearly communicate — what you’re trying to achieve. I can help you articulate your goals, design metrics, and implement goal-tracking processes that will aim your team towards a common cause.
Implement processes for happiness and productivity
Work is hard. But it's usually hard for all the wrong reasons. If you've got a great mission and great people, that's great! But if you've got poor process, it doesn't matter. Even the most talented people fail when they're managed poorly. I can help you implement processes that will reduce friction, increase productivity, and create a happier and more inclusive workplace.
Smell bullshit
I’ve evaluated hundreds (thousands?) of tools, most of which stunk. As a hiring manager, awards judge, grant judge and vendor sniffer, I’ve developed a keen sense for what’s crap, and what tools (and teams!) are awesome.
If you need help deciding on a technology stack, evaluating a RFP, hiring a consulting firm, or awarding grantees — hit me up! I can help you understand the problem you’re trying to solve, and choose the best path to solve it.
How do we do this?
If you’re a news organization, non-profit, or other mission-driven organization, and if you care about building a thoughtful, inclusive, kind workplace, I’d be excited to talk with you about...
Consulting & contract work
We could do a one-day workshop, a multi-week consulting project, or part-time contract work. Let's talk through your needs first and we can design something that works for your team, and your budget.
A part-time leadership role
You might be seeking a Head of Product, VP Audience, Membership Director, General Manager, CTO/COO, Managing Editor, or Publisher. But I'm only available part-time, cuz the rest of my day I'm a dad.
You in?
Let's talk! I’d love to learn more about your team, and your vision for the future.