Tool sprawl
You are using three or four tools that do not talk to each other, and someone is manually copying data between them.
Listening post / v0.1 / problem intake
AppliedSynthesis
Turning messy tech, AI, and workflow problems into usable systems.
This is an experiment in building a useful practice around the kinds of problems that fall between the cracks: too technical for most consultants, too messy for most software, and too specific for generic AI tools.
01 / origin
This is not a big consulting firm.
Right now, Applied Synthesis is an experiment. I am using this page to collect real problems from real people and businesses: the kind of operational messes that sit between “we should fix this” and “we do not know where to start.”
Some problems might turn into blog posts, prototypes, templates, or future services. Some might simply teach me what people actually need.
I occasionally write about systems thinking, AI tools, and life in general at MarksOtherThings.com, and insights flow both ways.
02 / fit
What kinds of problems fit here?
The sweet spot is work that is technical enough to need real understanding, but not so specialized that it requires a dedicated software team or deep domain consultancy.
Scattered knowledge
Your documentation is spread across Google Docs, Notion, Slack, email, shared drives, and people’s heads.
Practical AI use
You know AI could help, but you are not sure where it is useful and where it is just expensive fog.
Manual repeat work
A process takes two hours every week, and everyone suspects it could be automated if someone would map it clearly.
Spreadsheet gravity
Your data lives in spreadsheets, but it needs structure, repeatability, reporting, or a safer handoff path.
Tribal knowledge
One person knows how the system really works, and that is starting to feel like a business-continuity problem.
Unused software
You bought a tool that was supposed to solve the problem, but nobody actually uses it in the way the sales demo promised.
AI policy and workflow
You need sane guidance for AI use, but you want something people will actually understand and follow.
03 / boundaries
What this is not
Not a magic AI vending machine.
Not a place to ask for venture-backed disruption theater.
Not a shortcut around thinking through hard problems.
Not a way to automate workflows nobody has bothered to understand yet.
Not a vendor trying to lock you into tools or services.
Not a place where I pretend to have all the answers.
04 / intake
Tell me about your problem
This is not a sales form. I am trying to understand whether this kind of practical problem-solving is useful. Fill out what makes sense. Skip what does not.