YOUR STUFF. MY EXPERIENCE. MORE POSSIBLE.
The KISS & Co. origin story
why kiss?
The Keep It Simple, Stupid (“KISS”) principle has been part of business thinking for decades. I personalised it for myself with a post-it note on my desk: Keep It Simple, Sarah.
To me, keeping things simple means cutting through unnecessary complexity, making things easier to understand, manage and act upon. It's about controlling the controllables, letting go of what you can't control and finding the most effective way forward, without overcomplicating what doesn't need to be complicated.
It was my constant reminder to apply this thinking to my daily work and life. Not because everything is simple. Far from it.
And today that mantra has evolved into KISS & Co.
Chief of Stuff
A Chief of Staff works alongside senior leadership, helping to turn priorities into action, joining dots, solving problems and keeping things moving. It can be fast-paced, high-pressure work, where judgement, discretion and extraordinary attention to detail matter. Underpinning it all is time — organising it, creating more of it and getting the most out of it. That’s why I regard time as a strategic asset.
Having spent my entire career doing exactly this, I recognise that these same skills are transferable to all sorts of Stuff across work and life, making a difference by working alongside others.
With KISS & Co., I'm the “Chief”, and “Stuff” is quintessentially KISS — a wonderfully simple way of describing the enormous variety of things I can help people with. So, what better way to bring it all together than to playfully call myself Chief of Stuff!
KISSology
Over time, my KISS principle evolved into something of a personal operating system — a methodology for how I approach whatever is in front of me, at work or in life:
Get curious ● Ask questions ● Get creative ● Understand what matters ● Join the dots ● Get organised ● Find the simplest way forward ● Try it ● Test it ● Learn ● Adapt ● Accountability
It’s methodical, but not rigid. I draw on established business frameworks and practical experience, while leaving room for curiosity, creativity and changing course when something isn't working. And then there’s accountability. Figuring out what needs to happen is one thing; making sure it actually happens is another.
And because I practise what I preach, I simplified that too: Keep. Improve. Start. Stop.
I affectionately call this methodology my KISSology.
How KISS works
Tell me what’s going on.
It starts with your Stuff. And Stuff can be surprisingly varied. See KISS in Action for a few examples of what you might bring me, alongside real-life projects I've worked on.
Tell me a little about what’s going on using the Contact Sarah form. We’ll have a conversation about what you need, what you’d like to achieve and where I can be most useful.
From there, we'll work out what matters, what good looks like and the best way for us to work together. It might be a day's work, a few days or a larger project. Once we're clear on the Stuff at hand, I'll put together a simple outline of what we're trying to achieve, who's doing what, the scope of work and the agreed fee. See my FAQs: The Practical Stuff to find out more about how engagements work.
Then we get going.
You can expect my communication to be: Short. Clear. Decisive.
I’ll keep you informed, flag what needs your attention and get on with what doesn’t. And where it helps, I’ll keep us accountable for what we said we’d do, what’s moving, what’s stuck and what happens next.
No unnecessary meetings. No lengthy updates for the sake of them. No adding more Stuff to your Stuff. The idea is to give you confidence that things are moving, without having to keep track of every detail yourself.
And, of course, confidentiality matters. Whether we're dealing with personal information, commercially sensitive matters or simply something you'd prefer to keep private, you can expect discretion, care and respect for your information. See my Confidentiality & Privacy Policy.
As your Chief of Stuff, I've applied my own KISS principle to simplify how we can work together into three approaches. Three ways to put my experience, skills and KISSology to work for you.
THREE WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
You need an answer.
“I don’t know what to do about this.”
Figure it out
There’s something you need to understand, solve or make a decision about, but you don’t have the time, information or headspace to get underneath it properly.
I’ll do the legwork — researching what we need to know, gathering the information, asking the questions, exploring the options and speaking to the right people where useful.
Then I’ll make sense of it, articulate what matters and bring it together into a clear way forward.
You can take it from there — or ask me to Make It Happen.
Bring me the problem. I’ll help figure out the way forward.
You need it done.
“I know what I want done.”
Make it happen
You might already know exactly what needs to happen, or we might need to figure that out first. Either way, I’ll take ownership.
I’ll work out what needs doing, do what makes sense for me to do, bring in whoever or whatever else is needed and keep hold of it until it’s done.
It might follow something we’ve Figured Out together, or you can bring me something ready to go.
Give me the task, project or idea. I’ll make it happen.
You need someone who knows your world.
“I need someone who can do both and knows my world.”
Alongside you
There isn’t just one problem or project. You want someone who understands what matters to you and can pick things up as they arise.
I’ll bring judgement, context and capacity — figuring things out, making things happen and, as I get to know your world, anticipating what I can take care of before you need to ask.
Sometimes what you need isn’t someone to take something off your hands, but someone alongside you while you get it done. A sounding board, an accountability buddy, someone to keep things moving, notice when something’s stuck and help work out the next move.
The more I understand your world, the more useful I become.