The other day a CTO asked my advice on hiring a delivery director. I told him, “For me effective delivery has three elements: ‘Feel Focus Flow'”. Actually, the same three elements inform my leadership style as a CIO.

“Feel Focus Flow” (3F) isn’t some academic theory or management fad. Just a practical framework shaped by my own experiences and a focus on what works. It helps me to navigate the complex world of technology and business. 3F is fundamentally about ensuring that any activity – project, programme, strategic initiative, or just the operational year – is managed with a balance of the human element, a clear strategic direction and an efficient process. It’s about getting those three aspects working in harmony to achieve my goals.

The conversation with the CTO, mentioned earlier, was the first time I articulated my approach to delivery in these terms. I thought it would be valuable to share my ‘3F’ framework more widely.

3F Framework – Feel Focus Flow

Feel: Understanding the People

I’ve been known to say that my job is “all about people”. After all, I can’t build anything by myself, I need a team to do that. I mentioned this belief to my wife, a psychotherapist by trade, and she replied, “No. It is all about emotion.”

The recognition that the human element is paramount is the reason I start with Feel. You can’t ignore the importance of people. Any initiative you work on will rely on collaboration, communication and a sense of empathy with the people that you are working with. This means you have to understand the needs and concerns of everyone involved in the process, from your own teams, to your vendors, all the way through to the people who will use the technology that you are building. It’s about taking time to understand their perspectives and to build strong relationships, and to create an environment where people feel comfortable, safe, and motivated. It is about making sure that people feel that their viewpoint is important, and that they are heard. Understanding that “feel” aspect is a vital component of any delivery project, transformational change, or just getting stuff done.

And, as part of the Feel you also have to consider how you engage with stakeholders and that includes your boss and the people paying the bills (the customer and/or the company’s owner). As I have mentioned before, you have to make sure that your communication style is tailored to the needs of each of your audiences, and also to use that communication to build strong, lasting relationships that are based on trust, respect and shared understanding. Without the human element, nothing is possible.

Some may dismiss Feel as soft, vague, or idealistic — something separate from the hard realities of delivery. But in truth, the human element is not just a ‘nice to have’; it’s a critical business function. Collaboration, trust, and emotional intelligence are not abstract concepts — they drive decision-making, risk management, and execution. If you ignore Feel, you ignore the very factors that determine whether an initiative succeeds or fails. Delivery isn’t just about processes and priorities — it’s about people, and people are driven by emotions, incentives, and relationships. Understanding that isn’t a weakness, it is an operational advantage.

Focus: Setting the Direction

Secondly, you have to have a Focus, and that means defining clear objectives and ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goals. You can’t just wander into a project without a clearly defined outcome. You need to set the direction and then you have to make sure that all resources, all decisions and all priorities are aligned to support the overall strategic goals of the company. And you must use data to support these decisions, so you can make sure that all choices are based on objective metrics, rather than just a gut feeling. This also allows you to measure the success and to make sure that everyone is working in a common direction. `[Insert Your Detail Here: Share an example where a clear focus helped to drive a project to success]`.

The Focus is also about having a clearly defined goal. You must know *why* you are doing something, before you start *doing* it. Your goals must always be business goals, and not just technical ones. You must be clear about the problems that you are solving, and what the outcome needs to be. And it is equally important to make sure that all your decisions are aligned with that clearly defined objective, and that you are using data to back everything up.

Flow: Enabling the Business

And, finally you must focus on the Flow and this is all about making sure that your processes are working, and that everything is flowing smoothly. This means you need to define clear and efficient processes, that allow the team to move forwards quickly and also to be agile, allowing them to respond to the unexpected events that inevitably happen in any project. The “Flow” is about ensuring that the delivery mechanism is robust, and effective. You have to keep looking to improve, to make things more efficient and to remove any blockages in the system. And you must create systems that are designed to be adaptive, to allow change to be embraced. You cannot have processes that are too rigid or inflexible. (1) `[Insert Your Detail Here: Share an example of how you have improved the flow of a technology process].`

And to do that properly, you need to adopt an iterative-incremental approach, as this provides a structure to enable you to move quickly, make changes as needed, and to learn as you go along. The approach needs to be designed to adapt to new circumstances and changing priorities. The world changes all the time, and your delivery mechanisms need to adapt to it.

3F Cycle

The 3F Framework consists of three interconnected elements:

• Feel — The human element of collaboration, communication, and empathy, ensuring decisions prioritise people, relationships, and trust
• Focus — A clear strategic vision, aligning technology with business goals through prioritisation, data-driven decisions, and resource allocation
• Flow — Seamless processes and continuous improvement, ensuring technology operates efficiently, adapts to change, and drives effectiveness

This isn’t a linear process — it’s a dynamic cycle. You don’t start with Feel, move to Focus, and finish with Flow. Instead, you engage with all three simultaneously, continuously adjusting and iterating. As challenges arise — whether misalignment in strategy, inefficiencies in execution, or breakdowns in collaboration — you course-correct in that area while staying aware of the others.

Success comes from balancing all three elements at all times. Over-indexing on one while neglecting the others leads to dysfunction: clear goals (Focus) without empathy (Feel) alienate stakeholders; efficient systems (Flow) without direction (Focus) create wasted effort; and prioritising people (Feel) without structure (Focus) or execution (Flow) leads to stagnation.

Iteration isn’t a flaw — it’s the strength of the 3F approach. The more you refine, the stronger your delivery becomes.

3F is a practical, real world framework based on my own personal experience. It’s not a magic formula or an academic theory, but it’s a set of principles that can help you to get the best out of your projects, your teams, and your business. It is a method that I use in all areas of my work. And by focusing on the human aspect (Feel), having a clear goal (Focus) and creating effective processes (Flow) you will be able to drive better business results, and create an environment where technology truly enables the business to thrive.