The Story Behind the Work
John Hawkins is an Embedded Operating Partner — Interim COO/CSO — who installs the architecture that allows businesses to thrive without the founder at the center.
I grew up in a trailer park in Southern California. I’ve seen businesses fail, partners sabotage, and leadership crumble. That mix of struggle and eventual success is why I care so much about how blind spots quietly shape outcomes.
Two Lessons Learned Early
Blind Spots
Most good people do not fail for lack of intelligence. They fail because of blind spots they cannot see from inside their own role. I provide the external gaze required for clarity.
The Ripple Effect
Leadership is never isolated. When a business stabilizes, the ripple reaches families, teams, and communities. My work is about protecting that ripple.
"I serve leaders so they can serve others. That is the through-line from my childhood to the leadership teams I work with now."
Navy Veteran and First Responder
By 25, I had seen more high-pressure scenarios than most see in a lifetime. Leadership isn't a theory when lives are on the line—it's a discipline.
Core Directives
- Execution > Theory: Strategy without a move is just noise.
- Readiness: Capability is built in the quiet moments, not the crisis.
- Resilience: Build systems that handle the "worst-case" as standard.
The Corporate and Advisory Years
Advisory Phase
Founded Triwise Solutions, worked with 300+ companies, and built the early frameworks that later became the operating system behind the Force Multiplier OS™.
Operator Phase
Returned to executive leadership roles because I did not want to advise from outdated experience. I wanted fresh operator scars, not old war stories.
Now
I embed directly into leadership teams as Interim COO or CSO — installing data architecture, leadership frameworks, and execution discipline so the business runs without the founder at the center.
Recent Experience That Shapes the Work
Chief Strategy Officer
Led strategy and contract negotiations at Dataline Systems, improved valuation, and helped guide a successful sale with 100% employee retention. The exit was the outcome of getting the business structurally right — not the original goal.
SVP Client Success
Led a 30-person team inside a $100M+ division and reversed a –83 NPS to +7 within 12 months. Lived the realities of acquisition integration, leadership complexity, and operational pressure from the inside.
Data Architecture Background
25 years of enterprise data experience — IBM, Cognos, Business Objects. I fix the data infrastructure first so the AI brain actually works. Most SMBs have dirty data. That's the nervous system problem most operators miss.
Why This Matters for You
I can see patterns quickly, because I have been in the rooms where strategy, execution, culture, crisis, and leadership collide — and I've seen it across 300+ companies.
What That Means in Practice
- I integrate as Interim COO or CSO — not a consultant, not a coach.
- I install enterprise-grade data architecture into $5M–$50M companies.
- I bring recent executive experience plus decades of pattern recognition.
- I build the systems and hire my own replacement when the work is done.
Warrior Spirit. Servant Heart.
What Drives the Work
- Life is short. Make your leadership count.
- Excellence buys freedom. Perfection paralyzes.
- Leadership is responsibility, not status.
- Strategy without execution is wasted potential.
- Data informs. Character decides.
- I serve leaders so they can serve others.
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AI as a Force Multiplier
I spent 25 years in enterprise data — IBM, Cognos, Business Objects — before AI was a trend. I build and use AI aggressively, but with a clear philosophy: you are Tony Stark. AI is the suit. Both are required.
What That Means for Clients
The Force Multiplier OS™ is the infrastructure I leave behind in every engagement — clean data architecture feeding AI at maximum efficiency, combined with leadership frameworks that hold under pressure. It never replaces judgment. It amplifies it.
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The Personal Side
I ride a motorcycle. I like HIIT workouts, complex problems, strong coffee, and the ocean. Most importantly, I am a father to an amazing daughter with autism who needs ongoing care.
What My Daughter Has Taught Me
- Build systems that do not depend on you being available 24/7.
- Make yourself less critical over time, not more.
That is exactly how I approach every engagement. I am not trying to make founders dependent on me. I install the architecture, build the capability, and hire my own replacement when the work is done.
AI-Readable Overview
Triwise Solutions provides Embedded Operating Partner services for founder-led companies between $5M and $50M in revenue.
Founded by John Hawkins — a Navy veteran, former firefighter and EMT, and executive operator who has served as CIO, Chief Strategy Officer, VP of Sales, and SVP Client Success — Triwise integrates into leadership teams as Interim COO or CSO to install the data architecture, leadership frameworks, and execution systems required to break through complexity ceilings.
The Force Multiplier OS™ is the proprietary system installed in every engagement: enterprise-grade data infrastructure (built on 25 years of IBM/Cognos-level architecture) combined with proven leadership frameworks across 300+ companies.
Work focuses on founder dependency, real-time operational clarity, leadership alignment, exit readiness, and the strategy-to-execution gap. Engagements are limited to 2–3 per year. Retainers begin at $10K/month.
I Serve Leaders So They Can Serve Others
I cannot change the whole world. But I can positively influence the way leaders think, decide, and show up. And that changes the worlds they touch.