James Burchill
Founder, Driftinel | Systems Architect & CTO | Bestselling Author
I help established, founder-led businesses make clearer technology decisions, reduce repetitive work and spot problems sooner. Through James Media Group, that means practical technology and AI, automation and monitoring. I also build products and write about business, technology and practical judgement.
I’m Principal & Systems Architect at James Media Group and CTO at Tooljar. I also founded Driftinel to help business owners spot slipping commitments and decide what needs a follow-up.
New · A free illustrated fable
The Blind
Squirrel Method
An acorn. An accident. A very convincing method.
When Pip’s lucky find becomes a system for success, his friend Hazel starts asking questions. A woodland fable about luck, skill and the stories we sell.
Discover the book & get the free PDF27 illustrated pages. Free to read and share. No signup.
Work and writing
The Vault
Working through a business or technology question? Explore my essays, field notes and practical guides for ideas, examples and better questions to ask. Follow a reading path, browse by subject or find recent writing.
Driftinel
Promises getting buried in email? I founded Driftinel to help business owners spot slipping commitments in the accounts they approve, see the supporting messages and decide how to follow up. Access is by invitation.
Because Drift Happens
Systems moving away from what they were meant to achieve? My work on drift explores how to recognize that change and respond. Find concepts, patterns and examples for keeping businesses and software aligned with their intent.
Explore my writing with your AI assistant
Connect your AI assistant to search the full text of my published essays, browse topics, read articles with source links, and find books and resources—all within your own conversation.
Useful business information hard to find? This working example shows how a compatible AI assistant can help people ask questions, find relevant material and follow the sources. Explore what that could look like for your team or customers.
Free to use. No separate account with me is required. Works with compatible AI assistants that let you add a remote MCP connection. MCP is a standard for connecting AI tools to external information.
Connect your AI assistantAbout
My career spans nearly four decades across software engineering, entrepreneurship, publishing, and teaching. I’ve founded companies, led engineering teams, built software platforms, and written three bestselling books. I’ve also taught at Sheridan College and McMaster University.
I enjoy understanding how things work, making them better, and sharing what I learn. A recurring interest across my work is how businesses and their systems change over time—and how we keep them connected to what they were meant to achieve.
Contact
If technology decisions are unclear, repetitive work is slowing things down or problems are going unnoticed, work with me through James Media Group. We start with the business problem and define a practical next step. Technology and AI, automation, monitoring and any custom software or integration follow the need.
For questions about my writing or current projects, email me. Include the book, article, or project you’re referring to so I have the context.