Turnaround
Led a 35-year-established business through a turnaround
With the team’s support, rebuilt credit policy and operating discipline, moving the operation from a loss to profitability.
Entrepreneur · Intrapreneur · Operator · Author · Speaker
Building organizations where people think like owners.
Operator who makes AI and ownership actually work in real businesses.
No two companies are the same. Let’s start with a 30-minute conversation about yours.
Recent publication
AI Won’t Fix Equipment Finance’s Operating Problems. Leadership WillEquipment Finance AdvisorRead article
About
Operator first.
Advisor second.
RJ Grimshaw is the operator who makes AI and ownership actually work in real businesses. He is the founder and CEO of ABLE Leadership, author of The AI Edge, and a U.S. Air Force veteran.
Track record
President and CEO, UniFi Equipment Finance (Bank of Ann Arbor), 2013–2023
- Took over a business spending $1.20 to earn every dollar of revenue and brought it to 49 cents
- Grew net revenue per employee 4.5 times
- Contributed $42.4 million to the parent bank over ten years in interest and net income
- Built the Intrapreneur Operating System with his team
Today
- Helps mid-market leadership teams turn what their people know into faster decisions and stronger ownership
- Strategic AI Advisor, National Equipment Finance Association
- Founding member, Equipment Finance Cares
- Anthropic: Claude Partner Badge: Claude Code; Certified AI Fluency
- MIT Management Executive Education, AI Strategy
- Upstart, AI & Financial Services (2024)
- Keynote: You Don’t Need Another Pilot. The competitive advantage is already inside your company.
“People are capable of far more than most organizations allow.”
The four questions I ask before any AI
Is leadership aligned?
If leadership isn't aligned on the outcome, no tool, team, or AI will fix it.
What outcome must this business deliver?
Start with the outcome the business must deliver and the work that produces it, then organize people, information, decisions, and technology around it. Technology comes last.
What problem does this tool solve, and what specific work will it eliminate?
Measure success by work eliminated, not tools created.
Who owns the outcome?
Companies that reward people for doing their jobs instead of improving the business leave their competitive advantage on the table.
Ebook
Get your AI Edge: practical prompts for clearer business decisions
The AI Edge ebook by RJ Grimshaw
Download ebook (PDF)Experience
A record built inside the work.
Strategy shaped by operating responsibility, not observation.
New business
Built an HVAC financing vertical
Created a dealer enrollment model for a new line of business.
Execution
Delivered a one-year platform transition
Replatformed and rebranded the business while finishing below the expense budget.
Industry leadership
Built beyond the balance sheet
Has served on the ELFA board and was a founding member of Equipment Finance Cares, with more than 25 years in equipment finance.
Testimonials
In their words.
RJ, you bring more than just innovation in AI. You bring the macro view, assisting companies that are ready for growth.
Frameworks
Methods people can carry.
01
Framework
Analyze. Build. Leverage. Execute.
02
Operating method
The Foundation Protocol
Make the founder's judgment visible, give the team a system they can carry, and build the right technology around both.