Writing a reliability strategy: reason about complex things with system models.
February 9, 2019 A while ago I wrote about modeling a hiring funnel as an example of creating a system model, but that post doesn't explore how the process of evolving a system model can be helpful. This post does.
Notes on Soul of a New Machine, Messy Middle, Crazy at Work, Company of One.
February 2, 2019 Every year or two I spend a month or two reading some general business and management books. On average, these are not my favorite books, but they usually have a couple interesting ideas and are imminently skimmable. Recently I've read through The Soul of a New Machine, The Messy Middle, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, and Company of One.
Growing with your company's complexity.
January 29, 2019 When finishing up a difficult project, sometimes I pause to dream about how it'll extend [my career](/career-narratives/). If I bundle this project with a few others, mix in supporting a healthy and impactful team, add a dash of time for the flavor to deepen, and undoubtedly this will get me to the next level.
Meeting people.
January 26, 2019 In the earliest bits of my career, I spent a lot of time worrying that my lack of pedigree was holding me back. How much easier things would have be for me, I imagined, if only I'd attended a feeder school like Stanford or started out at a prestigious company like Google. Memories of that angst bubbled up when I was chatting with someone at a recent conference, and they asked how I knew so many of the people nearby. My first reaction was that I don't know very many folks, but it's also the case that I know meaningfully more folks today than I did just a few years ago, and that change isn't entirely accidental.
I wrote a book: An Elegant Puzzle.
January 22, 2019 I wrote a book, An Elegant Puzzle, which will be available in late June, 2019. This is something I've been working on over the past year, and which I'm extraordinarily excited to share!