Newsletter #1 — July 18, 2026
Leading With Clarity
Rethinking leadership in engineering teams - moving beyond command-and-control to intent-based leadership that creates conditions for team success
Tags: leadership, extreme ownership, scaling people
Are MVPs and Skateboards still needed in 2025?
As AI tools and LLMs transform not only how we write code but our entire product development lifecycle, we are faced with a fundamental question: are two of our core product delivery methodologies still relevant, or do they need reinvention?
Tags: ai, mvp, agile, product development
OKRs That Actually Work
After 10 years of watching companies implement OKRs, I’ve seen them do two things: transform organizations or become another dreaded management ritual that everyone ignores. The difference isn’t the framework itself. It’s understanding that OKRs aren’t just about setting goals. They’re about creating alignment, focus, and outcomes that actually matter. In this blog post, I share what I’ve learned.
Tags: okr, strategy, leadership, product development
Put Your “But” on the Table
You spend hours on your presentation. You rehearse in the shower. You nail the delivery. Then Greg from finance raises his hand: “Yeah, but what about X?” Dammit, Greg. Here’s how to Greg-proof your next pitch.
Tags: communication, strategy, public speaking
MCP for the REST of Us
If you’ve been anywhere near AI tooling lately, you’ve probably heard about MCPs. Let me break down what MCP actually is, why it exists, and how it differs from the RESTful paradigm we’ve all grown comfortable with.
Tags: ai, mcp, rest, api, architecture
One-Way vs Two-Way Doors
Not every decision deserves a meeting. But try telling that to some organizations, where even choosing a linting rule somehow requires stakeholder alignment and a follow-up meeting.
Tags: leadership, process, decision-making
The Bus Factor: How Many People Can You Afford to Lose?
The bus factor is a simple yet powerful way to think about execution risk in engineering organizations. It refers to the number of people who would need to suddenly disappear before a project stalls because the remaining team lacks the knowledge or capability to continue. That disappearance could be someone quitting, getting hit by a bus, taking extended leave, or simply being pulled onto another priority.
Tags: leadership, scaling people, risk management
Innovation Dies in Silence
You don’t build safety in offsites. You build it in how you respond when someone messes up or disagrees.
Tags: innovation, culture, leadership, scaling people
What Color Is Your Tuesday
Open your calendar and look at the next week without reading any titles. Just look at the colors. If you can’t immediately tell which days will drain you and which ones have space to think, your calendar isn’t working for you.
Tags: productivity, focus
The Clock Is Already Running
Why the people you lose hit harder, and later, than you think
Tags: leadership, scaling people, risk management, systems thinking, feedback loops