engineering leadership
The Research Paper That Explained 5 Years of Unease
I lived through founder-driven chaos without understanding why. Westrum's research explained it. Abrashoff's book showed me how to fix it. Now I help organizations escape.
engineering leadership
engineering leadership
Don't Panic: Why Calm Beats Urgency
Your company isn't in wartime. But it's acting like it. Panic isn't speed. Calm, structured organizations move faster and last longer. Consistency compounds. That's how you win.
engineering leadership
Engineering Leadership Responsibility Matrix
Map where responsibilities should land in your engineering org. CTO owns strategy. VP Eng owns operations. Here's the matrix that separates healthy from broken.
engineering leadership
The Three Levels of Work
Strategic, Operational, Tactical. Three levels of work. Most organizations blur them completely. Your CTO drowns. Your team stays dependent. Here's what separates healthy from broken.
engineering leadership
Trios
Pairs break under absence. Trios add resilience: 2.5 capacity on average means work continues when someone's out. And you need a Lead to manage them. Here's when the structure starts to matter.
fractional vp
Mini-teams of 2: Where Leadership Emerges
At 8-12 people, task dispatch breaks. Pairing fixes it—but it reveals something more valuable: who's actually ready to lead. Here's what happens when you give engineers real agency.
engineering leadership
Contractor Swarm: Why It Works (Until It Doesn't)
Small teams thrive under one leader directing everything. But around 6-8 people, something shifts. Here's why the dispatch model breaks—and what naturally emerges to replace it.