Organizations
Big Companies Don’t Get Slower Because They Become Stupid
Designing processes and software to scale is expensive but necessary. I'll walk through why scaling by definition (basically always) leads to a loss of agility.
Organizations
Organizations
Why do the Amazon Leadership Principles Work? How Do They Change Behaviors?
The Amazon Leadership Principles are awesome in driving behaviors within Amazon. Why don't other companies manage this type of behavior influence?
Organizations
You’re Not “Letting People Go”—You're Firing Them
Getting past the euphemisms - this is what “performance management” looks like from the manager chair.
Organizations
If Your System Never Fails, That’s the Real Failure
Investments in operations should be at a minimal level that maintains the systems in an acceptable state forever. Poor operations are clearly bad news. But perfect operations are a waste of money.
Organizations
The 4 Major Impacts of Amazon's Decentralization and Ownership Model
Amazon is decentralized and has a strong focus on ownership. This causes various positive and negative impacts. Let's walk through those impacts, and how you can navigate them successfully.
Organizations
The 5 Whys in Action: How to Turn Human Mistakes Into Lasting Improvements
When humans inevitably slip, the 5 Whys uncover the real fixes hiding beneath the surface. The 5 Whys expose our weak systems, not our weak people.
Organizations
My Reflections on Bret Taylor’s Podcast Conversation with Shane Parrish About AI and Software Development
From code generation to shifting developer roles to organizational decay, here’s what stood out to me in their discussion.
Organizations
Day 1 Is About Doing What’s Right. Day 2 Is About Getting Promoted.
The shift from customer obsession to career obsession happens quietly, usually through the hiring process. But as your original leadership team transitions out, a new culture moves in.
Organizations
Blockers Are Urgent, While Friction Endures
Blockers trigger fire drills, but friction quietly shapes customer and employee behavior every single day. (Additional bonus included - The Toilet Paper Roll Test)
Organizations
Customer Obsession Means Listening Harder—Not Measuring Harder
Large businesses use metrics to handle millions of customers. Yet a single customer story can reveal more than a mountain of metrics—if you’re willing to invest some time to learn more.
Organizations
More Engineers = Less Output? The Costs of Growth.
Growing quickly is lauded as a great thing in the news. But is it always a great thing?
Organizations
Wishing for a Better Outcome Isn't a Mechanism. The COE Approach to Continual Improvement and Avoiding Blame.
Focus on what you can control, and move past your narrow focus on outcomes. When mistakes happen, the right question is: Why did your system allow it? How could you have influenced that result?