Nov 18Ship to Production as Soon as You CanProduction. I love production. Production is where I want to be. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where value is generated. I am highly driven to get to production. I’m going to explain this concept in the context of digital technology but let me make a few non-technical analogies first. Vacation …Elon Musk4 min readElon Musk4 min read
Nov 4Leadership Lessons from 3D Printing and Motorizing an Iron Man HelmetMany of my coworkers saw me wearing an Iron Man helmet at work last week. Many of my followers on LinkedIn saw my Halloween post featuring the helmet. This article is the story behind it. Yes, there will be leadership lessons, as always. Three months ago, my 16-year-old son, Caleb…3 D Printing5 min read3 D Printing5 min read
Oct 28The Business of Leading Imperfect PeoplePeople, all people, are deeply flawed. We are all so far from perfection, that it’s not even close. Yet corporations exist with the understanding that we can assemble a vast array of imperfect people to achieve a great outcome. That task is something we call leadership. The body of theoretical…Grace4 min readGrace4 min read
Oct 14How to Break into ManagementI’ve seen many early career professionals talk about how to break into cybersecurity, break into data engineering, and break into FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google). To “break into” means to get a legitimate job in one of those arenas. The language implies gatekeeping. …Management And Leadership5 min readManagement And Leadership5 min read
Sep 30Grow But Don’t Ever ChangeChoosing the path of leadership means embracing change. Leadership implies movement. If you are standing still, you aren’t leading. You cannot lead people where you haven’t gone yourself. While the act of leading implies a journey, becoming a leader is a journey in itself. That journey is something we call…Growth Mindset3 min readGrowth Mindset3 min read
Sep 16Digital Leadership Skills for Modern TimesI believe that great leaders are made, not born. Many experience the drive and calling of leadership, but it’s the skills that make us successful. Many leadership skills are self-evident. Leaders need to be good collaborators and connectors. They need to be good at listening and communicating. They need to…Digital Transformation5 min readDigital Transformation5 min read
Sep 9Run into Complexity, Return with SimplicityOur world continues to become more and more complex. We accept it. We expect it. We deal with it. Yet complexity bogs us down. It makes us slow. It makes us cautious. It causes all sorts of unintended consequences and fragility. Simultaneously, we applaud the simple. We embrace it. We…Einstein3 min readEinstein3 min read
Aug 26The Heart of a Teacher: An Underutilized Leadership ApproachIt is that time of year when students get back into their classrooms and teachers resume their positions of prominent influence over students. Given our collective focus on “back to school,” I thought this would be good timing to discuss a leadership approach inspired by teachers. Before I get into…Teachers4 min readTeachers4 min read
Aug 19Leadership Lessons from the Drain Plug Maneuver on a Borrowed Fishing BoatA few years ago, I borrowed my father-in-law’s fishing boat. Before I left, he showed me how to operate it and deal with any particulars. One piece of his instruction grabbed my attention: “After a few hours on the water, you’ll notice that it will start to fill up with…Fishing Boat4 min readFishing Boat4 min read
Aug 12We’re Going Big on Cloud Technology. Here’s the Strategy.We’re going big on the cloud. All in. It’s exciting. It’s futuristic. However, it’s downright difficult. I talk with leaders at other large enterprise organizations, and everyone is grappling with the cloud. Some are grappling better than others. Our “why” is simple. We can be more efficient, secure, resilient, agile…Cloud Computing6 min readCloud Computing6 min read
