04
Jan
Truth Requires Safety
The all-hands: "We need candid feedback. Speak up if you see problems."
Feedback form arrives. Everyone fills it
1 min read
MOMEMTUM ENGINEERING
01
Jan
The Math That Kills Teams
In 1964, IBM bet everything on OS/360.
It would be the most ambitious software project ever attempted. One operating
1 min read
29
Dec
The Squad Model Failed
Everyone copied the Spotify model.
Squads. Tribes. Chapters. Guilds. The vocabulary spread through tech companies like a virus.
Here'
1 min read
26
Dec
Three Companies, One Well
April 20, 2010. Deepwater Horizon.
Three companies were responsible for one well: BP, Transocean, and Halliburton.
When the well blew
1 min read
25
Dec
Structure Changed Behavior
In Season 3 of The Wire, Major Bunny Colvin runs an experiment.
He designates abandoned areas as "free zones&
1 min read
24
Dec
The Org Chart Ships
In 1967, computer scientist Melvin Conway made an observation.
Organizations design systems that mirror their communication structures.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
1 min read
19
Dec
Three Minutes Nineteen Seconds
January 15, 2009. US Airways Flight 1549.
At 3:27:11 PM, the Airbus A320 struck a flock of Canada
1 min read
17
Dec
The Shift Change
Patient mortality spikes during hospital shift changes.
Not because nurses are tired.
Because context doesn't survive handoffs.
Studies
1 min read
15
Dec
Four Is Not Arbitrary
Navy SEALs operate in 4-person fire teams.
Not 6. Not 8.
Four.
This isn't tradition. It's
1 min read
09
Dec
Possible Versus Possible Now
"Is this possible?"
Wrong question.
Almost everything is possible given infinite time, resources, and political capital.
The question
1 min read