Latest Posts
Accelerating Learning: Bonsai and the Art of Management
I used to loathe having anyone tell me I needed “more years of experience” to succeed at something. Now that I have more grey hair and joints that don’t work as well, I have to admit that some things do simply take time. Though I still think this phrase is overused when people don’t have…
Food Trays
This project started when I was in Japan at a cafe and they served dessert on a simple tray that I liked. I took a few pictures and sketched out what I wanted to build. I started with a prototype version to practice making mitered edges and also to see how my planned cut order…
Coffee Table
I spent a good deal of 2025 working on this coffee table. I designed in it in the early part of the year and finished at the end. It forced me a learn a lot of new things and pick up some new tools. Original design done in Fusion 360. This was my first project…
Older Woodworking Projects
I’ve been working on learning to woodwork since 2021. Here’s some of my creations up to 2024 in more-or-less chronological order: Sectional Couch My friend wanted a very specific couch, so we made a simple frame, bought/scavenged some upholstery materials and sewed a cover. Workbench Outdoor Table Designs from https://theweekendwoodworker.com/. I would definitely recommend the…
Breaking Feedback Looping with the Nielsen Technique
Ever feel like you’re having the same feedback conversation over and over again? Despite best intentions on both sides, there are times when giving feedback to an employee doesn’t work. Often, something is causing the interaction to loop without making progress. I once managed an engineer and had the same monthly conversation about promotion and…
Four Learning Areas for Prospective Engineering Managers
Software engineering management is a challenging role, with many different skills required to do it well. It can be challenging to know where to start when considering moving into the role. This post lays out a framework that can be used by the managers of prospective engineers as well as the engineers who may be …
Growing Leaders to Solve the Hardest Problems
In an organization with many teams, problems will arise that span across these teams and require solutions broader than an individual manager’s purview. These types of projects include things like: introducing changes to a quarterly planning process, agreeing on broad architectural changes, rolling out a new project management tool, or making changes to how on-call…
Organizational Change – Part 4: Scaffolding and Hooks
Much of creating organizational change involves finding ways to successfully get individuals to remember and recall new information at the right time to change an existing habit. Often, these new ideas and concepts are complex, and until humanity invents Matrix-style knowledge uploading, we’re limited to what we can convey in low-bandwidth and faulty human communication.…
Organizational Change – Part 3: Sisyphus and Successful Execution
condemned to forever roll a boulder up a hill in Hades. He’s also a useful character when it comes to thinking about using our time effectively. I have seen many leaders of organizations recreate their own personal Sisyphean reality by failing to focus their attention.
Organizational Change – Part 2: Changing organizations is like moving a memory foam mattress
This post is Part 2 of a 4 part series looking at strategies and tactics for creating change in organizations! If you like it, consider signing up at the bottom of the page for email alerts of new posts. Check here for Part 1: Viral Ideas and Part 3: Sisyphus and Successful Execution. There’s something…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.