In the Roman Forum, there was a small shrine with double doors. When Rome was at war, the doors were left open. When Rome was at peace, the doors were closed. It is an oddly modern idea. A binary signal. A public status indicator. At a glance, you knew what state the system was in. Open meant war. Closed meant […]
The other day I was talking with one of my directs. We ended up discussing something we’ve both learned over the years. When execution works, the environment is quiet. Not slow. Not passive. Quiet. Execution happens. People work together. Nothing feels heavy. You sort of question if there’s management in all this or their very existence. That’s a good thing. […]
Over the years, I’ve interviewed many candidates. One crucial skill that often gets overlooked is operational reflexes during oncalls. Surprisingly, few companies test for this, yet it’s a capability that greatly distinguishes engineers. There is a gap in interviewing. Some of the candidates excel in code interviews and system design but not on the operational side of things. They can […]
Engineering organizations have roles and responsibilities either explicitly or implicitly. When it’s explicit, one or more people exercise the engineering role, and the responsibilities are defined continuously. On the flip side, some organizations operate with these roles left undefined, relying on individual initiative rather than structured ownership. People take on roles implicitly, and occasionally they give up on them or […]