Plain writing on running a technical organisation.
One idea at a time, worked all the way through — opinionated, jargon-free, and always with the mechanism underneath it. No filler, no listicles.
The launch series
These pieces build the whole argument in order. Each one stands alone — start wherever matches the problem in front of you — but read end to end, the repeated shape becomes its own payoff.
The Job Is Velocity in a Direction
The provocation. Most CTO advice is a list, and a list never tells you how to move. The job isn’t coverage — it’s velocity in a direction.
Speed Is a Default You Engineer
Your team isn’t slow because people are timid. It’s slow because the standing rule is “ask first.” Change the rule with guardrails, not cheerleading.
Every Hero Is a Bug
The person only one of you can replace isn’t a strength — it’s a weak spot with a name on it. How to turn heroes into roles.
Take the Human Out of the Loop
Buying tools isn’t automating. How to delete work done by hand and turn blind spots into signals the system raises itself.
One Move, Done Three Ways
The reveal: the three engines are the same move, and the 1–5 ladder is that move repeated.
The Loop — Why the Three Are Really One
Measuring shows the direction, guardrails supply the speed, balance keeps the system standing. Why you can’t pull any one out.
The latest posts.
Published on Substack as they land — the ongoing writing that sits behind the framework. New pieces every couple of weeks.
A new piece every couple of weeks.
Each one takes a single idea and makes it obvious — the what and the why, in everyday words. If a sentence makes you work to understand it, that’s a failure on our side, not yours.