The Blessing and Curse of Being a Truth-Teller 🤫
Being a truth-teller sounds noble in theory. In practice—at work and in life—it often sucks. Here’s what I’ve learned about the pros and cons of pushing for honesty.
Latest
The Traditions We Keep (Even When They Don’t Work Anymore) 🦃
A reflection on workplace traditions: why we keep doing them, when to let them go, and how to tell the difference between helpful rituals and outdated routines — just in time for the holidays.
Make the Backlog Work for You, Not the Other Way Around 🪵
A backlog is not a to-do list, a feature dump, or a trash bin of ideas. It’s a communication tool. If it’s not reflecting user value and team focus, it’s working against you. Here’s how to fix that.
Paging Isn’t a Substitute for Planning
Paging systems are meant to wake people when systems fail — not when communication does. When leaders rely on paging to compensate for coordination gaps, they don’t just disturb sleep; they disrupt trust, ownership, and culture.
Too Close for Comfort: Crossing Boundaries at Work (and Why I’m Done Staying Quiet)
I’ve spent my career navigating inappropriate comments, unwanted contact, and blurred lines—often in silence. This is my story about workplace boundaries, how I’ve handled violations, and why it’s time we stop pretending men can’t be victims too.
You Never Notice the Janitor 🧹
I swore I’d never be a janitor like my dad. But in tech, I became one anyway—cleaning up code, teams, and culture behind the scenes. You only notice the janitor when everything’s broken. And that’s the point.
The Hidden Cost of Overcompensation
Overcompensating—whether with effort, responsibility, or control—often leads to burnout and missed expectations. In trying to avoid failure, we create it elsewhere. Here’s why we need to protect people over products and build systems that don’t rely on heroes.