Technical debt is easy to incur. It’s unnecessary added features, undocumented code, support for outmoded interactions and anything that slows down your ability to update and upgrade your work. Tech debt is the combination of doing what feels right at the time, in a hurry, and then having to maintain it and understand it going forward.
Vibe coding, which is a rising trend, pairs a human programmer with an AI like chatGPT. The AI is doing most of what a human used to do, and generating far more lines of code per hour than a person might. The problem is that often, no one knows exactly how the code works, which means it’s going to be difficult to fix when it breaks or needs an upgrade.
And as AI starts to create data sets (by reviewing, for example, response rates to emails or designs), those data sets are going to be so multi-dimensional that only an AI will be able to make sense of them.
The end result will be as the end result often is–the first one now will later be last. The shortcuts might not be the best way to get to where you’re going.
Get the system architecture right first. Document it, streamline it and test it. Then divide the components into small pieces and let AI finish the work. Fixing a defective brick is far more cost effective than re-architecting an entire building.
April 22, 2025
Sometimes, in the absence of data or useful experience, we’re left to act on our instincts.
It’s worth noting that other people have instincts as well.
And in a given situation, their instincts might prove to be as right as often as ours.
Just because it’s your instinct doesn’t mean it’s the best instinct.
When in doubt, seek reality and useful experience instead.
April 21, 2025
A solid work ethic drives someone to show up, even when they’d rather not. If there’s work on their desk, they’ll take it on.
Discipline, on the other hand, is the ability to say ‘no’ to free up focus and resources for the work that’s worth saying ‘yes’ to.
April 20, 2025
If you memorize the steps, you have a direct, simple and fast path to obtain the result.
Until the world changes.
Even the tiniest shift in the system will render your memorization useless.
On the other hand, if you understand the concept, you’ll be able to produce the steps whenever you need them.
April 19, 2025
Teachers and organizations benefit from both, but they’re not the same.
Engagement is the delight we have when we lean into the process. Engagement happens when social media is optimized for maximum focus, and it also can be seen in a student who’s in sync with a teacher who cares.
Enrollment is a commitment to change. Enrollment in the process means we’re willing to push through the difficult parts because the outcome is part of our goal.
Obviously, they overlap, quite a bit. And one of the best ways to get one is to have the other.
True transformation requires enrollment, even if it doesn’t always promise engagement.
April 18, 2025
It’s hard to build a house without a hammer.
The hammer has been around for a long time, and thanks to its intuitive design, a user can get 70% of the benefit after less than ten minutes of instruction. People who depend on hammers for their livelihood are probably at over 95% efficiency.
In the last decade, we’ve outfitted billions of people with tools that didn’t exist until recently. And because of market pressure, the design of these tools is very different.
They generally deliver a fraction of their potential productivity when used casually.
We’ve adopted the mindset of Too Busy To Learn. As a result, we prefer tools that give us quick results, not the ones that are worth learning. This ignores the truth of a great modern professional’s tool: it’s complicated for a reason.
Some tools, like Discord, are optimized for informal poking and casual use. As a result, more nuanced and sophisticated (and powerful) tools like Discourse are harder to sell to new users.
Surfing doesn’t have many participants, because it takes a long time to get good enough at surfing to have fun. Pickleball, on the other hand, rewards casual first-timers.
That’s fine for a hobby, but when we spend our days hassling with our tools, it’s a problem.
As a result of this cycle of Too Busy To Learn, we end up spending our days using software incorrectly and creating frustration. We blame the tools instead of learning to use them.
Don’t hold the hammer at the wrong end. And insist on software that’s worth the time it takes to learn.
Most important, once you find software that’s worth the time to learn, learn it.
April 17, 2025
Efficiency + Convenience.
Not everything is industrialized. A backyard garden, a freelance editor, even a chef with a hands-on restaurant. These folks are building a practice and producing value, but they haven’t embraced industrialization.
That happens when management steps in, productizes, routinizes and optimizes.
Industrialization produces huge gains in productivity, but it’s also a bit brittle and takes some of the humanity away from the work.
Efficiency first.
And then, convenience. Making it convenient to sub in new parts or new workers. Making it convenient to work with vendors and customers. Any color you want, as long as its black.
Industrialism produces its own rewards, but at the cost of flexibility and side effects.
April 16, 2025
If three people are coming over for dinner, does that stress you out?
What if it’s 17?
If you’re giving a talk explaining your strategy to four people, does it feel like a high-risk event? What if it’s 54?
How many more people are required before it flips to stressful? Because the last person is just one person.
If you’re performing in an auditorium, there are still only thirty people you can see from the stage.
N + 1 is just 1 more.
April 15, 2025
You can’t.
That’s because toddlers don’t understand what an argument is and aren’t interesting in having one.
Toddlers (which includes defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, folks committed to a specific agenda and radio talk show hosts) may indicate that they’d like to have an argument, but they’re actually engaging in connection, noise, play acting or a chance to earn status. It can be fun to be in opposition, to harangue or even to use power to change someone’s position.
An argument, though, is an exchange of ideas that ought to surface insight and lead to a conclusion.
If you’re regularly having arguments with well-informed people of goodwill, you will probably ‘lose’ half of them–changing your mind based on what you’ve learned. If you’re not changing your mind, it’s likely you’re not actually having an argument (or you’re hanging out with the wrong people.) While it can be fun to change someone else’s position, it’s also a gift to learn enough to change ours.
The toddler puts on a show of having an argument, but they are holding a tantrum in reserve. If they ‘win’ the argument, no tantrum is needed. If they lose, they can tell themselves that they tried but the other person deserved the tantrum because they didn’t listen.
“Tell me about other strongly-held positions you’ve changed as the result of a discussion like this one…” is a direct way to start a conversation about the argument you’re proposing to have. “What sort of information would make it likely you could see this in a different way?”
It probably doesn’t pay to argue over things we have chosen to believe as part of our identity.
April 14, 2025
In a hurried world with infinite content, it’s worth considering that you’re no longer paid by the word when you write, in fact, you should pay for every extra word you use.
Be as brief as is useful.
April 13, 2025
