Field Notes
Practical writing for product leaders and boutique advisors – on deciding what to build, answering the hard questions, and running a sharper practice.
Your AI Agents Don't Have a Model Problem. They Have a Knowledge Problem.
Only 10% of enterprises get AI agents to production. The blocker isn't the model – it's the knowledge layer, and the trust that collapses without it.
AI ROI Is 2x a Culture Problem, Not a Tools Problem
Microsoft's 2026 data says culture and management explain 2x the AI impact of individual effort. More seats won't fix an ROI problem that's organizational.
AI Writes Code 30% Faster. Your Review Queue Just Got 4.6x Slower.
AI-generated pull requests wait 4.6x longer for review and pass far less often, so faster coding didn't speed up delivery. The bottleneck just moved.
Tech Was Never Stable. Find Your Place to Stand.
Tech workers call the industry "chaotic." It was never stable — and AI, oddly, makes the churn easier to stand in. Here's how to keep your footing.
The Cheapest Way to Wreck a Team Is a Bad Manager.
Managers are the single biggest driver of burnout — and the most neglected. Stafford Beer explains why, and why fixing it is the smartest business move.
Don't Start a Company. Claim Ownership Instead.
The survey says founders are the happiest people in tech. The lesson isn't "go start a company." It's that autonomy — not the title — is the real medicine.
AI Is Coming for the Spreadsheet, Not the Insight.
Designers and researchers are the most anxious about AI. It's coming for the spreadsheet, not the insight — and that changes what you should do next.
Nobody's Coming to Save Your Career. That's the Good News.
Nearly everyone in tech is ambivalent about AI. The number that matters: 64% are excited, only 33% hopeful. Here's why that gap is good news.
Cutting Management Layers Isn't the Same as Cutting the Work
Companies calling layoffs "simplification" rarely redesign who does the coordination work a manager used to do – and that gap is measurable.