Field Notes

Notes from the work.

Short essays on software, AI, and the way work actually gets done. Written by the people who do the work.

The potter’s wheel completely changed how clay could be shaped. It didn’t change the eye that could see the bowl before it existed.

AI got me to a good mug in seconds. Getting to a great mug took years. The difference between correct and right is experience.

Adding AI to a messy process does not automatically make it better. It can just make the mess happen faster.

Not every organization can sprint at the pace of AI innovation. A stable plateau to receive benefits from isn’t a bad thing.

We stopped offering the things that made us different because the tool didn’t have a field for that.

In 4 minutes, we collected more data than in 4 years of surveys. No emails. No follow-ups. No waiting.

Good systems don’t rely on someone remembering everything. They make the next step obvious.

The most effective tools in the organization are the ones least likely to get investment. Because they have always delivered and still do.

Each individual pause only lasts a few seconds. But across teams, those pauses compound constantly.

Read something that sounds like your Tuesday?

That’s usually how these conversations start.