How I Got Here

I wrote software hands-on for twelve years, up through the early days of Java. I loved it. And I was good at it. But then I sat in my first product management meeting and realized something. The people around that table were playing poker. And the chips they were tossing back and forth across the table represented weeks, months, and possibly years of my team’s efforts. And they were doing it without much structure or process. I was outraged to realize that the game I was playing, making software for others to use and get value from, was not being won or lost in my cubicle. I had to get out and make a difference. Somehow.

And that started me on a long road of engineering leadership, a road I still walk today. Eventually I made VP and that’s where the real work began. It was my show to run, and I loved it. I’ve served as VPE in a dozen companies, from bare-metal startups to mid-size growth engines. And what I discovered was I could fix engineering. I often got brought into turnarounds or growth situations where engineering had hit a wall and needed to get to the next level. In a hurry. In short, I became the fixer, the person you call when the wheels are falling off, for whatever reason. And they do fall off, at regular intervals, in most companies. A product line fails and you have to recalibrate. Another round of funding closes, and investor expectations ramp. Engineering doubles in size but the CTO can no longer run it. Those were the situations I excelled in, and began to seek out.

I was lucky. I found a handful of key mentors. (I’m looking at you, Steve.) And I learned the business side from some others.

I’m no better than anyone else who’s been in the chair. I’ve just had an unusually large number of kicks at the can. And that gives me the experience of different situations, different verticals, different technologies, that a lot of folks just don’t get being a VP two or three times.

So, now I offer this as a consultant.

What I Do

I help the executives and staff of software engineering organizations turn themselves into high-performance execution machines the CEO can bet the business on.

My strategies have helped hundreds of people like yourself fix and accelerate engineering and product operations.

I have expertise in organization transformation, operational execution, metrics and measurement, process streamlining, staff development and leadership mentoring.

Over the course of my career, I’ve built engineering teams delivering successful technologies into enterprise and government clients including NASA, Ford Motors, American Airlines, Sprint, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, the GSA, Cisco, Intel, IBM, British Telecom, Telecom Italia, GlaxoSmithKline, the US Army, University of Maryland, AARP, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Services

Engineering Health Check - Get a comprehensive picture of your engineering organization for a low fixed-price. The best compliment I ever got was from a CEO who said they just weren’t worried about engineering any more.  You should be able to say the same.

Engineering Acceleration - You can always move faster, but you have to reduce complexity in key areas to get there. I can find those key areas. We look for the smallest changes that can produce the biggest results.

Engineering Leadership Coaching - Making the jump from engineer to manager is one of the hardest leaps in business.  Engineers don’t go into it because they like working with people.  The jump requires a complete change of mind-set.  And the higher you go, the more you have to give control to others.  And that’s hard for engineers. 

AI Enablement - Everyone is doing it, or should be.  You’re in a race against your competitors.  It’s not just about saving money, it’s about getting there faster. And I’m partnered with a leading company developing agentic AI.

My Unique Value Proposition

I position myself as the consultant who challenges conventional thinking in software development execution. My primary value comes from bringing fresh perspectives that internal teams often miss. I am the external voice who asks the uncomfortable questions that lead to breakthrough improvements. My clients aren't paying me for confirmation of their existing approaches—they're investing in transformative insights that only an outsider with my experience can provide.

How I Engage with Clients

Diagnostic Questioning: I begin engagements by asking probing questions that reveal underlying assumptions. "What if your current development methodology is actually slowing you down?" or "Have you considered that your quality assurance process might be creating more problems than it solves?"

Strategic Provocation: I present alternative viewpoints backed by data. For example, I might say, "While most organizations in your industry are adopting microservices, your specific business constraints might actually benefit from a well-designed monolith with clear boundaries."

Expectation Setting: I make it clear from the outset that my role includes challenging established thinking. I tell clients, "My job isn't to validate your current approach but to help you discover potentially better alternatives you haven't considered."

How I Deliver Value

Evidence-Based Disruption: I support my recommendations with case studies, metrics, and proof points. I can show that "Company X achieved an 18% reduction in development time by eliminating their daily standups and replacing them with asynchronous updates."

Pilot Programs: I propose small-scale experiments to test contrarian approaches. "Let's try this alternative deployment strategy with one team for four weeks and measure the results before rolling it out more broadly."

ROI Quantification: I frame my suggestions in terms of tangible business outcomes. "By inverting your current prioritization framework, we can potentially increase feature delivery by 30% while reducing technical debt."

How I Handle Resistance

Acknowledging Emotional Responses: I recognize that challenging established practices often triggers defensive reactions. I might say, "I understand this approach challenges your team's current identity as agile practitioners. Let's explore what elements we might preserve while evolving others."

Creating Safety for Experimentation: I position changes as low-risk experiments. "We're not abandoning your current framework, we're testing alternatives to see if they produce better outcomes."

Leveraging External Authority: When appropriate, I reference thought leaders or successful organizations that have adopted similar contrarian approaches. "While this may seem counterintuitive, companies like Spotify and Basecamp have successfully implemented similar models."