All Decisions
50 decisions
Accelerate Koji build system as RESF contingency
Jan 14, 2026 · strategy · high82% confidence
Emphasized urgency of having CIQ own build system mirroring RESF capabilities. Currently half of Nathan and Dieters time, targeting end of month. Requested visibility into milestones for board meeting prep.
People: Nathan Blackham, Dieter
Commit to increased visibility with engineering org
Jan 14, 2026 · people · high88% confidence
In response to employee feedback about low visibility creating a trust gap and fear-based culture perception, committed to: bi-weekly positive Slack updates, more 1-on-1s with key individuals, frequent positive feedback in public channels, weekly summary of focus areas, and an SF meeting with Nathan/Justin/Max.
People: Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack, Justin Haynes
Work intake must flow through managers, not directly to engineers
Jan 14, 2026 · operational · medium85% confidence
Established new process where small customer requests go to Engineering Managers (Justin, Chris W.) for approval. EMs will attend bi-weekly CECA board review to ensure they are in the loop on incoming work.
People: Justin Haynes, Chris Wolford, Brady Dibble, Nathan Blackham
Jason Lewis Termination Timeline
Jan 13, 2026 · people · low88% confidence
Jason Lewis is slated for termination by end of January. Timing is delayed to allow ISO certification work to complete over the next two weeks, as his name is on that work.
People: Jason Lewis, Mariah Rippee
Koji Build System Priority - RESF Risk Mitigation
Jan 13, 2026 · technical · high75% confidence
Directed Nathan to prioritize Koji cluster standup with Dieter. Goal is to have independent build infrastructure in place so CIQ is not dependent on RESF. Asked for timeline if this became top priority, and indicated Dieter should reprioritize accordingly.
People: Nathan Blackham, Dieter
Justin Coaching - Ambiguity Tolerance and Explicit Pushback
Jan 12, 2026 · people · medium83% confidence
Coached Justin on the Depot/Portal bounty disconnect. Addressed two issues: (1) Justin needs to get comfortable moving through ambiguity and letting his team explore before designs are fully baked - unlearning 10 years of Amazon training. (2) When Peter pushes for something, Justin needs to either do it or explicitly debate/push back - not quietly not execute.
People: Justin Haynes, Max Spevack, Westley, Greg Kurtzer
Termination Messaging Strategy - Organizational Signal
Jan 12, 2026 · people · high85% confidence
Discussed with Max the organizational messaging around Trinity termination. The termination is not about introducing fear but correcting a losing posture that existed before. Nathan was coached to communicate clearly that Trinity was not meeting the bar, and that leadership alignment is expected.
People: Max Spevack, Nathan Blackham, Trinity Quirk
Max Spevack Role Expansion - Formalized Authority
Jan 12, 2026 · people · high82% confidence
Announced to engineering that Max takes a dedicated leadership role spanning Linux Engineering and RAT, reporting directly to Peter. Max acts with Peters authority in meetings, serves as quality gate for major decisions, shapes engineering culture, and is an escalation point outside the management chain.
People: Max Spevack, Nathan Blackham, Justin Haynes
Marketing ICP Validation - Collaborative Research Approach
Jan 12, 2026 · operational · medium82% confidence
Pushed for marketing to validate ICPs with real data rather than just executing on what was decided in the planning room. Established that ICPs are hypotheses to test, not fixed targets, and Lindsay has permission to explore outside defined ICPs if data warrants.
People: Lindsay Aamodt, Greg Kurtzer
Partner/User Management Tech Debt - Accept for Speed
Jan 12, 2026 · technical · medium95% confidence
Explicitly acknowledged and accepted that Partner Portal, Fuzzball SaaS, and Portal Depot will have separate user/account systems rather than integrating them. Flagged the future cleanup cost but chose speed over architectural purity.
People: Lindsay Aamodt, Tabatha, Dave Dickerson, Ramesh
Google Scope Change - Hold the Line on Commercial Terms
Jan 12, 2026 · strategy · high90% confidence
Decided to personally join the Monday lunch meeting with Tissa to lead negotiation on Google scope change. Google was trying to bundle Rocky 8 and 9 into one version (reducing from 8 to 5 versions) and push release next format without updated commercial terms.
People: Kelly Hall, Jamie Brooks, Max Spevack, Tissa, Aditya
H1 Planning Framework - 3-Lane Model
Jan 12, 2026 · operational · high85% confidence
Pushed for the team to focus on ICPs, goals, and milestones rather than getting lost in metrics and mid-level tactics. Established a 3-lane framework (GTM, Value Drivers, Engineering) to align all work.
People: Chris Baek, Kelly Hall, Max Spevack, Greg Kurtzer
OSPO Restructure - New Mandate and Leadership
Jan 12, 2026 · strategy · high70% confidence
OSPO moved under Customer Engineering (Ryan Smith). Chris Short removed as head. New leadership: Brian Clemons (VP, RESF) and Lee Hennig (former RESF MD). New mandate: govern ALL open source CIQ touches, not just RESF. Top priority: eliminate extinction event risks. RESF board resolution target by H1 2026. Self-sufficiency goal: enable CIQ to internally reproduce Rocky Linux.
People: Ryan Smith, Brian Clemons, Lee Hennig, Chris Baek
ICP Consolidation - RLCH and RLCAI into Fuzzball
Jan 12, 2026 · strategy · medium65% confidence
Consolidated RLCH (Rocky Linux Confidential Hardened) and RLCAI ICPs with Fuzzball ICPs to simplify GTM. RLCH targets regulated industries, government, power distribution. RLCAI targets AI-inferencing and compute-heavy industries. Rocky Pro kept separate for mid-market RHEL/SUSE/Oracle replacement motion.
People: Nathan Blackham, Justin Haynes, Kelly Wall, Brian Dawson, Chris Baek
H1 Planning Framework - 3-Lane Model
Jan 12, 2026 · operational · medium72% confidence
Introduced a new 3-lane planning model to address GTM and Engineering misalignment. Top Lane (GTM): marketing campaigns, messaging. Middle Lane (Value Drivers): the why - market state change, ICP, business significance. Bottom Lane (Engineering): deliverables driven by Value Drivers.
People: Nathan Blackham, Justin Haynes, Brady Dibble, Chris Wolford, Jonathon Anderson, Brian Dawson, Kelly Wall, Chris Baek
Google Scope Change - Hold the Line on Commercial Terms
Jan 12, 2026 · strategy · high78% confidence
Google is pushing scope changes that bundle 8 versions into a 5-version contract, omit EOL dates, and include undefined dev streams. This creates scope creep risk and jeopardizes the Extended LTS revenue stream (~$300k/year per product). Decision to personally attend the Monday meeting with Tissa (with Max) to hold the line. Greg will NOT attend to preserve escalation path.
People: Kelly Hall, Max Spevack, Jamie Brooks, Justin Haynes, Brady Dibble, Chris Baek, Tissa
Verify Justin Offered Bounty Work Broadly
Jan 11, 2026 · operational · medium75% confidence
Investigating whether Justin followed direction to offer bounty work opportunities to everyone. Greg believes it was not offered to Westley. Peter committed to verify this week.
People: Justin Haynes, Westley, Greg Kurtzer
Ownership Definition Clarification Commitment
Jan 11, 2026 · operational · high85% confidence
Committed to working with direct reports to create a clear, shared definition of Ownership and distribute it to all of engineering within a couple of days.
People: Nathan Blackham, Engineering direct reports
Trinity Quirk & Chris Short Terminations Executed
Jan 11, 2026 · people · critical92% confidence
Terminated Trinity Quirk for failing to progress NARF/CVE automation integration despite clear expectations. Terminated Chris Short for failing to deliver on critical RESF-related goals. Sent transparent communication to all of engineering explaining the WHY behind these decisions.
People: Trinity Quirk, Chris Short, Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack, Mariah Rippee, Bjorn Hovland, Ryan Smith, Steve Wallace
CVE Automation Prioritized Over EUS Daily Numbers
Jan 6, 2026 · strategy · high88% confidence
Decision to push the EUS catch-up deadline to prioritize automating CVE work. Automation is a higher priority than hitting daily EUS numbers manually.
People: Nathan Blackham, Brian Dawson, Max Spevack
Leadership 1:1s with Maple, Dieter, Andrew
Jan 6, 2026 · people · medium78% confidence
Decision to begin regular 1-on-1s with Maple, Dieter, and Andrew (when onboarded) to build trust and ensure unified messaging.
People: Maple, Dieter, Andrew, Nathan Blackham, Bjorn Hovland
Ali Contract Termination Executed
Jan 6, 2026 · people · medium92% confidence
Sent termination email to Ali Erdinç Köroğlu on Jan 5 after missed Dec 31 sync meeting and other missed meetings. Coordinated with Mariah (HR) and Sarah to cancel calendar invites and deactivate systems.
People: Ali Erdinç Köroğlu, Mariah Rippee, Sarah Almaraz, Jeff
Friday Layoff List Finalized
Jan 6, 2026 · people · critical85% confidence
Finalized the layoff list for Friday Jan 9: Eli, Derek, Chris Short, Craig, and Trinity. Jason deferred due to ISO certification needs.
People: Greg Kurtzer, Bjorn Hovland, Sarah Almaraz, Mariah Rippee, Eli, Derek, Chris Short, Craig, Trinity
Commitment to Present Engineering-to-GTM Messaging Framework
Jan 2, 2026 · operational · high85% confidence
Committed to presenting a framework next week that ties engineering work to changes in market state and corresponding go-to-market messaging. Triggered by Fuzzball Service Endpoints press release that was 98% HPC-focused, missing the critical AI angle despite AI being the strategic priority.
People: Greg Kurtzer, Bjorn Hovland, Jonathan, Lindsay
Public Acknowledgment of Jason Scott Leadership Transition
Jan 2, 2026 · people · low55% confidence
Posted public thank you in #department-heads: "Thanks for your leadership and steady hand Jason. Looking forward to this new chapter with you and really glad youre a part of this team."
People: Jason Scott
NARF Performance Accountability - Public Termination
Jan 2, 2026 · people · critical88% confidence
Decided to execute a public termination within Nathan's org on Monday if NARF deliverables are not met. This is specifically intended as organizational signaling to drive accountability and force motion across the team. A second termination (Chris) may be required for legal reasons.
People: Trinity Quirk, Chris, Nathan Blackham, Ryan Smith, Max Spevack
Ali Contract Termination
Jan 2, 2026 · people · medium85% confidence
Decided to end Ali's contract after he missed another check-in meeting and failed to demonstrate proactive delivery necessary for a remote contractor. Reached out to Mariah to understand the process steps.
People: Ali, Mariah Rippee, Nathan Blackham
Jason Scott to Document WareWulf/Rocky/Fuzzball Integration Vision
Dec 31, 2025 · strategy · medium78% confidence
Directed Jason Scott to write a 2-pager outlining his thinking on how WareWulf, Rocky, and Fuzzball should integrate end-to-end, including the value proposition of WareWulf Pro. Document to be shared with Peter and Bjorn.
People: Jason Scott, Bjorn Hovland
Build Culture That Moves With Ambiguity
Dec 31, 2025 · operational · medium85% confidence
Committed to teaching the org to start moving with imperfect information rather than over-designing before committing. Will provide cover from Bjorn holding teams accountable for early SWAG estimates, enabling faster iteration and learning.
People: Justin Haynes, Bjorn Hovland, Alex
Bounty Program Design: Open Incentives Over Prescribed Work
Dec 31, 2025 · operational · medium88% confidence
Established that bounties at CIQ should be open to all engineers, not targeted at specific individuals. Rejected Bjorn approach of incentivizing Jesus and Alex specifically to work over holidays on Portal. Bounties should be available for anyone to claim if they want to accelerate delivery.
People: Justin Haynes, Bjorn Hovland, Alex, Jesus, Wesley Kurtzer
Bounty Program Design Principles
Dec 31, 2025 · operational · low · engineering90% confidence
Outlined design principles for bounty program: transparency in logging, substantial compensation for well-scoped work, quick delivery incentives.
People: Justin Haynes
Advocate for Ryan's Strategic Seat
Dec 31, 2025 · people · high · organization88% confidence
Committed to securing Ryan Smith a seat at the strategic decision-making table for RESF/Rocky Linux matters. Specifically promised to advocate for his inclusion in key meetings with Bjorn and Greg.
People: Ryan Smith, Bjorn Hovland, Greg Kurtzer
Andrew Jorgensen Level Flexibility Confirmed
Dec 31, 2025 · people · medium76% confidence
Clarified with Brianne that Andrew does not need to come in as Maxs peer. Happy to slot him into either the more senior or less senior position based on his comfort. Want him coming in feeling happy and excited about what hes signing up for.
People: Brianne Clasen, Andrew Jorgensen, Nathan Blackham
H1 Planning Strategy - Aggressive Goals with Staggered Milestones
Dec 31, 2025 · strategy · critical88% confidence
Articulated H1 strategy: shift from hope to concrete plan with aggressive audacious goals. Achieve goals differently not just faster. Staggered milestones every 4-6 weeks for course correction. Missed milestones trigger retrospectives for process or personnel changes. Clear prioritization at Reno eliminating everything is P0 problem.
People: Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack, Justin Haynes, Brady Dibble, Chris Wolford, Ryan Smith, Steve Wallace, Chris Baek
Ali Contract Termination Warning
Dec 31, 2025 · people · medium75% confidence
Alis contract will be terminated immediately if tomorrows progress review is unsatisfactory. This sets a clear performance standard and signals that when work is deemed important, there is no time to wait for progress - it must be executed efficiently and quickly.
People: Nathan Blackham, Ali
CVE Remediation Mandate with Termination Consequence
Dec 31, 2025 · strategy · critical90% confidence
Mandated CVE remediation as top priority and made clear that Trinity or Jeff will have their employment terminated due to lack of progress on adopting automation tools. This termination is intended to signal to the rest of the team the grave importance of improving how this work is done.
People: Nathan Blackham, Trinity Quirk, Jeff Uphoff, Max Spevack
Build Environment Contingency Prioritized
Dec 31, 2025 · strategy · critical87% confidence
Aligned with Nathan that his top priority is secretly building a full build environment (Koji, Pungie) to create a concrete recovery plan in response to potential RESF sabotage threat.
People: Nathan Blackham, Jonathan Dieter
Andrew Jorgensen Hiring Approved
Dec 31, 2025 · people · high82% confidence
Approved hiring Andrew Jorgensen for an IC role reporting to Nathan Blackham. Offered flexibility on level - he can come in at senior or less senior position based on his comfort.
People: Andrew Jorgensen, Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack, Justin Haynes, Brianne Clasen
NARF Monday Deadline Set
Dec 31, 2025 · operational · high80% confidence
Set hard deadline for Trinity to fix CPackage bug by Monday morning. If not delivered, Max and David Gomez will take over NARF development.
People: Max Spevack, Trinity Quirk, David Gomez
RESF Management Model Needed
Dec 29, 2025 · strategy · high72% confidence
Identified that RESF needs a clear management person or model as part of short-term response. The lord of the flies approach does not work. Does not matter if its Leigh or someone else, as long as they have personal energy/bandwidth. But it needs to be managed/run with clear accountability.
People: Leigh, Brian Clemens, Greg Kurtzer, Bjorn Hovland
Fuzzball SaaS - Defer Pending Technical Alignment
Dec 29, 2025 · strategy · medium75% confidence
Rather than making a call on Fuzzball SaaS viability concerns raised by Chris Wolford, directed Chris to align with Jonathan (who has pitched cloud-native ideas) to form a unified stance. If they reach opposing conclusions, escalate to Peter. H1 planning docs to proceed with caveat that SaaS initiative is pending alignment.
People: Chris Wolford, Jonathan, Chris Beck, Bjorn Hovland
Product-Engineering Quick Estimation Process
Dec 29, 2025 · operational · medium82% confidence
Articulated position on providing quick, low-confidence estimates for Product prioritization. Engineering should provide 20% confidence SWAGs on demand so Product can do early prioritization - these are not commitments engineering can be held to. Distinguished between committing to work without a design (bad) vs providing a quick guess marked as such (good).
People: Justin Haynes, Max Spevack, Bjorn Hovland, Brady Dibble
NARF Launch as Forcing Function
Dec 29, 2025 · operational · high85% confidence
Decided to use NARF automation launch as a forcing function to drive adoption. Max will launch NARF for simple backports by Friday, generating MRs for human approval. Nathan team required to review all generated MRs by end of next week. Peter to meet with Nathan tomorrow to mandate CVE remediation as top priority.
People: Max Spevack, Nathan Blackham, Jeff Uphoff, Trinity, Profim
CVE Strategy - Eventually Consistent Model
Dec 29, 2025 · technical · high78% confidence
Aligned with Max on new approach to CVE patching: adopt an eventually consistent model that prioritizes rapid patching over perfect upfront testing. Accept a small error rate (e.g., 5%) as a necessary trade-off for speed, with fixes handled by COE.
People: Max Spevack, Nathan Blackham, Jeff Uphoff, David Gomez
AI Policy Governance Approach
Dec 28, 2025 · operational · medium74% confidence
Agreed to collaborative governance approach for AI policy: Peter, Nathan, and Max will present AI exploration findings to the AI committee weekly, ensuring engineering innovation feeds into policy development.
People: Stephen Moody, Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack
AI Bot Architecture Decision
Dec 28, 2025 · technical · medium73% confidence
Decided to build a web app to front the AI bot, allowing curated outputs to be shared with Sarah and others without granting direct data access to underlying Slack/email/Jira data.
People: Stephen Moody, Sarah Almaraz
Engineering Blockers - Immediate Escalation Required
Dec 24, 2025 · operational · medium72% confidence
Established that engineering blockers (being stumped) must be escalated to Peter immediately. Product should not bail out engineering by providing solutions (like YAML files with business logic).
People: Brady Dibble, Brian Dawson
CVE Remediation - Direct Intervention Required
Dec 24, 2025 · technical · high79% confidence
Identified unacceptable lack of urgency from Nathan team on NARF-created CVEs. Will take direct action to address performance issues next week.
People: Nathan Blackham, Max Spevack, Brady Dibble
Neil Unemployment Appeal - Low-Effort Approach
Dec 24, 2025 · operational · low68% confidence
Decided on low-effort, financially expedient approach to Neil unemployment appeal rather than aggressive fight.
People: Neil, Bjorn Hovland, Mariah Rippee, Greg Kurtzer
Bonus Criteria - Strategic Alignment Required
Dec 24, 2025 · people · medium71% confidence
Established bonus criteria: bonuses should be for accomplishments aligned with strategic goals that help scale or deliver faster, not just for being an awesome developer.
People: Sultan, Ryan Smith