Jonathan Anderson
Jan 15, 2026 - Jun 18, 2026
4
Decisions
0
Active Todos
5
Patterns
Categories
Decisions (4)
Repair the mis-framed Engineering All-Hands - hold a PIC/Fuzzball follow-up and proactively notify the slighted PIC team
After Jonathan Anderson and others read the recent State of Linux session as the Engineering All-Hands - leaving the PIC team feeling ignored - Peter diagnosed it as a framing/naming failure (Linux-only, Wolford not on it, no Fuzzball content) and directed the fix: a PIC/Fuzzball-focused follow-up session in the next few weeks, Baek to own the Fuzzball angle, and the PIC team to be told now that it is coming because yesterday was bad for them - they felt completely ignored.
Toyota POC — No Hotfix, Demo MPI and PBS Separately
Decided NOT to rush a hotfix for Toyota's urgent out-of-scope MPI-via-PBS request before their Thursday director meeting. Team will demo MPI and PBS as separate working components, explain the integration bug is known, and commit to fix in ~1 week by the March 17 Reno meeting.
Product Roadmap Overload - Challenge Product on Prioritization
Directed Chris Wolford to push back on Product for a clear separation of critical path vs nice-to-have items in the H1 roadmap. Current roadmap is overloaded and risks critical path items.
Strategic Map Framework - Value Drivers vs Internal Efficiency Separation
Established new H1 strategic planning framework that separates customer-facing Value Drivers from Internal Efficiency Drivers. Framework uses three lanes: middle lane for Value Drivers (the WHY), top lane for GTM activities, bottom lane for engineering deliverables. Also established phased estimation process: low-confidence ballpark dates first, then engineering-only session to raise confidence.
Related Patterns (5)
Executive Sponsorship for Strategic Partnerships
Strategic cross-company initiatives and major client partnerships require executive-level accountability to move at the right pace and ensure proper prioritization.
Small Circle for Sensitive Operations
When executing sensitive strategic operations, keep the circle of informed people as small as possible to prevent leaks that could accelerate hostile action or undermine the initiative.
Protect Engineering Capacity
When external demands threaten to overload engineering capacity, protect capacity by either requiring the demand to come with additional resources, or forcing hard prioritization choices upstream.
Lead by Example with New Tools
When championing new tools or processes, personally use them and share results rather than just advocating. Learning by doing and demonstrating value through example is more effective than mandates.
Protect Engineering Focus Through Process
When faced with requests that would disrupt engineering focus (from sales, governance, product, or other stakeholders), establish processes that protect engineering ability to innovate while still satisfying legitimate concerns. Prefer systematic solutions over ad-hoc responses.