Jonathon Anderson
Jan 12, 2026 - Apr 27, 2026
7
Decisions
0
Active Todos
5
Patterns
Categories
Decisions (7)
Fuzzball PoC ownership belongs to Sales Engineering, supported by Engineering
When Bjorn asked who should own Fuzzball PoCs (Sales Engineering vs Wolfgang/Godlove vs Support), Peter answered definitively: Sales Engineering, supported by Engineering. Bjorn agreed with the framing — pushback was strictly about Sales Engineering not being enabled on Fuzzball today (resourcing gap), not the principle. The default routing stands.
Set Sales Scope Discipline on Nokia Opportunity
In MPDM with Adam Jackson, Bjorn, Greg, and Jonathon, set firm boundaries on product scope for the Nokia deal. CIQ should sell what it has and is good at, not build custom solutions to close individual deals. The bar for adding new capabilities is company-level strategic pivot territory — not deal-level customization. Stated 'enough money is a LOT' and 'its not going to be for another 500k, or just to close the deal.'
Defended Global Prioritization Model with Per-Team Computed Views
Convinced Greg that product prioritization must remain a single global list, not grouped by team. Agreed to add a computed property showing priority within each team for visibility. Fuzzball was reprioritized into top 20 in Exec meeting; Greg's remaining concern about Fuzzball not being high enough was resolved via the global+computed-property approach.
Fuzzball SaaS Prepaid Token Billing Model with Unified Portal Backend
Drove adoption of prepaid token ('CIQ Tokens') billing model for Fuzzball SaaS MVP, with unified Portal backend as single source of truth for all user accounts and token balances. Free tier deferred to fast-follow. MVP requires account + credit card to run workflows.
Gate Fuzzball SaaS GTM on Working Prototype — Assign Michelle
Agreed to move forward on Fuzzball SaaS GTM but gated it on having a working prototype first. Suggested Michelle as the resource to stand up a prototype on top of existing Fuzzball, accepting she's not the ideal person but can make progress. Rejected doing it 'out of band' — keep in normal product flow.
Directed Fuzzball team to improve logging and error observability
After AMD MI300 troubleshooting meeting, directed Fuzzball team (Jonathon Anderson, David Horn) that the product needs better logging and error visibility. Customers should be able to self-diagnose issues via log files instead of requiring live troubleshooting meetings with CIQ engineers.
H1 Planning Framework - 3-Lane Model
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.
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.