Patrick Swartz

Feb 20, 2026

Decisions

Active Todos

Patterns

Decisions (1)

Demanded proper advance coordination for customer meetings involving engineering

Pushed back strongly on a Volvo customer meeting that appeared on calendar at 5pm the day before. Demanded that important customer meetings involving senior engineering staff be scheduled with proper advance notice and coordination.

Feb 20

operational

Related Patterns (2)

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.

57 occurrences52% success

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.