Reflections
Your daily reflection sessions
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Three decisions captured: (1) Work intake process - work must flow through managers, not directly to engineers; EMs to attend CECA board. (2) Increased visibility commitment - bi-weekly Slack updates, more 1-on-1s, public positive feedback, weekly focus summaries, SF meeting with Nathan/Justin/Max. (3) Koji/RESF infrastructure urgency - accelerating independent build system as contingency, end of month target, board needs clear status.
Wins
Team feedback after terminations was processed constructively - converted anxiety into actionable visibility improvements. Koji timeline confirmed (end of month). Engineering Weekly Sync included AI productivity demos (Dexter, MiniMe) showing team innovation.
Challenges
Managing perception of fear-based culture while maintaining accountability standards. Balancing board prep urgency with ongoing operational needs.
Monday, January 12, 2026
Five decisions captured: (1) Max Spevack role expansion - formalized existing authority spanning LE and RAT, acting with Peters authority in meetings. (2) Termination messaging strategy - Trinity termination is about correcting losing posture not introducing fear; Nathan coached to align publicly. (3) Justin coaching on ambiguity tolerance and explicit pushback - addressing Amazon-trained risk aversion, plus requirement to either execute direction or openly debate it. (4) Koji build system priority - accelerating independent infrastructure due to RESF situation coming to a head. (5) Jason Lewis termination timeline - end of January after ISO certification work completes.
Wins
Max role announcement delivered cleanly to engineering. Termination messaging handled thoughtfully with Nathan coaching. Justin coaching addressed both the ambiguity issue and communication expectations. RESF risk mitigation underway with Koji prioritization.
Challenges
Justin/Westley bounty disconnect revealed gap in how direction flows through leadership. Person identification error during reflection - assumed Jeff when Mariah was discussing Jason Lewis.
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Seven decisions captured: (1) Trinity Quirk and Chris Short terminations executed with transparent communication - organizational signaling about accountability. Chris Short termination was Ryans decision; Peter took public credit for organizational leverage. (2) Commitment to define Ownership more clearly after feedback about anxiety. (3) Investigating whether Justin followed direction on bounty distribution. (4) Google Scope Change - hold the line on commercial terms, Peter to lead Monday meeting with Tissa to prevent scope creep and protect Extended LTS revenue (~$300k/year). (5) H1 Planning Framework - introduced 3-lane model (GTM, Value Drivers, Engineering) to align teams. (6) ICP Consolidation - RLCH and RLCAI consolidated into Fuzzball ICPs to simplify GTM. (7) OSPO Restructure - moved under Customer Engineering, new leadership (Brian Clemons, Lee Hennig), new mandate to govern all open source and eliminate extinction event risks. Focused reflection on Fathom meetings from Jan 7-9 H1 Planning Onsite. Four new decisions captured: (1) H1 Planning Framework - pushed for 3-lane model focusing on ICPs, goals, and milestones. (2) Google Scope Change - decided to personally join Monday lunch with Tissa to hold line on commercial terms, protecting ~$300K Extended LTS revenue. (3) Partner/User Management Tech Debt - explicitly accepted architectural debt from separate user systems for execution speed. (4) Marketing ICP Validation - pushed for data-driven validation of ICPs rather than just executing room decisions.
Wins
Terminations executed cleanly with thoughtful communication. Feedback about culture of fear was acknowledged and addressed with commitment to clarify Ownership. Follow-up in #announcements showed responsiveness to team concerns. Caught Google scope creep before technical changes were deployed. Established clear H1 framework. Made conscious trade-off on tech debt with organizational awareness.
Challenges
Ownership definition wasnt as clear as assumed - feedback revealed gap. Justin may not have followed direction on bounty distribution, requiring verification. Google trust issues and pressure tactics. Multiple speaker attribution unclear in room transcripts.
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Four decisions captured: (1) Friday Layoff List Finalized - Eli, Derek, Chris Short, Craig, Trinity for Jan 9; Trinity processed as layoff not performance to avoid backfill restriction; Jason deferred for ISO cert. (2) Ali Contract Termination Executed - follow-through on Dec 31 warning after missed meetings. (3) Leadership 1:1s with Maple, Dieter, Andrew - direct relationship-building to address communication gaps between engineering and business. (4) CVE Automation Prioritized Over EUS Daily Numbers - willing to push EUS deadline to invest in automation infrastructure that compounds over time.
Wins
Layoff execution proceeding cleanly with proper HR coordination. Ali termination demonstrates follow-through on accountability. CVE automation getting proper prioritization as strategic investment.
Challenges
NARF automation stalled at only 10 packages in 3 months - moved from persuasion to forcing action. RLC AI will miss end-of-January deadline due to hardware delays and team availability.
Friday, January 2, 2026
Two decisions captured: (1) Public acknowledgment of Jason Scott leadership transition in #department-heads - low importance but potentially valuable for building pattern around intentional public statements. (2) Commitment to present Engineering-to-GTM messaging framework next week - triggered by Fuzzball press release missing AI angle, identified as process gap not person problem. Two additional decisions: (3) NARF Performance Accountability - critical importance - Trinity termination execution planned for Monday with Ryan Smith consultation, sends organizational signal about CVE remediation urgency and tool adoption accountability. (4) Ali Contract Termination - medium importance - followed through on Dec 30 warning after Ali missed the Dec 31 progress review meeting entirely, demonstrating consistency in contractor accountability expectations.
Wins
Identified systemic gap in engineering-to-GTM messaging and took ownership of proposing solution. Good alignment with Greg and Bjorn on the diagnosis.
Challenges
H1 planning docs still not compliant with required format - many leaders not following basic directions. Multiple people need weekend work to get docs up to par.
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
End of year reflection. Three new decisions stored: (1) Bounty program design - open incentives that attract behavior rather than prescribing who does what, (2) Building a culture that moves with ambiguity - enabling faster learning by protecting engineering from premature estimate accountability, (3) Jason Scott to document WareWulf/Rocky/Fuzzball integration vision for strategic discussions with Bjorn. One correction stored about incentive design philosophy.
Wins
Clear articulation of bounty/incentive philosophy. Strategic direction given to Jason Scott. Culture change principle established for moving with ambiguity.
Challenges
NARF deadline looming Monday - Trinity must deliver or contingency kicks in. Low performer accountability decisions pending.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Heavy decision day focused on personnel accountability and H1 execution. Set hard NARF Monday deadline with ownership transfer if Trinity fails. Approved Andrew Jorgensen hire with level flexibility. Mandated CVE remediation as top priority with clear termination consequences for Trinity/Jeff to signal urgency to team. Put Ali contract on immediate review. Prioritized build environment contingency as existential risk mitigation. Established H1 strategy of aggressive goals with staggered milestones.
Wins
Got alignment on NARF deadline with clear accountability. Andrew hire approved with unanimous panel support after addressing burnout concerns. Build environment contingency work already underway with Koji running locally. H1 planning framework established with clear course-correction mechanisms.
Challenges
Team adoption of CVE automation tools remains disappointing - requiring personnel consequences to drive urgency. RESF sabotage threat is credible and requires ongoing secret contingency work. Still bridging the why gap between engineering and GTM.
Monday, December 29, 2025
Active day driving two major priorities: CVE remediation strategy and H1 planning. Established eventually consistent model for CVE patching with Max, set NARF Friday launch as forcing function to drive Nathan team adoption. Clarified product-engineering estimation process expectations with Justin. Deferred Fuzzball SaaS decision pending Chris/Jonathan alignment. Identified need for clear RESF management model.
Wins
Got alignment with Max on CVE strategy that unblocks massive backlog. Set clear forcing function (NARF launch Friday) with accountability deadline. Successfully balanced Justin concern about commitments with Product need for estimates.
Challenges
Nathan team adoption of NARF tooling remains the critical blocker - requires direct intervention tomorrow. RESF governance issues continue to surface interpersonal conflicts.
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Quiet holiday period with 2 key decisions around AI governance. Established technical architecture for AI bot (web app layer for curated outputs) and collaborative governance process for AI policy development with the AI committee.
Wins
Found pragmatic technical solution for AI bot security concerns. Established process for engineering to influence AI policy rather than being subject to restrictions.
Challenges
Google API token issues caused debugging detours. Holiday period meant lighter activity overall.
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Discovered 8 decisions across a busy 5-day period. Major theme: RESF crisis response continues with technical infrastructure work to create independence. Also established several operational processes (ProServe prioritization, engineering escalation), provided strategic feedback on culture initiatives, and addressed performance concerns.
Wins
RESF technical contingency moving quickly with small trusted team. ProServe process established to protect engineering focus. Clear bonus criteria communicated. Multiple project completions (Fuzzball Works, Bazel, Secure Boot).
Challenges
RESF situation remains critical with potential hostile actions. CVE remediation urgency lacking from Nathan team. Andrew hiring decision deferred pending role clarity.
Friday, December 19, 2025
Heavy day of people decisions and AI adoption championing. Managed a sensitive departure, delivered performance ratings, made a strategic talent introduction. Pushed forward OpenDrives partnership at executive level. Actively championed AI Butler adoption by hosting setup session and sharing technical knowledge with team.
Wins
Successfully driving AI adoption internally - hosted Butler session, shared Slack MCP setup patterns. OpenDrives POC staying in motion. Talent pipeline investment with Meena/Chris introduction.
Challenges
Managing sensitive departure while avoiding holiday conflicts. Balancing RLC 9.7 velocity vs completeness tradeoffs.