Technology moves fast. Leadership is what determines whether anything lasts.

After years of leading a software company, I’ve become less interested in startup mythology and more interested in staying power. Growth is easy to celebrate. Longevity is harder to earn.

This site is about leading for the long term.

How do you build and run a company when you’re not chasing an exit?
How do you keep innovating without losing focus or clarity?
How do you lead well in an environment that rewards speed, noise, and instant results?

I write about leadership, technology, and the decisions that matter when you’re committed to building something that lasts.

Let’s go. And keep leading.

Latest Posts


  • Before you hire

    There’s something deeply gratifying about offering someone a job. Even posting a new position feels good, because it often means that your company is growing and/or that you have an opportunity to make your team stronger. But before you hire,… Continue reading

    Before you hire
  • Five behaviors of people who you want on your team

    As a leader, you are the steward of your company culture, not just by setting a good example, but by fostering the desired behaviors, eliminating factors that challenge your culture, and by hiring people who are great fits. Of course,… Continue reading

    Five behaviors of people who you want on your team
  • What questions do you ask in your check-ins and performance reviews?

    You probably have quarterly check-ins and annual performance reviews with the people who report to you, in addition to your own cadence of one on ones. All of those interactions are intended to help your team members in their professional… Continue reading

    What questions do you ask in your check-ins and performance reviews?
  • How to obtain useful feedback from your customers

    As you are building your product roadmap, you want to ensure that you have as much insight as possible into your customers’ needs. And not just their current needs – you also need to anticipate what types of challenges will… Continue reading

    How to obtain useful feedback from your customers
  • Reconsidering the “no” (follow-up post)

    It’s been over three years since I published a post about “saying no for the greater good”. The overall idea of the article is that you shouldn’t be afraid to say no – whether it’s to a specific feature, a… Continue reading

    Reconsidering the “no” (follow-up post)
  • Five signs of employee engagement

    As I mentioned in a previous post, “employee engagement” is arguably one of the most misunderstood terms among managers, as it often gets confused with employee happiness. In reality, engagement should measure how much an employee’s goals and values and… Continue reading

    Five signs of employee engagement
  • Why we’ll be going back to the office (once it’s safe to do so)

    Long before COVID-19 forced us to work from home full time, I had written a post about the benefits of working in the office, such as creating a sense of community, supporting team members who might be struggling, learning from… Continue reading

    Why we’ll be going back to the office (once it’s safe to do so)
  • How do you identify leadership qualities?

    I have always been a proponent of promoting from within your organization whenever you have an employee who you trust and in whose potential you have a high degree of confidence. But how do you recognize someone’s leadership qualities? Here… Continue reading

    How do you identify leadership qualities?
  • Tips from our communication playbook

    Effective internal and external communication has always been a key ingredient for a positive and productive company culture, but it has become even more important since the outbreak of COVID-19. While we’ve been lucky enough to work from home in… Continue reading

    Tips from our communication playbook
  • 4 thoughts about the truths and myths regarding employee engagement

    Research has shown that only about a third of employees in today’s workforce is truly engaged. As a result, organizations try to make the office “more fun” and to cater to each employee’s personal preferences in hopes to get engagement… Continue reading

    4 thoughts about the truths and myths regarding employee engagement