Reduce Toil. Increase Happiness. Get Shit Done
Across the TELUS enterprise, my work begins where the technical stakes are high and the path is unclear. Usually that means building something real early, so decisions get made against working software instead of slideware, then handing the patterns to the teams who run with them. I care about technology that is useful and humane.
Software is how I follow curiosity. It started with hacking and modding computers as a kid and never really stopped: home labs, tiny tools, maps, weather systems, whole products. I still like understanding a system all the way down. Then making it simpler.
Outside work, I race paragliders as a BGD Team Pilot. My wife Jamie and I moved from downtown Toronto to Nelson in 2021, where we share our home with our dogs, Hannibal and Harper, and can see mountains from almost every perch.
I want people to be able to contribute without hiding parts of themselves or conforming to a narrow idea of who belongs. I pay attention to who is heard, who is missing, whose work is recognized, and what the system rewards.
Technical leadership means staying close enough to the work to build the early version myself, then making room for other people to own it, challenge it, and take it further than I would have. I like teaching through shared problems and real responsibility. The best outcome is a system, and a group of people, that no longer needs me.
The best tool often meets people inside a conversation, workflow, or habit they already have. I'd rather remove a handoff or a destination than ask everyone to learn another system.
If a system matters, it should explain what it is doing, fail in bounded ways, and be recoverable without heroics. That includes the boring paths: logs, health checks, backups.
My default is to trust people with context, autonomy, and honest information. When something goes wrong, I would rather understand what happened and repair the trust than quietly replace it with process or control.
I am usually happy to help, especially when I understand what you need and why. A direct request gives me room to engage; an unexplained order is likely to create friction.
I want to be direct and kind at the same time, especially when we disagree. Strong opinions are welcome. I just want us to keep evidence and belief distinguishable, and I'll probably ask how we know. I don't always get the delivery right, so tell me.
Uncertain decisions rarely become easier through delay. I try to keep the principles fixed and act on the best evidence I have, saying plainly what I don't know. If the evidence changes I'll change the plan.
I understand a problem best when I can build something, put it in front of people, and watch what happens. I trust small useful versions, honest feedback, and steady refinement more than a perfect plan.
The most useful platforms I have built began as working answers to concrete problems. I want to prove a path with a real product, notice what deserves to be shared, and only then generalize it.
I get energy from ambiguous beginnings. Once I can see the full shape of a solution, I start looking for the next problem. Staying with the less novel work that remains takes deliberate effort.
Care matters to me, and I can become frustrated when someone seems disengaged from the work or its consequences. I also know I cannot see everything that may be happening for another person, so I try to ask before I decide what their behaviour means.
When I get excited, I round up. Ask me for the real number and I'll give it to you.
When stress lasts too long, I become less patient and less thoughtful about people and process. I try to say when that is happening rather than make others guess. If it becomes my normal state, I need to change the conditions—not ask everyone around me to absorb it.
I tend toward Cross-pollination rather than Standardization.
Permanent link: Cross-pollination rather than StandardizationI tend toward Excellence rather than Perfection.
Permanent link: Excellence rather than PerfectionI tend toward Innovation (Chaos) rather than Predictability (Bureaucracy).
Permanent link: Innovation (Chaos) rather than Predictability (Bureaucracy)I tend toward Impact rather than Velocity.
Permanent link: Impact rather than VelocityI tend toward Community rather than Structure.
Permanent link: Community rather than StructureI tend toward Being Good rather than Looking Good.
Permanent link: Being Good rather than Looking GoodI tend toward Value Delivery rather than Plan Fulfillment.
Permanent link: Value Delivery rather than Plan FulfillmentI tend toward Agility rather than Agile.
Permanent link: Agility rather than AgileI tend toward Enable rather than Serve.
Permanent link: Enable rather than ServeI tend toward Failure Recovery rather than Failure Avoidance.
Permanent link: Failure Recovery rather than Failure AvoidanceI tend toward Principles rather than Practices.
Permanent link: Principles rather than PracticesI tend toward Vulnerability rather than Pride.
Permanent link: Vulnerability rather than PrideI tend toward Trust rather than Control.
Permanent link: Trust rather than Control01 · Total EI: 2022: 96 · 2024: 123
In 2024, I described myself as more confident, decisive, and steady under pressure than I had in 2022. Self-report is not proof of change; the real test is whether people who work with me experience those behaviours consistently.
02 · 2024: Self-Regard 115 · Independence 118 · Reality Testing 123
I am comfortable owning a difficult call without needing everyone to agree first. I still want dissent and new evidence, because confidence is not correctness.
03 · 2024: Emotional Self-Awareness 126 · Self-Actualization 125 · Social Responsibility 124
I do my best work when the mission matters and the people doing it can grow. That energy can read as intense. I manage it by handing real ownership to other people, on purpose, repeatedly.
04 · 2024: Flexibility 122 · Impulse Control 94
I adapt quickly and am comfortable changing course when new information arrives. A sensible pivot in my head can look abrupt from the outside. When I pivot, I need to slow down, explain the reasoning, and give people time to catch up.
05 · 2024: Emotional Expression 123 · Independence 118 · Assertiveness 101
I can be emotionally open while still leaving my preferred outcome ambiguous. In a moment that needs a clear position, I should just say what I think should happen, while it can still change the outcome.
06 · 2024: Empathy 111 · Social Responsibility 124 · Assertiveness 101
I want people to feel understood, especially during conflict or change. For me that looks like asking what someone needs, hearing them out, and still making the call the situation requires.
Personality quizzes tend to land me between ENFP and ENTP, which tracks: people, possibilities, and a low tolerance for ideas that stay ideas.
EQ-i 2.0 · 2022 and 2024
These are two EQ-i 2.0 self-assessments, taken in 2022 and 2024. They are snapshots of how I understood my emotional and social functioning at those points in time. I use them to look for patterns, tensions between scales, and behaviours worth paying attention to, not as a scorecard.
Switch lenses, then select any score to read the behaviour behind it.
Total EI
2022
96
2024
123
Self-Perception
2022
88
2024
123
Self-Expression
2022
99
2024
120
Interpersonal
2022
104
2024
120
Decision Making
2022
93
2024
115
Stress Management
2022
99
2024
122
Selected subscale: Emotional Self-Awareness
Leverage · 2024
126
2022: 98 · 2024: 126 (high range)
I can usually name what I am feeling, what triggered it, and how it may affect a decision. You can expect emotional candour from me, paired with a deliberate check against evidence.
Please challenge my ideas with data, experience, or reasoning. I change my mind more easily than people expect.
If you're missing context about goals, deadlines, or the bigger picture, tell me. I'll clarify what I know or find the answers we need.
Excellent work requires clear priorities, enough context, and the right resources. If something is getting in the way, tell me early so we can address it together.
Tell me when I miss a detail, give unclear guidance, or act out of step with our values. I'd rather hear it than have you route around me.
I work Eastern hours from Nelson, BC (6am – 2pm Pacific) — mornings overlap with the East Coast, and the early hours are my quietest, most focused time.
Use calls for time-sensitive or complex discussions. I'll give you my full attention.
I prefer Slack for most things. It's always on my phone. Quiet hours are 23:00–6:00; message anytime and I'll reply when I'm back.
You don't need to book time unless you want guaranteed availability. If my calendar looks full and something is important, tell me. We can decide what needs to move.
If it's important, use Slack or call.
Selected idea: Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety
01 / 21
Adaptive range
The variety of responses a system can make must be at least as nuanced as the variety of problems it faces.
Explore the reference21 ideas
Choose an idea to open its visual model and working note.
76 references
Choose a format, select a source, or pull a thread through the whole collection.
Selected source: Jeff Morgan
Person
01 / 76
Readable software
Cucumber & Cheese showed me that tests could be readable software and a framework for how teams work. I turned those ideas into Fizz; most of what followed traces back to it.