Weekly Reflection #16 - crafting strategy
Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe)
Insight
In Will Larson's book, Crafting Engineering Strategy, he nails why so many executives fail at executing on strategy.
However, my experience is that engineering strategies fail for very mundane reasons—the most common of which is that executives assume their strategy will roll itself out. The second most common reason is forgetting to spend time validating the details. Both are avoidable with a bit of structure.
It's amazing how far attention to detail and a sense of ownership will take you, if you let it.
Wisdom
"The details are not the details. They make the design." - Charles Eames
Reflection
When was the last time you assumed a good plan would carry itself?
Lagniappe
- Debug Mode - My next free Platform Engineer Office hours is March 19th, 2026 on Youtube Live. Sign up here.
- Our newest episode of Book Overflow is out. This week we discuss Crafting Engineering Strategy by Will Larson. Great book.
- As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Reply and let me know what resonates.