Stories and ideas
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What Arbroath can Teach us
The principle of popular sovereignty – the idea that the ultimate power in a country comes from and rests in the people and not kings or other powerful figures – was first asserted in the western legal tradition in the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 – signed in Scotland 706 years ago this month. Most…
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Crop Diversity and Climate Change
One of the big questions I got asked when talking to potential investors for Manzanita Cooperative was why in the world we were working with wild plants instead of already domesticated plants like every other agricultural research company in the world? The short answer was that genetic diversity in our food is critical to human…
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Manzanita
It’s been a long time since I updated this blog! Over the last almost 2 years now, I’ve transitioned from being a Product Manager / Head of Product for software startups to following in both of my grandfather’s footsteps in agriculture – with the crucial difference that I’m working on sustainable agricultural systems. I knew…
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Thoughts on Leadership
I was recently asked to interview for a series of profiles on leaders doing exciting new things in the business world. For reasons I won’t go into here, the article was never published – but I wanted to share my responses. On my background: I grew up on the bleeding edge of the poverty line…
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First Generation Professional
I had a conversation recently with a recruiter friend and they used a phrase to describe me that I hadn’t realized was applicable – first generation professional. And it’s true. Both of my grandfathers grew up as farmers. My father’s father grew up in a 1-room house with a dirt floor as sharecropper in Oklahoma…
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Ozymandius
I met a traveler from an antique land,Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand…
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Playing nice
I often drop my kids off for school and daycare in the morning. It gives me a little more time with them, and being in management now means I have more control over my schedule than my wife, which makes it easier. Lately, I’ve often also been dropping the neighbor’s daughter as well – let’s…
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Leadership lessons from my garden
Since leaving my most recent position, I’ve found myself with plenty of time to spend in my garden. The timing could hardly be better – October-December is planting season for most native plants here in California as the winter rains spur growth and renewal. For Californians who are in tune with our natural cycles this…
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What makes a Good Product?
I originally wrote this article to be used as part of a training program I designed for internal candidates that were interested in moving to Product roles at one of my previous companies. I believe the points it raises and the ideals it expresses are important enough to share more widely. At the most basic…
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On the Ethics of Professionalism
This article is a plea for human empathy, for connection, for community. For all the things that make us human. That may not come across as “professional” to some people. Which is why it’s necessary. I recently wrote a post about the true story of a father stranded on the road with his little girl,…