About
Quiet, analytical, direct, and always turning something over.
I think about how to solve problems more or less constantly. I like data because it tells me what's actually happening, and I like building because it's the fastest way to find out whether an idea holds.
My leadership style is quiet, analytical, and direct. I don't need to be the loudest person in the room, but I'm comfortable taking charge when the situation requires it. My natural mode is to find out what's really going on, get the information into one place, and then decide.
I ended up in product because it sits at the intersection of nearly everything I enjoy, and because I came at it from the operational side first. I supported the hardware, ran the fulfillment, sat with the customers, wrote the requirements. That background is why I'm suspicious of plans that haven't been checked against how the work actually happens.
I genuinely like customers and helping them. I like AI for what it lets me build and how much analysis time it gives back, not as a personality. And I like being around people who want to take on the hard version of the problem.
What I want next: lead products, solve difficult problems, help customers, build things, and move the business forward.
Metro Nashville Area · Middle Tennessee
How I lead
(b) · TenetsI've built and led a Product organization supporting as many as nine teams. Managing a large organization for its own sake isn't what motivates me. Leading products, solving hard problems and helping customers is.
Tell people the truth
Including when the truth is inconvenient, and including when it's about a decision I made. People can handle reality. They can't handle finding out later.
Understand the work
I stay close enough to the requirements, the tickets and the delivery to know what I'm asking for. Distance is how unrealistic commitments get made.
Don't commit people blindly
I strongly dislike commitments made without understanding the impact on the people who have to deliver them. Ambitious goals are good. Blind overcommitment isn't.
Support, then hold accountable
Accountability without support is just blame. I try to remove the obstacle first, then expect the outcome.
Be consistent
Leadership isn't a performance for me. I can take charge of a room when it's needed, but the day to day is showing up the same way every time.
Care about the team
I care about my people and what they're working on, well past the org chart. That's the part I'd want them to remember.
What I'd want them to say
(c) · The long view"He cared about me and what I was doing. He supported me, and we moved mountains together. Hard problems didn't matter. We ate them up, and we moved the needle forward for everything we touched."