Outdated distinction: systems engineering vs software engineering

Complex software-intensive systems typically consist of mechanical, electronic and software components. To ensure that all the parts come together in an integrated system that delivers the intended functionality to the customers, we need people to keep it all together. These are often referred to as systems engineers or system architects. Systems engineers frequently have a … Read more

Outdated distinction: product management vs R&D

In my experience, companies tend to fall into two categories when it comes to technology. Either they’re extremely market and customer-focused and view R&D as a necessary evil required to get the products we need to have anything to sell. Or they’re technology-focused and have the implicit belief that as long as we put bleeding-edge … Read more

10 outdated distinctions

Although many feel that digitalization is, by now, old news and that we should look forward, I feel that we’ve barely started to scratch the surface of what software, data and, more recently especially, artificial intelligence will bring to industry and society. Our ability to automate tasks that earlier needed to be done by humans … Read more

Techno-optimism: space colonization

According to archeologists, Earth met with a major asteroid around 65 million years ago. That asteroid and the effects of its impact on our planet killed off the dinosaurs, the only descendants of these magnificent animals being the birds. The asteroid brought about an extensive winter due to the amount of material thrown into the … Read more

From Agile to RADICAL: Conclusion

One of the most important challenges for humans is to deal with change. Our natural inclination is to keep things the same. This has worked incredibly well for most of human history where your life would have been quite similar to that of your parents and grandparents. Even if there were wars, famines and infectious … Read more

From Agile to Radical: conflict

Within the Nordics, Sweden is known to be one of the least conflict-oriented countries and cultures. I love living there and believe it’s the best one of the five that I’ve lived in. However, there are times when the avoidance of the elephant in the room becomes a bit much. Being Dutch and coming from … Read more

From Agile to Radical: purpose

All companies start with a purpose. They’re formed to solve a customer problem and, in that sense, their purpose is to solve the problem so that part of the value of the solution can be captured in revenue. They need revenue and free cash flow as they go bankrupt otherwise. Over time, as companies grow, … Read more

From Agile to Radical: evolution of goals

One of the topics that often comes up in the startups I’m involved in is sales. As companies seek to scale, they need to move from founder-led sales to hiring sales leads who can help increase their reach in the market. The challenge is that salespeople tend to be likable, smooth-talking individuals who don’t always … Read more