People first leader, technologist, and indie hacker.

I’m Max, a people first engineering leader and indie hacker based in San Francisco. I write about engineering leadership, technology, and the indie hacking community.

Breaking Free from Results-Oriented Thinking

Magic: The Gathering, poker, and business strategy all have something in common: they're vulnerable to a cognitive bias known as results-oriented thinking. But to optimize for success, we should avoid this bias and strive to replace it with sound strategy.

Mindset for New Engineering Managers

Coming to engineering management as a discipline requires a completely fresh set of skills. A common mistake is to assume that our previous expertise will make this transition seamless. In reality, it's important to recognize the need to shift mindsets entirely.

Publish Your Drafts

When does something become valuable to someone else? I've struggled with this question, hesitating at times to share unfinished work because it hasn't reached a level of polish that satisfies me. But the truth is, our unpublished work has no value to anyone.

Let It Fail

I've always had a strong inclination towards action: if something isn't working or about to break, I feel compelled to jump in and lend a hand. However, sometimes that's a leadership blunder which does a greater disservice to the longer view of things.

A Newsletter to Share My Knowledge

I built this site to share everything I know about leadership, building startups, and indie hacking. This newsletter is another way for me to provide that value to you.

What you get for signing up:

  • Exclusive content tailored just for our newsletter
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  • Occasional access to unpublished and draft work

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