Welcome to The Adaptive Alchemist

If you're looking for another blog full of leadership platitudes and five-step frameworks, you're in the wrong place. I've spent years building and breaking things across product and engineering, and I've got the scars (and a few wins) to show for it. This space is for people who know that organizations are messy, teams are unpredictable, and the best ideas rarely come from following the script.

I've led product and engineering teams in just about every environment you can imagine—feature flagging platforms, mobile and web apps, data and analytics, experimentation, real-time systems, marketing tech, e-commerce and subscription commerce, financial services, and more. If it's got users, data, or a deadline, I've probably shipped it, scaled it, or fixed it at 2am.

I write about a lot: leadership that actually works, building adaptive teams, technical excellence, and product strategy that doesn't just sound good in a boardroom. Sometimes I'll get into the weeds on feature flagging or analytics. Other times, I'll talk about what it takes to keep a team moving when everything feels like it's on fire. The common thread? Challenging the status quo and sharing what actually works (and what doesn't).

What you'll find here

Adaptive leadership: Most leaders still think their job is to control outcomes. I don't buy it. The real work is creating the conditions for teams to thrive on their own. That means clarity of purpose, not micromanagement. It means context, not checklists. I'll share what's worked (and what's failed) in building teams that run on autonomy and alignment, not top-down control.

Fluid organizations: Hierarchies look tidy on paper, but the best work happens when people flow to the problems that matter. I've seen teams self-organize around gnarly challenges and outperform any org chart. I'll dig into how to build systems where people move where they're needed, and how to keep things from devolving into chaos.

The alchemy of structure: Structure isn't the enemy of adaptability. The trick is knowing which boundaries matter and which ones to break. I'll show how a little clarity and a few well-placed constraints can turn noise into signal—without suffocating creativity.

Technological enablement: Feature flags, data systems, and automation aren't just technical toys. They're the levers that let you move fast without blowing things up. I'll break down how the right tools can make organizations safer and more adaptive, with stories from the trenches (and a few scars).

The leadership paradox: The hardest part of leading is knowing when to step in and when to step back. Too much control kills autonomy. Too little, and you get drift. I'll explore the tension between letting go and staying engaged, and why the best leaders are comfortable living in that gray area.

Why bother?

If you're scaling an engineering org, building product in the real world, or just tired of the same old leadership clichés, you're in the right place. I won't offer easy answers. I will offer hard-won lessons, honest failures, and a few sharp elbows for the status quo.

Let's turn chaos into gold. Not with magic, but with a little alchemy, and a lot of candor.