Substrate

Substrate

A living collection of notes, ideas, and reflections from Doug Belshaw.

notes updated

No bus, no boss, no rain, no train

This, from Paul Graham in 2008, was resurfaced somewhere recent. I've read it a couple of times before and it always reminds me how much I dislike having a "boss".

I was in Africa last year and saw a lot of animals in the wild that I'd only seen in zoos before. It was remarkable how different they seemed. Particularly lions. Lions in the wild seem about ten times more alive. They're like different animals. I suspect that working for oneself feels better to humans in much the same way that living in the wild must feel better to a wide-ranging predator like a lion. Life in a zoo is easier, but it isn't the life they were designed for.

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reflections updated

TechFreedom pilot cohort feedback

We had five participants in our pilot TechFreedom and four gave us feedback after the final session. using Tom's Drift forms which has a built-in AI summariser:

The responses show remarkable consistency in quantitative ratings, with all participants scoring 5/5 for clarity of technology dependencies, 4/5 for confidence using lenses, and 4/5 for overall value. Lock-in and cost exposure emerge as the most commonly selected relevant lenses (3/4 responses each), suggesting these are universal concerns across organization types. The most significant pattern is the gap between programme satisfaction and implementation likelihood: despite high NPS scores (two 10/10s, two 8/10s), only one organization has begun acting on their roadmap, with others citing lack of time/capacity as the primary barrier. Participants particularly valued the discussion format and visual/collaborative elements, with multiple requests for enhanced peer interaction through breakout rooms or conversation time outside main sessions. There's a clear demand for better resource distribution and continuity mechanisms—participants want materials emailed, pre-session agendas, and post-programme support like peer networks or periodic prompts. Technical feedback centers on the Stackmap tool needing improved saving/exporting functionality. The Deep Risk Assessment received one piece of negative feedback as less useful than other exercises. Overall, the programme appears to successfully build awareness and provide frameworks, but participants need additional scaffolding to bridge from learning to implementation within their organizational constraints.

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notes updated

E-ink screens

I really like the idea of an e-ink monitor for writing. I've got an A4 size reader that I've paired a keyboard with before to sit outside in the sunshine, but it was more of an experiment.

Ideally, I'd like a laptop that could which between a regular screen an e-ink screen at the flick of a switch.

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notes updated

Measuring the subscription

We're used to the mantra that things that are measured get improved. But, also, if you put any sort of number next to someone's name, they will try and make it go up. That doesn't mean that they've chosen that as something that is good for them, their community, or their organisation. So we need to think about who benefits from the measurement.

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ideas updated

The App That Does Everything (TATDE)

I've spoken to a couple of people within the last 24 hours that makes me think that apps in future will just build themselves. There will be universal approaches or 'skills' (e.g. task lists, timers) that it can just draw upon, but if you need anything unique the app will just ask you questions and you can refine it.

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