Author: Richard

  • Inspect what you Expect!

    [This post previously appeared on the API Connect Test and Monitor Blog] I was fortunate to get a chance to present about how inspecting what you expect is important both in the military and with APIs at the Nordic APIs Austin API summit. If you’d like to check out the slides or the video of…

  • The depths of why

    [Note this post originally appeared on the Art of Product War the stand-alone site for which I have discontinued, I am reposting it here backdated to the same date] One Marine Veteran’s musings on memorial day. Why? It’s the deepest one-word question there is. The direct connection to our feelings. The concept that defies our…

  • My memories on memorial day

    I reflected on the sacrifice of some of my fellow Marines today. I posted on my new site The Art of Product War [edit later moved here] because I think it has a lot to do with purpose in work and in life. It’s not about me and it’s only some about them. For more…

  • Flight delayed…passengers cheer!

    ‘Ladies and gentlemen this is your Captain speaking, we’re going to be delayed by 30 minutes and as per FirendlyAirlines policy, that means everyone on the flight gets free Wifi’

  • Leadership Is Not an Option — It’s a Necessity

    [Note, this post originally appeared on the ProductCraft blog and the topic later informed a presentation I gave as guest instructor for ProductSchool] “What?! We couldn’t believe what we were hearing. This officer wanted our team of mentor-Marines to patrol the route with the record for the greatest number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ever…

  • Books I would give myself years ago

    I just inhaled Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. You should check them out too. I noticed a quote by Simon on the website of a Company I’ve come to respect. As I wrote a few articles for this company’s blog, ProductCraft, I started to reach out to leaders within the…

  • Be Brave

    I completely recommend and endorse the Brave Browser. I’ve been using it for a few years now and have really appreciated its speed and built in concern for security, privacy and ad-blocking. I got started back in the day just by reading about it, but now by partnering with Coinbase Earn, Brave has created a…

  • What can the outsider see?

    I’d like a phone number to your coffeeshop please. Today I had to drive into Raleigh for an event. I had to drive a little earlier to be there in time, and needed to take a call near my destination. So I looked for a coffee shop nearby. There was one within a block! But…

  • Feelings about fractures

    (the avulsion kind) I injured my ankle yesterday. It was around 6 AM. The leader of the day’s workout had us doing burpees, sprints and sit-ups in a field. Then he wanted ‘all you got’ sprints up and down the field. Then he wanted an ‘all you got sprint’ down the quarter mile back to…

  • Flanking the Competition: Using Military Strategy to Inform Competitive Intelligence

    [Note, this post originally appeared on ProductCraft] It was 3 am, ten kilometers outside of Marjah, Afghanistan, and just a few nights after the start of Operation Moshtarak (the largest offensive since the fall of the Taliban). I was a 26-year-old Marine Intel Lieutenant, huddled with a platoon in some abandoned farmers’ huts on the…