A tale of cultures and outcomes

Having started my career in tech back in 2008, I’ve seen the effects that certain decisions make, both good and bad: well-meaning company policies with little to no return, system designs that truly bring teams together, leadership that seems ambitious but really is harmful, practices that genuinely increase performance and generate value… the list is endless. With 18 years of experience around the world building, designing, training, and leading those who build technology solutions, a pattern emerged:

Most businesses stick to patching symptoms of an underlying cause they do not understand.

Think about it: how many of those meetings are really necessary? How many columns in that Kanban board are actually useful? Are you able to speak to that customer to get your job done, or do you need permission? And how many of your team members are capable of striking a conversation to clear a misunderstanding instead of asking their manager? Probably not that many.

I’ve gone through every single of these problems, and more. Where a process could be simplified, it was made more complex. A direct call to a customer could very easily have unlocked a week’s worth of work, but because of company culture I was stuck in redtape. I could not deliver fast enough. I’ve seen countless opportunities for developing a lean, learning culture within my teams, one that would empower them to be naturally more productive without sacrificing psychological safety, most of them obscured by politics and uncontrolled growth pains.

My goal is to help you find where the challenge is: it’s either a cultural barrier, a system bottleneck, or someone who needs help.

These fundamental principles have surfaced.

🧠 Shared understanding saves time and money.
Customers know why, teams know how. Finding the what is the result of knowing both why and how. Ensuring teams are comfortable knowing why something needs to be done improves results dramatically.

🖌️ Visual thinking is a powerful asset.
Getting together to discuss an idea visually goes an incredibly long way. Not only does it level the playing field for shared understanding, it boosts retention, fosters connection, reduces waste, and improves efficiency. It doesn’t mean you should not write something down when necessary, but it shouldn’t be the main vehicle for achieving understanding.

🏆 Outcomes drive outputs.
Chasing outputs without a clear direction is unfruitful. It’s best to produce (and ship) one impactful thing than three meaningless ones.

📖 Process is a byproduct.
Dynamics and experience result in process. When a process gets in the way of conversation and learning, results are compromised. The point of process is to optimize results, not the other way around.

🗣️ Documentation is good, conversation is better.
Writing is not meant to be the starting point for understanding. Always start with conversation, commit to really understand a problem, and summarize the important points afterwards.

🙋 There are no dumb questions.
It’s best to ask “that dumb question” than assume something that is not clear. There is no shame in asking a question that everyone but you knows the answer to.

🌱 The best teams differentiate by emotional intelligence and communication.
Ninjas have a reputation for getting things done; their way or the high way. Poor culture workplaces usually have them, and it’s unhealthy and unsustainable. Starting off strong with a culture of collaboration, humanity, and respect pays off every time.

👏 The high performers are listened to and cared for. True leaders are successful by proxy. Their job is to invest in their teams so they can flourish. Many believe leadership is an authority game, when it reality it is about stewarding others to their utmost potential. The moment a decision is made unilaterally, something’s wrong.

🤖 AI only pays off under the supervision of intelligent humans.
When the Industrial Revolution took place, those who adapted to using machinery had to know how to produce the same output without it. AI is meant to do the boring stuff faster or with less errors; and cheaper too! Having AI think and create is not its job; that is still for us humans to enjoy doing.

Who am I?

I’m José, a Portuguese product/project manager with 18+ years of international experience in the knowledge industry. I’ve worked for many clients from all over the world, helping them find the right problems to solve and figure out the right problems, all powered by a culture of strong communication and leadership. I’ve trained, mentored, and coached several professionals on generating value incrementally and iteratively through digital products and services.