A tech industry veteran reflects on their 40-year career journey from a fundamentalist upbringing in rural Idaho to becoming a successful founder and CTO. The author shares how work became a source of liberation and personal growth, discusses the evolution from individual contributor to engineering manager to company founder, and argues that business can be a vehicle for positive change. They emphasize the importance of building institutions with integrity, maintaining ideals while competing in the marketplace, and how the second half of a career should focus on purpose and legacy.
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I went to college at the luckiest timeI grew up with a very coherent belief system that did not work for meRunning away from things worked until it didn’tWhy am I telling you all this?For me, work has been a source of liberationMy engineer/manager pendulum daysOperating a company draws on a different kind of meaningReality doesn’t give a shit about ideologyFighting and winning brings ideals to lifeWe have lived through the golden age of techIf you want to change the world, go into businessPeople need institutionsThe second half of your career is focused on purpose2 Comments
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