Slight Reliability

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How do you take all the utopian ideas you read about in books and apply them to the reality of the organisations we work in?
This week I'm joined by leader, mentor, and coach Rob Roe to tackle this question. We discuss...
🌪️ The pitfalls of functional silos
🤫 Is the annual budget a load of rubbish?
🍃 How our management promotion systems are often broken
🫂 The power of virtual teams
📗 Team interaction models
...and much more.
You can find Rob on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinsonroe/
References from the episode:
Rob's YouTube channel "Unlocking Change": https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingchange
Action Inquiry by Bill Torbert: https://gla.global/the-glp/action-inquiry/
Seven Transformations of Leadership: https://hbr.org/2005/04/seven-transformations-of-leadership
Trademe Team Topologies case study: https://teamtopologies.com/industry-examples/trade-me-journey-towards-a-thinnest-viable-platform
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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We spend a third of our life at work. It needs to be something we enjoy and something with purpose. Our work experience also impacts our family, friends, and our personal lives.
This week I'm joined by tech engineer, leader, and author Richard Bown to explore this and many other topics including...
🌪️ The difficulty in applying the ideas we read in books in real organisations
🤫 When you want to implement a thing you can't talk directly about the thing
🍃 Does change require senior leadership? Can it be grassroots?
🫂 The importance of looking after yourself at work
📗 The experience of publishing a novel
...and much more.
You can find Richard's book "Human Software - A Life in I.T" here: https://humansoftwarebook.com/
...and you can find Richard on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bown/
References from the episode (excluding some of the TV shows we mentioned):
Rosegarden Linux music composition editing environment: https://www.rosegardenmusic.com/
Managing Humans by Michael Lopp: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/managing-humans-biting/9781430243144/
Rands leadership Slack: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113934.The_Goal
Local Hero (1983): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085859/
Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet: https://davidmarquet.com/books/turn-the-ship-around-book/
Scrivener (book writing tool): https://scrivener.app/
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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When you become a people leader there is no manual. How can we not only learn leadership skills but practice them and build leadership muscle?
This week I'm joined by Orion Group Limited co-founder Xiao Zhang to discuss...
👑 The challenge of transitioning into people leadership
💪 How we don't get fit by watching other people work out
⌚ Pausing as an act of active leadership
🌌 The power of slack time for creativity and systems thinking
🌊 Going below the waterline
...and much more.
You can find Xiao on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiao-zhang-nz/
You can find Orion Group Limited here: https://www.oriongrouplimited.com/
Xiao mentioned Brené Brown's new book Strong Ground https://brenebrown.com/book/strong-ground/
I mentioned The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/
I couldn't find the article on slack time but this is pretty good: https://buildrightside.com/problem-upgrade-chart
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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This week I kick off the 2026 season with some news and we explore how to prepare for a new role.
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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From the day we invented computers we've been struggling to keep applications running and delivering services to the business. Is this latest wave of AI helping or hurting us?
This week I'm joined by Causely founder Shmuel Kliger to dive into...
🌊 The three waves of AI hype over the decades (the history of AI)
☠️ The dangers of over-promising and under-delivering what AI can do
🧠 What is causal reasoning?
😱 Is AI replacing SREs?
🔮 AI as a way to allow humans to solve higher level problems
...and much more.
You can find Shmuel on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shmuel-kliger-1a91963/
You can find Causely here: https://www.causely.ai/
Shmuel mentioned 'The Book of Why' by Judea Pearl and Dana McKenzie which can be found here: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/046509760X
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre