Field notes from the AI frontier.
Hard-won lessons on applying AI inside real businesses — from the engineers, operators, and founders doing the work at Surton.
Page 5 of 7
A New CTO’s First 100 Days
A practical 100-day plan for new CTOs: learn the business, assess the team, and leave with a roadmap the company can actually execute.
10 books that can change how you build a business
A sharper founder reading list: ten books that improve customer insight, financial judgment, systems thinking, and long-term decision-making.
7 decisions that quietly break engineering teams
The engineering orgs that struggle most usually aren't undone by one bad tool—they're weakened by a handful of expensive leadership mistakes.
When a Founder Stops Being the Best CEO for the Job
The leadership instincts that help a founder build a company can become the very habits that limit its next stage of growth.
How Great Service Businesses Become Hard to Replace
The service firms clients keep are the ones that pair elite execution with proactive communication, fast decision-making, and measurable value.
Why Cheap Talent Costs You More Than You Think
Saving on engineering salaries can quietly increase rework, slow delivery, and drive away the people you most need to keep.
Why technical leaders end up pulling all-nighters
When the most capable person keeps jumping into every urgent issue, the business gets relief in the short term and fragility in the long term.
Why Saving the Day Is Killing Your Company
Founder heroics can jumpstart a startup, but they eventually become the bottleneck. Real scale starts when leaders build systems, trust, and ownership beyond themselves.
Turning Vision into Action
A practical strategy document turns ambition into progress by naming the problem, setting clear guardrails, and focusing on the next few moves.
How to Write a Vision Document People Will Actually Read
A strong vision document is short, concrete, business-aware, and honest about tradeoffs. Here's a practical framework for writing one that earns attention and action.
How AI Fits Into Day-to-Day Work
The fastest AI wins usually come from internal workflows: writing, synthesis, prioritization, and better decisions powered by your existing context.
Building a Culture Where the Truth Doesn’t Hurt
High-trust teams make honest feedback routine, well-timed, and focused on learning instead of blame.