Adapted from The DevOps Handbook by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois, and John Willis. Myth—DevOps is Only for Startups While DevOps practices have been pioneered by the web-scale, Internet “unicorn” companies such as Google, Amazon, Netflix, and Etsy, each of these organizations has, at some point in their history, risked going out of business because of the problems associated with more traditional “horse” organizations: highly dangerous code releases that were prone to catastrophic … [Read more...]
The Idealcast: Dispatch from the Scenius with Elisabeth Hendrickson
We’re so excited that The Idealcast, IT Revolution’s and Gene Kim’s first podcast, has been met with such a warm and enthusiastic response. This week we’re releasing our fourth episode, the second in our Dispatch from the Scenius series, featuring Elisabeth Hendrickson’s two foundational DevOps Enterprise Summit presentations on feedback loops. You’ve likely heard Gene talk about the scenius before, a term coined by Brian Eno that refers to the collective intelligence of a whole operation or … [Read more...]
Gene Kim interviews Agile Conversations authors Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick
Gene: Are we really that bad at talking to one another, and why do you think that is? Squirrel & Jeffrey: Actually, we are really skillful at having conversations! We are proficient at concealing our real thoughts, saving face for ourselves and others, and avoiding awkward questions. Unfortunately this defensive approach undermines learning and cooperation, and so produces results quite different than what we intend. This combination of effortless behavior and the wrong outcomes is … [Read more...]
Love Letter to Conferences (And What Makes Some Truly Amazing)
TL;DR: I share everything I’ve learned about what makes my favorite conference experiences so great and meaningful, and try to understand which elements are universal, applying to both physical and virtual events, and which ones can be changed. I share the experiences of having run an incredible three-day virtual event for 50 people, and share why I’m now incredibly confident that we’ll be able to replicate the magic of the best conferences at the upcoming Virtual DevOps Enterprise Summit—our … [Read more...]
Announcing my new podcast, The Idealcast with Gene Kim
Hello, everyone — I’m so pleased to announce the launch of my podcast, The Idealcast! On The Idealcast, I interview people I admire and have learned the most from, on topics I’m most passionate about — and you can learn with me. Each episode is typically around 90 minutes, where I ask some of the best experts in our community things I’ve wondered about for years. I am currently on a quest to understand the relationship between leadership, how organizations work, and how they can either create … [Read more...]
Gene Kim AMA (3 of 3) for the IT Revolution Book Club
Watch and read this 90 minute Ask Me Anything with Gene Kim, author of The Unicorn Project, from January 29, 2020. Recorded for the IT Revolution Book Club. AMA (1 of 3) / AMA (2 of 3) / AMA (3 of 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmzFLhapI2o Skip directly to transcript Questions Answered 1. Johan Tegler (jump to question in video) — A mix of questions: Technology. How common is that word these days compared to IT? In companies producing cars, planes etc technology can be a lot … [Read more...]
Gene Kim AMA (2 of 3) for the IT Revolution Book Club
Watch and read this 90 minute Ask Me Anything with Gene Kim, author of The Unicorn Project, from January 15, 2020. Recorded for the IT Revolution Book Club. AMA (1 of 3) / AMA (2 of 3) / AMA (3 of 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQktlXp_Y3g Skip directly to transcript Questions Answered 1.Taylan Ayken & Andy Tinkham (jump to question in video) — Why Dr. Eric referring to people as "sensei”? Why does Erik forgot names? What’s the reasoning behind that choice? 2. Keith Klundt … [Read more...]
Gene Kim AMA (1 of 3) for the IT Revolution Book Club
Watch and read this 90 minute Ask Me Anything with Gene Kim, author of The Unicorn Project, from January 8, 2020. Recorded for the IT Revolution Book Club. AMA (1 of 3) / AMA (2 of 3) / AMA (3 of 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReROx9-68V8&feature=youtu.be Skip directly to transcript Questions Answered 1. Jerreck (jump to question in video) — Have you considered publishing an "Oops All Crunch-berries" book where it's just Dr. Erik Reid telling the reader what to do and why? 2. … [Read more...]
Getting Your DevOps Enterprise Summit Presentation Submission Accepted (2020 Edition)
In 2017, I wrote this post (Getting Your Presentation Submission Accepted For DevOps Enterprise Summit In 2017) with some tips on getting your DevOps Enterprise Summit presentation proposal accepted. In that video, there is a link to a fantastic one-hour video that I did with fellow programming committee member Damon Edwards (co-founder of Rundeck), and Margo Cronin, whose submission we had accepted in 2016 when she was Head of Technology Architecture at Zurich Insurance (and now at AWS!). In … [Read more...]
Gene Kim Q&A with the Authors of Team Topologies
Gene: Every company loves an org chart, but why are they really so misleading Matthew and Manuel: Org charts are management-focused constructs, meant to funnel lines of reporting from the bottom to the top—the typical hierarchical pyramid. The fundamental problem is extrapolating this construct and assuming it actually represents the lines of communication in the organization, alignment of business goals and decision making power. This misinterpretation still happens in most … [Read more...]
