Build the Right Thing
The post contrasts Samuel Langley’s output‑centric aviation program with the Wright brothers’ outcome‑driven approach, using the story to illustrate a common pitfall in modern product development. It argues that teams often prioritize visible features and ROI forecasts before they have validated the underlying customer problem. By treating financial validation as a prerequisite for learning, organizations distort risk, suppress bold ideas, and drift into short‑termism. The author calls for a disciplined sequencing where early experiments focus on outcomes, with financial metrics applied later as guardrails rather than goals.
The Alarm That Went Silent
On August 14, 2003 a high‑voltage line in Ohio sagged into trees, triggering a cascade that left roughly 55 million customers without power across the U.S. Northeast and Canada. The cascade was accelerated because FirstEnergy’s Energy Management System lost its alarm...
Ariane 5’s “Reused Code” Catastrophe
On June 4, 1996, the Ariane 5’s maiden flight exploded 37 seconds after liftoff when software inherited from Ariane 4 overflowed a 16‑bit integer. The overflow shut down both inertial reference units, causing the flight computer to misread diagnostic data as valid...