Wednesday Wisdom
Episodes
Exit Plan
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have one?https://josvisser.substack.com/p/exit-plan
Standard Response
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It has come to this: A standard response to the many messages I get that seek to sell something to me, offer me a job, use me as an introduction to se...
The cost of efficiency
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can you afford to be so efficient that you cannot innovate anymore?https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-cost-of-efficiency
The one about coding with AI tools
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If at this moment in time you are not investing in proficiency with AI coding tools, you are doing yourself an enormous disservice.https://josvisser.s...
The gift of post-career
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The subtle art of gliding into retirement with ease and comfort...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-gift-of-post-career
Losing the secret sense
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It is often hard to move on after an amazing work experience...Article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/losing-the-secret-sense
Taylor Swift and the value of time
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
To get something done, be everywhere all the time and persist...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/taylor-swift-and-the-value-of-time
Short: Seniority is a mindset
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Seniority is not a job description, it is a mindset you take to every task you engage with...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/short-seniority-is-a-min...
Math and you
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Math is everywhere, but rarely used...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/math-and-you
How to become a TL 101
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Not that I know, but here are some thoughts...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/how-to-become-a-tl-101
Welcome to the problem fractal
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In 2026, I will again spend a lot of time explaining to people that things that sound really simple are actually quite complicated and that two things...
Parameters for Success
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Note: This is the 12/24/2025 episode which I apparently forgot to publish on the date itself :-)Full article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/paramet...
The gift of nice
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I used to think not nice was cool. How wrong I was!Full article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-gift-of-nice
Why do good people write bad software?
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the hallmark of a good engineer is not that they always write good software, but that they can get bad software working and out of the door in...
Misinterpreting SRE
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hot take: You might be doing SRE all wrong!https://josvisser.substack.com/p/misinterpreting-sre
Stress!
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone is stressed...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/stress
TG Special: A reader question
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Learning happens when you have to sink or swim...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/tg-special-a-reader-question
Respect what came before
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Respect what came before because often there is much hard-earned wisdom embedded in existing solutions. Also: Replacing working code is hard.https://j...
The gift of Modesty
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Modesty is not a hip trait in a world that suffers from culturally sanctioned ADHD, but all things considered, I’d rather be undecided while I am th...
More things I learned running a small business
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Or: How to be successful while making many mistakes 🙂Read, watch, and subscribe at https://josvisser.substack.com/p/more-things-i-learned-running-a...
Things I learned running a small business (part 1)
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Experience is what you get when you are expecting something else…
Unhappy the team that needs heroes
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The problem with heroes is that heroics don’t scale; instead: Boring scales. Call me old-fashioned (or boring) if you will, but when I am in charge ...
Form without function
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you have code reviews without actual reviews, postmortems that do not lead to improvements, and training without learning, you have form without fu...
Leave a sinking ship in time
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You might like the boat you are in, but make sure you leave it before it starts making water.
Show, don't tell!
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If your team's culture is not what you think it needs to be, do not explain what needs to change, instead, model the desired behavior and look for...
Security is temporary, adaptability is forever
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Adaptability is the new safety net…Read at https://josvisser.substack.com/p/security-is-temporary-adaptability
Coding in the time of AI
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you are a software engineer today and you are not learning how to be a better and faster coder with AI agents, you are doing yourself a disservic...
Be a Player of Games
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Whenever I get feedback, I always check if someone didn’t just explain some of the rules of the game to me.Read and watch at https://josvisser.subst...
Scale is the only problem left
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
People with experience solving small problems often underestimate the difficulty of solving big problems.Read and watch at: https://josvisser.substack...
Consider this: You might be wrong
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you are, like me, a certified brainiac who relishes in spouting endless factoids, I invite you to consider this: You might be wrong. Considering th...
Know thy tools!
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to be effective and professional, you better know your tools well and spend time gaining the required knowledge and experience.Read and wa...
All communication is strategic
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When communicating in a professional context, you want every communication to count towards something. This in turn means that you need to have crysta...
The burden(s) of ownership
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the systems you own, do you ever look at the logs and metrics? If not, you are not the owner, you are, at best, the lazy guardian of a bunch of or...
Keeping it real
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hot take: If you want to work in this field, you need to understand computers.Read and watch at https://josvisser.substack.com/p/keeping-it-real
Appreciate your IT support!
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You might be a distributed systems genius or the world’s best leet coder, but without tech support, your life would be miserable. Remember that next...
Candidates: Please prepare
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Interviewing is a skill and, much like penalty shootouts during major soccer tournaments, can be trained. Raw talent helps, but in a pinch, preparat...
Getting Stuff Done
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's a magical quality that will save you, even when you (like me) are the dumbest person in the building...Read (and maybe watch) at https://josv...
Taming the monkey brain
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I typically spend a large part of the weekend and most of the public holidays resisting the urge to sit down and do some work. That is obviously a ter...
The unfortunate desire for certainty
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Being certain means that you don’t have to think about anything anymore, which results in more speed. You might be going in the wrong direction, but...
You can read this!
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
English is a great language and given that we all have to work together we need to speak a common language. I don’t care whether that’s English or...
Ramping up is hard to do
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You should give yourself time to really reach the summit of any mountain you are going to climb, but you need to attack that mountain with a plan, and...
The blackbox engineer
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Great chefs know more than just the recipes. They understand _cooking_.Read the full article (with video!) at : https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-b...
The swamp and the city
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Your value to the company is not that you can design the shiny city on the hill, that’s the easy bit. Your value is that you know how to get there w...
Overcoming a slump
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strategies for how to get things done when you are stuck.Read the original article (with links to additional content) here: https://josvisser.substack...
The gift of leaving
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the best decisions you can make as a senior person is to make yourself dispensable...Read or watch at: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-gif...
The gift of time
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my life so far I have made lots of mistakes but there are a few things I did well. Taking two very long breaks to figure out what I wanted to do at...
Pressure makes diamonds
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It is not hard to shine in a dim room...https://josvisser.substack.com/p/pressure-makes-diamonds
Nobody escapes corporate gravity (part 3)
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As companies grow, the work changes and this leads to the hiring bar dropping, level inflation and more competition between employees as they change f...
Nobody escapes corporate gravity #2
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Companies change because they hire more people and different people.https://josvisser.substack.com/p/nobody-escapes-corporate-gravity-1dc
Nobody Escapes Corporate Gravity (part 1)
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
People in large companies often complain about the changes that come with size and these complaints are often justified. However, awful as these chang...
Senior engineers: Please prepare for interviews!
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We, the people from Toilet Duck, recommend you prepare for interviews...Also: Even a luxurious hamster wheel is still a hamster wheel.Note: Because I ...
Chaos is the price of freedom
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chaos is not a bug, chaos is a feature of all ecosystems where individual choice is unconstrained. If you want simplicity and efficiency, you give up ...
Talk is Cheap
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Problems that took years to build up cannot be solved in months, but you have to start somewhere.Original article is here: https://josvisser.substack....
It's a knowledge problem (or is it)
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article (text and video): https://josvisser.substack.com/p/its-a-knowledge-problem-or-is-it
The job market is a market
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article:https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-job-market-is-a-market
No more shell scripts!
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/no-more-shell-scripts
Career choices: What to focus on?
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/career-choices-what-to-focus-on
The value of grunge work
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-value-of-grunge-work
Sometimes it it okay to just coast...
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/sometimes-it-is-okay-to-just-coast
The cult of data has gone too far
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-cult-of-data-has-gone-too-far
Wanna career? Move to the center!
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Original article: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/wanna-career-move-to-the-center
Faster computers afford dumber solutions
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Original article (with links to additional resources): https://josvisser.substack.com/p/faster-computer-afford-dumber-solutions
The loneliness of the long distance runbook
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the podcast version of the 12/11/2024 Wednesday Wisdom article of the same name. Note: You can earn a free Mars bar by responding to a questio...
Career Advice: Learn how to write
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Even in the times of generative AI it will prove to be a useful skill
How to be(come) a manager
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode discusses what to do when you are a first time manager of a technical team. Here is a link to the original article which contains...
Embrace the Plateau
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
https://josvisser.substack.com/p/embrace-the-plateau