Matt Schouten

Thoughts on building people, software, and systems.

Category: Philosophy

  • Why Deadlines? Why That Deadline?

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    It was about 10PM that Thursday night when I got back to my apartment. After a full day of work, I’d helped haul a bunch of sound equipment, set it up, run sound, hauled the equipment back, and spent some time unwinding with friends.1 I was tired. The light on my answering machine was blinking.2…

  • The One-Hour Employee

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    Imagine you’re a manager. You’re hiring. You have an intriguing candidate. Let’s call this candidate Barry. In one hour, Barry can produce 10 times what a good employee in this position can produce in a week. Code, doorknobs, sales leads—whatever it is your team produces. It’s at least as high-quality as what everyone else on…

  • Flyover Software

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    I live in Iowa,1 a mostly-rectangular state in approximately the middle of the United States.2 I grew up in Wisconsin, a lumpy state in the north central United States.3 Both states are about as far from the coasts of the United States as you can get and still be in the lower 48 states. Both…

  • The Unreliable Narrator as Manager

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    In literature, the unreliable narrator can be a delightful way to introduce suspense or tension. An unreliable narrator tells lies or misunderstands the world, and therefore can’t be trusted. They seem believable at first, but the reader soon realizes they’re not credible. You need to doubt what they say, and figure out what is really…

  • Teamwork Stone Soup

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    Stone Soup is an old folktale. I remember hearing the story well before I was in school. And I remember my brother and I begging our mom to let us try making stone soup!1 For those not familiar with the story, here’s my short retelling. Then I’ll get to my point. Stone Soup, A Retelling…

  • Flushing Away Time – A Toilet Story!

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    Once upon a time, my family decided our powder room1 needed some improvements. When we bought the house, we’d noticed the hardwood floor was discolored around the base of the toilet, like there had been condensation or maybe a few overflows. The toilet itself was prone to clogging. So, we hired a contractor friend2 to…

  • Facilitation and Participation

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    I don’t have answers in this post. Or probably many words. I do have an observation. It’s difficult to be a facilitator while also being a participant. It’s even more difficult if you have strong opinions or key information about the topic. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the term “neutral convener”1. That’s a…

  • Putting on the Hat

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    If you’ve been in the business world for any length of time, you’ve probably heard someone talking about “putting on my __ hat”. It’s helpful phrasing to signal that you’re taking a certain perspective on a discussion. Someone might say, “putting on my manager hat, we need to get this done in two weeks, but…

  • Overloaded systems and how maintenance fails interestingly

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    I’m married and have three kids in the elementary and middle school age ranges. They’re doing things that normal kids do: growing, learning, being active, participating in sports and other activities. My wife and I both work. Our baseline level of “busy” is relatively high, as it is for any family with three kids at…

  • Outcomes for Employees

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    This started as a blog post for the HI Digital Solutions blog, and never got posted for some reason. I’m pretty sure it had to do with it being drafted in April 2020. I think some things may have been happening around then. Anyway, I’m (re?) posting it here (which works out fine, because the…