Aviv Ben-Yosef
@avivby.bsky.social
Because life's too short to waste them running *average* product-engineering teams.
https://avivbenyosef.com
https://avivbenyosef.com
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: You've heard "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But, we often miss that it is not automatically guaranteed you'll grow stronger. You have to *learn* from the mistakes and obstacles. Do you?
February 13, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: You've heard "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But, we often miss that it is not automatically guaranteed you'll grow stronger. You have to *learn* from the mistakes and obstacles. Do you?
Effectively driving change is a core skill for any leader. It sets you apart from the rest. Each change is another step towards a better team. Just as your team iterates on the product, so should you iterate to drive growth. To do it easily, let’s go over the Change Algorithm.
February 12, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Effectively driving change is a core skill for any leader. It sets you apart from the rest. Each change is another step towards a better team. Just as your team iterates on the product, so should you iterate to drive growth. To do it easily, let’s go over the Change Algorithm.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: The school's Carnevale celebration was scheduled for today, even though it was known for quite some time it'll be raining the most in weeks today. Why not push it a day? Changing your mind is essential, and doesn't make you wrong.
February 12, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: The school's Carnevale celebration was scheduled for today, even though it was known for quite some time it'll be raining the most in weeks today. Why not push it a day? Changing your mind is essential, and doesn't make you wrong.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: we went to get our identity cards. The staff were surprised and complimented us for having successfully secured 5 appointments for the same day. I didn't know it was supposed to be hard, so I didn't give up quickly. Sometimes it's better not to know!
February 11, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: we went to get our identity cards. The staff were surprised and complimented us for having successfully secured 5 appointments for the same day. I didn't know it was supposed to be hard, so I didn't give up quickly. Sometimes it's better not to know!
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Yesterday at school, there were half-term meetings with each student's parents. Only 4 minutes were allocated, but everyone knew it would drag well past that—including the staff.
February 10, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Yesterday at school, there were half-term meetings with each student's parents. Only 4 minutes were allocated, but everyone knew it would drag well past that—including the staff.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Are you having fun? One of the questions I ask my clients the most. I rarely go through a meeting without joking a bit. Work and life are serious enough as is. Might as well enjoy it.
February 9, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Are you having fun? One of the questions I ask my clients the most. I rarely go through a meeting without joking a bit. Work and life are serious enough as is. Might as well enjoy it.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Many teams I encounter nowadays are still battling the things I took for granted ~15 years ago. AI won't save you if you cannot raise the bar first.
February 6, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Many teams I encounter nowadays are still battling the things I took for granted ~15 years ago. AI won't save you if you cannot raise the bar first.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: My son, being the youngest, is making the most mistakes in his Italian, but is also communicating the most. The difference between aiming at perfection and leveraging good enough to make progress.
February 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: My son, being the youngest, is making the most mistakes in his Italian, but is also communicating the most. The difference between aiming at perfection and leveraging good enough to make progress.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: What happens when you screw up? Surely you screw up enough. I just made a stupid mistake that cost me useless stress and a lost hour. The very least we can do is to try to learn from the mistake. Some mistakes end up net-positive.
February 4, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: What happens when you screw up? Surely you screw up enough. I just made a stupid mistake that cost me useless stress and a lost hour. The very least we can do is to try to learn from the mistake. Some mistakes end up net-positive.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Though uncomfortable, I think it's incredible to regularly do things you're not good at, and work to improve. Does wonders for the brain. What are you getting wrong today? I've probably made a handful of mistakes just getting this breakfast!
February 3, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Though uncomfortable, I think it's incredible to regularly do things you're not good at, and work to improve. Does wonders for the brain. What are you getting wrong today? I've probably made a handful of mistakes just getting this breakfast!
Morning conretto 🥐 thoughts: Sometimes we use stupid metrics as our guidance merely because they make us feel better or we cannot come up with better ones. Followers? Amount of PRs? Headcount? Truly, who gives.
February 2, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Morning conretto 🥐 thoughts: Sometimes we use stupid metrics as our guidance merely because they make us feel better or we cannot come up with better ones. Followers? Amount of PRs? Headcount? Truly, who gives.
Morning cornettto 🥐 thoughts: Got to see another example of how people assuming what the other party is thinking has resulted in months of resentment and missed opportunities. Speak up. Staying silent is usually the worst option.
January 30, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Morning cornettto 🥐 thoughts: Got to see another example of how people assuming what the other party is thinking has resulted in months of resentment and missed opportunities. Speak up. Staying silent is usually the worst option.
I chuckle to myself when people write about autonomous agents writing code. Many leaders are barely able to delegate and trust their senior engineers; am I supposed to believe they’ll be fine with LLMs doing it?
January 29, 2026 at 1:59 PM
I chuckle to myself when people write about autonomous agents writing code. Many leaders are barely able to delegate and trust their senior engineers; am I supposed to believe they’ll be fine with LLMs doing it?
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Our eldest has a school tablet. Unfortunately, it's so locked up that kids struggle using it and end up lugging huge textbooks/using their phones. This is cargoculting. At least we have nice tablets. Are you mindlessly going through the motions, too?
January 29, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Our eldest has a school tablet. Unfortunately, it's so locked up that kids struggle using it and end up lugging huge textbooks/using their phones. This is cargoculting. At least we have nice tablets. Are you mindlessly going through the motions, too?
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Sitting inside today because it's raining. Seasons are good, and I try to have seasonality in how I operate my business. Don't run your org like a monotonous soundtrack.
January 28, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Sitting inside today because it's raining. Seasons are good, and I try to have seasonality in how I operate my business. Don't run your org like a monotonous soundtrack.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: It's fine to have people on the team whose performance you're not pleased with. It's not fine to be aware of that and do nothing. You're condemning them to find out when things get past the point of no return. Stale feedback is like stale cornetto 👎
January 27, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: It's fine to have people on the team whose performance you're not pleased with. It's not fine to be aware of that and do nothing. You're condemning them to find out when things get past the point of no return. Stale feedback is like stale cornetto 👎
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Digging the new metro station near the Colosseum, they found so many archeological findings that they made part of the station a museum. That's Roman yak-shaving for you, at least getting something good from the extra hassle. Can you do the same?
January 26, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Digging the new metro station near the Colosseum, they found so many archeological findings that they made part of the station a museum. That's Roman yak-shaving for you, at least getting something good from the extra hassle. Can you do the same?
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Every morning, there's this moment. We get up, get the kids ready, go out strolling to school, or have coffee. Then comes the first moment I hear Italian in the street, and it's like I'm reminded, "Oh, right, we moved to Rome." Still happens.
January 23, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Every morning, there's this moment. We get up, get the kids ready, go out strolling to school, or have coffee. Then comes the first moment I hear Italian in the street, and it's like I'm reminded, "Oh, right, we moved to Rome." Still happens.
Problems crop up all the time. That’s a rule of nature. The question is how we address them. Many leaders get tunnel vision and rush to get the thing sorted out. Sometimes, that’s a surefire way to keep seeing that problem repeat itself.
January 22, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Problems crop up all the time. That’s a rule of nature. The question is how we address them. Many leaders get tunnel vision and rush to get the thing sorted out. Sometimes, that’s a surefire way to keep seeing that problem repeat itself.
Morning 🥐 thoughts: I collect surprises. I take lots of notes daily, and try to write down what surprises me. In a way, it's priming the brain to be more mindful. Yesterday's surprise was how mid-conversation my brain switched language without me realizing. Always a first.
January 22, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Morning 🥐 thoughts: I collect surprises. I take lots of notes daily, and try to write down what surprises me. In a way, it's priming the brain to be more mindful. Yesterday's surprise was how mid-conversation my brain switched language without me realizing. Always a first.
Morning 🥐 thoughts: Success is discipline + sticking with it. This morning, I realized it seems like all of a sudden the kids speak more Italian, yet I know they've been learning and immersing for months, and finally reached a milestone. I'm sticking with cornetto every morning.
January 21, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Morning 🥐 thoughts: Success is discipline + sticking with it. This morning, I realized it seems like all of a sudden the kids speak more Italian, yet I know they've been learning and immersing for months, and finally reached a milestone. I'm sticking with cornetto every morning.
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Since I can remember, I learn new areas by digging really deep for a while. Right now, I'm doing that, setting up my Italian business (Partita IVA peeps here?). I see how LLMs are changing that process. This is making even bureaucracy more exciting!
January 20, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Morning cornetto 🥐 thoughts: Since I can remember, I learn new areas by digging really deep for a while. Right now, I'm doing that, setting up my Italian business (Partita IVA peeps here?). I see how LLMs are changing that process. This is making even bureaucracy more exciting!
180 Observations and Thoughts from 180 Days in Rome
It’s been six months since we moved to Italy. I’ve been collecting different thoughts and thought I’d share some of them. Disclaimer: This is what we’re seeing in our nice neighborhood in Rome. Our private experiences. YMMV.
It’s been six months since we moved to Italy. I’ve been collecting different thoughts and thought I’d share some of them. Disclaimer: This is what we’re seeing in our nice neighborhood in Rome. Our private experiences. YMMV.
January 16, 2026 at 3:35 PM
180 Observations and Thoughts from 180 Days in Rome
It’s been six months since we moved to Italy. I’ve been collecting different thoughts and thought I’d share some of them. Disclaimer: This is what we’re seeing in our nice neighborhood in Rome. Our private experiences. YMMV.
It’s been six months since we moved to Italy. I’ve been collecting different thoughts and thought I’d share some of them. Disclaimer: This is what we’re seeing in our nice neighborhood in Rome. Our private experiences. YMMV.
Let's continue improving the relationship and alignment between CEOs and tech execs. You don’t have to feel like you have nothing to show, that your value isn’t understood, or that you don’t know what to do. As a tech leader, you can bring more clarity to the situation.
January 15, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Let's continue improving the relationship and alignment between CEOs and tech execs. You don’t have to feel like you have nothing to show, that your value isn’t understood, or that you don’t know what to do. As a tech leader, you can bring more clarity to the situation.
It’s the season: we start see people lament their objectives and planning processes. Were you handed OKRs that you don’t really understand? Or that you don’t believe in and know will be changed by the time you’re back from the New Year’s vacation? It doesn’t have to be that way.
January 8, 2026 at 2:02 PM
It’s the season: we start see people lament their objectives and planning processes. Were you handed OKRs that you don’t really understand? Or that you don’t believe in and know will be changed by the time you’re back from the New Year’s vacation? It doesn’t have to be that way.