Matt Schouten
@cybadger.com
I like to build things up. People, systems, software, knowledge... | Leadership and team coach | I also like books! | https://www.cybadger.com/
If your company seems to flail, spiral, oscillate, or just keeps doubling down on the same idea, maybe the problem is too much feedback, undamped, without systems to handle it.
Credit to @another.rodeo for the nudge to write this in response to his excellent post at another.rodeo/feedback/.
Credit to @another.rodeo for the nudge to write this in response to his excellent post at another.rodeo/feedback/.
You Can't Handle The Truth! - Matt Schouten
If your company can't respond to big red warning flags or to basic, clear feedback about the world, try building better feedback systems.
www.cybadger.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:01 PM
If your company seems to flail, spiral, oscillate, or just keeps doubling down on the same idea, maybe the problem is too much feedback, undamped, without systems to handle it.
Credit to @another.rodeo for the nudge to write this in response to his excellent post at another.rodeo/feedback/.
Credit to @another.rodeo for the nudge to write this in response to his excellent post at another.rodeo/feedback/.
📚The Psychology of Time Travel, by @katemascarenhas.bsky.social (random pickup).
Four women invent time travel in the 60s, kicking off a multi-timeline closed-room murder mystery that's also somehow very linear. Oh, and one of the four was ostracized after a very public breakdown.
#booksky
Four women invent time travel in the 60s, kicking off a multi-timeline closed-room murder mystery that's also somehow very linear. Oh, and one of the four was ostracized after a very public breakdown.
#booksky
December 18, 2025 at 4:49 PM
📚The Psychology of Time Travel, by @katemascarenhas.bsky.social (random pickup).
Four women invent time travel in the 60s, kicking off a multi-timeline closed-room murder mystery that's also somehow very linear. Oh, and one of the four was ostracized after a very public breakdown.
#booksky
Four women invent time travel in the 60s, kicking off a multi-timeline closed-room murder mystery that's also somehow very linear. Oh, and one of the four was ostracized after a very public breakdown.
#booksky
📚 The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
Such beautifully crafted language, and a story told calmly but urgently, the words flowing off the page painting scenes and feelings on the reader's mind. And the characters so textured and full of surprises.
Old, classic, but new to me. Great read!
#booksky
Such beautifully crafted language, and a story told calmly but urgently, the words flowing off the page painting scenes and feelings on the reader's mind. And the characters so textured and full of surprises.
Old, classic, but new to me. Great read!
#booksky
The Last Unicorn (The Last Unicorn, #1)
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780451450524 She was…
www.goodreads.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
📚 The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
Such beautifully crafted language, and a story told calmly but urgently, the words flowing off the page painting scenes and feelings on the reader's mind. And the characters so textured and full of surprises.
Old, classic, but new to me. Great read!
#booksky
Such beautifully crafted language, and a story told calmly but urgently, the words flowing off the page painting scenes and feelings on the reader's mind. And the characters so textured and full of surprises.
Old, classic, but new to me. Great read!
#booksky
📚Uprooted by @naominovik.bsky.social
Well-crafted dark fairy tale, compelling setting, interesting magic system. The main character is irritatingly dense (and the Dragon irritatingly taciturn), but eventually figures things out.
Felt novel, but comfortable. Enchanting, even.
Loved it.
#booksky
Well-crafted dark fairy tale, compelling setting, interesting magic system. The main character is irritatingly dense (and the Dragon irritatingly taciturn), but eventually figures things out.
Felt novel, but comfortable. Enchanting, even.
Loved it.
#booksky
Uprooted
“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter w…
www.goodreads.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:37 PM
📚Uprooted by @naominovik.bsky.social
Well-crafted dark fairy tale, compelling setting, interesting magic system. The main character is irritatingly dense (and the Dragon irritatingly taciturn), but eventually figures things out.
Felt novel, but comfortable. Enchanting, even.
Loved it.
#booksky
Well-crafted dark fairy tale, compelling setting, interesting magic system. The main character is irritatingly dense (and the Dragon irritatingly taciturn), but eventually figures things out.
Felt novel, but comfortable. Enchanting, even.
Loved it.
#booksky
Reposted by Matt Schouten
Your intellectual fly is open
bcantrill.dtrace.org/2025/12/05/y...
bcantrill.dtrace.org/2025/12/05/y...
Your intellectual fly is open | The Observation Deck
bcantrill.dtrace.org
December 6, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Your intellectual fly is open
bcantrill.dtrace.org/2025/12/05/y...
bcantrill.dtrace.org/2025/12/05/y...
I wrote a post diving into Marketing Platform Engineering, which is the "craft of building the systems and workflows that enable marketing teams to work at their best", described by @aurooba.com.
If you're an engineer working to support marketing (or a marketer supported by engineers), read it.
If you're an engineer working to support marketing (or a marketer supported by engineers), read it.
Marketing Platform Engineering - Matt Schouten
A dive into Marketing Platform Engineering, a specialty craft first described in a series of blog posts by Aurooba Ahmed.
www.cybadger.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I wrote a post diving into Marketing Platform Engineering, which is the "craft of building the systems and workflows that enable marketing teams to work at their best", described by @aurooba.com.
If you're an engineer working to support marketing (or a marketer supported by engineers), read it.
If you're an engineer working to support marketing (or a marketer supported by engineers), read it.
📚Spy School: Blackout by Stuart Gibbs
If you liked the previous 12 Spy School books, you'll like this one. As usual, action and mystery with a lot of humor.
I liked the Komodo dragons.
(Excellent middle-grade series. Might be good for reluctant readers, especially boys.)
#booksky
If you liked the previous 12 Spy School books, you'll like this one. As usual, action and mystery with a lot of humor.
I liked the Komodo dragons.
(Excellent middle-grade series. Might be good for reluctant readers, especially boys.)
#booksky
Spy School Blackout
In the thirteenth book in Stuart Gibbs’s New York Times…
www.goodreads.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM
📚Spy School: Blackout by Stuart Gibbs
If you liked the previous 12 Spy School books, you'll like this one. As usual, action and mystery with a lot of humor.
I liked the Komodo dragons.
(Excellent middle-grade series. Might be good for reluctant readers, especially boys.)
#booksky
If you liked the previous 12 Spy School books, you'll like this one. As usual, action and mystery with a lot of humor.
I liked the Komodo dragons.
(Excellent middle-grade series. Might be good for reluctant readers, especially boys.)
#booksky
📚Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Library reading challenge for September was "book set in the decade you were born".
Fast, enjoyable read. Family history and how it impacts the present. Gossipy but raw, alternating celebrity glamour and real consequences of bad decisions.
#booksky
Library reading challenge for September was "book set in the decade you were born".
Fast, enjoyable read. Family history and how it impacts the present. Gossipy but raw, alternating celebrity glamour and real consequences of bad decisions.
#booksky
Malibu Rising
Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate t…
www.goodreads.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
📚Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Library reading challenge for September was "book set in the decade you were born".
Fast, enjoyable read. Family history and how it impacts the present. Gossipy but raw, alternating celebrity glamour and real consequences of bad decisions.
#booksky
Library reading challenge for September was "book set in the decade you were born".
Fast, enjoyable read. Family history and how it impacts the present. Gossipy but raw, alternating celebrity glamour and real consequences of bad decisions.
#booksky
📚Deep Dive by @ronwaltersbooks.bsky.social, random library pickup.
Fast-paced, well-constructed sci-fi thriller. Much more interesting than I expected given the synopsis says the protagonist "find[s] himself trapped" in virtual reality.
Fun read, clever premise, and just a little creepy.
#booksky
Fast-paced, well-constructed sci-fi thriller. Much more interesting than I expected given the synopsis says the protagonist "find[s] himself trapped" in virtual reality.
Fun read, clever premise, and just a little creepy.
#booksky
Deep Dive
When your reality shatters, what will you do to put it …
www.goodreads.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
📚Deep Dive by @ronwaltersbooks.bsky.social, random library pickup.
Fast-paced, well-constructed sci-fi thriller. Much more interesting than I expected given the synopsis says the protagonist "find[s] himself trapped" in virtual reality.
Fun read, clever premise, and just a little creepy.
#booksky
Fast-paced, well-constructed sci-fi thriller. Much more interesting than I expected given the synopsis says the protagonist "find[s] himself trapped" in virtual reality.
Fun read, clever premise, and just a little creepy.
#booksky
"Weeks of coding can save you minutes of thinking."
It's true!
I wrote an article exploring how the models you choose can make software easier—or harder to build and maintain. And yes, there's a case study of a bad model I chose.
Also includes advice on picking better models.
It's true!
I wrote an article exploring how the models you choose can make software easier—or harder to build and maintain. And yes, there's a case study of a bad model I chose.
Also includes advice on picking better models.
Models Matter - Matt Schouten
The models you use to think about software and the world matter—a lot. This post explores a bad model, and ways to pick better models.
www.cybadger.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"Weeks of coding can save you minutes of thinking."
It's true!
I wrote an article exploring how the models you choose can make software easier—or harder to build and maintain. And yes, there's a case study of a bad model I chose.
Also includes advice on picking better models.
It's true!
I wrote an article exploring how the models you choose can make software easier—or harder to build and maintain. And yes, there's a case study of a bad model I chose.
Also includes advice on picking better models.
This is a fun talk, with lots of good lessons on becoming a more effective engineer. I took away several good reminders and a few new thoughts, and I've been doing this for a couple decades.
Ross is a really good engineer, and a kind and wise human as well.
Worth watching!
Ross is a really good engineer, and a kind and wise human as well.
Worth watching!
Oh, yay! I didn’t think my LoopConf talk recording was going to be free to watch. But it’s out on YouTube.
This was an epic labour of love. I’m so glad I can share it with you.
My 25 Lessons from 25 years of software development in (a little over) 25 minutes.
youtu.be/cyxQ82L298Y
This was an epic labour of love. I’m so glad I can share it with you.
My 25 Lessons from 25 years of software development in (a little over) 25 minutes.
youtu.be/cyxQ82L298Y
25 Lessons from 25 Years
YouTube video by LoopConf
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This is a fun talk, with lots of good lessons on becoming a more effective engineer. I took away several good reminders and a few new thoughts, and I've been doing this for a couple decades.
Ross is a really good engineer, and a kind and wise human as well.
Worth watching!
Ross is a really good engineer, and a kind and wise human as well.
Worth watching!
📚The Engineering Executive's Primer by @lethain.com.
A bit dry, but actionable and just as advertised. Good "start here" for lots of topics, and covers high-level mindset. Useful starter manual + handbook for those stepping into (or curious about) exec roles.
#booksky
A bit dry, but actionable and just as advertised. Good "start here" for lots of topics, and covers high-level mindset. Useful starter manual + handbook for those stepping into (or curious about) exec roles.
#booksky
The Engineering Executive's Primer: Impactful Technical…
As an engineering manager, you almost always have someo…
www.goodreads.com
October 22, 2025 at 4:02 PM
📚The Engineering Executive's Primer by @lethain.com.
A bit dry, but actionable and just as advertised. Good "start here" for lots of topics, and covers high-level mindset. Useful starter manual + handbook for those stepping into (or curious about) exec roles.
#booksky
A bit dry, but actionable and just as advertised. Good "start here" for lots of topics, and covers high-level mindset. Useful starter manual + handbook for those stepping into (or curious about) exec roles.
#booksky
I learned something about sed today!
I knew you could delete a range of line numbers:
sed '2,5d'
I didn't realize you could use patterns, too:
sed '/#Start/,/#End/d'
(If you don't know what sed is, and why this is cool, that's okay. In short, it edits text without user interaction.)
I knew you could delete a range of line numbers:
sed '2,5d'
I didn't realize you could use patterns, too:
sed '/#Start/,/#End/d'
(If you don't know what sed is, and why this is cool, that's okay. In short, it edits text without user interaction.)
October 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I learned something about sed today!
I knew you could delete a range of line numbers:
sed '2,5d'
I didn't realize you could use patterns, too:
sed '/#Start/,/#End/d'
(If you don't know what sed is, and why this is cool, that's okay. In short, it edits text without user interaction.)
I knew you could delete a range of line numbers:
sed '2,5d'
I didn't realize you could use patterns, too:
sed '/#Start/,/#End/d'
(If you don't know what sed is, and why this is cool, that's okay. In short, it edits text without user interaction.)
I wrote an article about an unreasonably useful question you can ask: "How do you know?"
Not challenging, but examining. And ways to become more certain.
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” - Mark Twain
Not challenging, but examining. And ways to become more certain.
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” - Mark Twain
How Do You Know? - Matt Schouten
I often ask a simple, unreasonably useful question: “how do you know?” I will ask that question of myself (“how […]
www.cybadger.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I wrote an article about an unreasonably useful question you can ask: "How do you know?"
Not challenging, but examining. And ways to become more certain.
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” - Mark Twain
Not challenging, but examining. And ways to become more certain.
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” - Mark Twain
It’s Fat Bear Week! 🐻
Go and “vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.”
#fatbearweek
Go and “vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.”
#fatbearweek
Fat Bear Week 2025
Fat Bear Week 2025
explore.org
September 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
It’s Fat Bear Week! 🐻
Go and “vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.”
#fatbearweek
Go and “vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.”
#fatbearweek
Reposted by Matt Schouten
Yeah I can read about something but how can I _really_ learn what it is? This was the question that struck me during a morning walk and this piece is an attempt to answer it.
ilonaborsos.com/en/posts/jak...
ilonaborsos.com/en/posts/jak...
How to understand something intuitively? | Ilona Borsos
Working as a product manager means that I constantly come across new topics and concepts that I need to absorb. Sometimes it’s just about quickly acquiring the knowledge necessary to complete a specif...
ilonaborsos.com
September 12, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Yeah I can read about something but how can I _really_ learn what it is? This was the question that struck me during a morning walk and this piece is an attempt to answer it.
ilonaborsos.com/en/posts/jak...
ilonaborsos.com/en/posts/jak...
Heard this arrangement of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" at a choir concert last spring. It's beautiful.
The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dyland (SATB Choir + Solo) - Arranged by Adam Podd
YouTube video by Hal Leonard Choral
youtu.be
September 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Heard this arrangement of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" at a choir concert last spring. It's beautiful.
If you assign a deadline, give a reason.
Deadlines drive behavior, and if you don't share the reason for a deadline, you might be driving the wrong behavior.
Deadlines drive behavior, and if you don't share the reason for a deadline, you might be driving the wrong behavior.
Why Deadlines? Why That Deadline? - Matt Schouten
It was about 10PM that Thursday night when I got back to my apartment. After a full day of work, […]
www.cybadger.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:05 PM
If you assign a deadline, give a reason.
Deadlines drive behavior, and if you don't share the reason for a deadline, you might be driving the wrong behavior.
Deadlines drive behavior, and if you don't share the reason for a deadline, you might be driving the wrong behavior.
📚 "This is Lean, Resolving the Efficiency Paradox" by Niklas Modig and Pär Åhlström.
Slim book, concisely defines "Lean" beyond "what Toyota does". Encourages deliberate choices and ongoing improvement.
Excellent read, despite some (translation?) clunkiness in wording.
#booksky #lean #agile
Slim book, concisely defines "Lean" beyond "what Toyota does". Encourages deliberate choices and ongoing improvement.
Excellent read, despite some (translation?) clunkiness in wording.
#booksky #lean #agile
This Is Lean: Resolving the Efficiency Paradox
This-is-Lean
www.goodreads.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
📚Radio Free Vermont by @billmckibben.bsky.social
A craft beer tour of Vermont hidden inside a climate fiction tale of backwoods local government, community, potential (inadvertent) secession, and biathlon.
Quirky, silly, fun to read, yet thought-provoking.
Good for fans of Parks & Rec or NPR. 🎙️
A craft beer tour of Vermont hidden inside a climate fiction tale of backwoods local government, community, potential (inadvertent) secession, and biathlon.
Quirky, silly, fun to read, yet thought-provoking.
Good for fans of Parks & Rec or NPR. 🎙️
Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance
"I hope no one secedes, but I also hope that Americans…
www.goodreads.com
September 9, 2025 at 7:09 PM
📚Radio Free Vermont by @billmckibben.bsky.social
A craft beer tour of Vermont hidden inside a climate fiction tale of backwoods local government, community, potential (inadvertent) secession, and biathlon.
Quirky, silly, fun to read, yet thought-provoking.
Good for fans of Parks & Rec or NPR. 🎙️
A craft beer tour of Vermont hidden inside a climate fiction tale of backwoods local government, community, potential (inadvertent) secession, and biathlon.
Quirky, silly, fun to read, yet thought-provoking.
Good for fans of Parks & Rec or NPR. 🎙️
Had way too many tabs. I still have way too many tabs, but now at least they're organized.
Window 1: email, two current-but-small projects (~15)
Window 2: to-read (~100)
Window 3: job search (and a few related to marketing my manager coaching biz, ~10)
Separating contexts to help my brain. 🧠
Window 1: email, two current-but-small projects (~15)
Window 2: to-read (~100)
Window 3: job search (and a few related to marketing my manager coaching biz, ~10)
Separating contexts to help my brain. 🧠
September 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Had way too many tabs. I still have way too many tabs, but now at least they're organized.
Window 1: email, two current-but-small projects (~15)
Window 2: to-read (~100)
Window 3: job search (and a few related to marketing my manager coaching biz, ~10)
Separating contexts to help my brain. 🧠
Window 1: email, two current-but-small projects (~15)
Window 2: to-read (~100)
Window 3: job search (and a few related to marketing my manager coaching biz, ~10)
Separating contexts to help my brain. 🧠
"If you're remote, ramble." Never tried having a personal ramblings channel for each team member like @stephango.com suggests.
But I have noticed remote teams are more effective the more they share—and yes, ramble—in public. It avoids isolation and keeps the humans connected.
But I have noticed remote teams are more effective the more they share—and yes, ramble—in public. It avoids isolation and keeps the humans connected.
If you're remote, ramble
A lightweight way to add ambient social cohesion for remote teams.
stephango.com
September 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM
"If you're remote, ramble." Never tried having a personal ramblings channel for each team member like @stephango.com suggests.
But I have noticed remote teams are more effective the more they share—and yes, ramble—in public. It avoids isolation and keeps the humans connected.
But I have noticed remote teams are more effective the more they share—and yes, ramble—in public. It avoids isolation and keeps the humans connected.
Here's a great list of ideas if you feel like you're too engrossed in that little glass rectangle in your pocket (or...the one you're staring at RIGHT NOW 😜).
Bonus idea: a friend of mine has started inviting people to have lunch at his house. "Come on over, let's make some sandwiches."
Bonus idea: a friend of mine has started inviting people to have lunch at his house. "Come on over, let's make some sandwiches."
The Analog Life: 50 Ways to Unplug and Feel Human Again
A toolkit of habits, routines and products to help you live more intentionally
www.insidehook.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Here's a great list of ideas if you feel like you're too engrossed in that little glass rectangle in your pocket (or...the one you're staring at RIGHT NOW 😜).
Bonus idea: a friend of mine has started inviting people to have lunch at his house. "Come on over, let's make some sandwiches."
Bonus idea: a friend of mine has started inviting people to have lunch at his house. "Come on over, let's make some sandwiches."
📚"Murder by Memory" by @oliviawaite.com, random library pickup.
It's a cozy murder mystery novella set on an interstellar ship. New bodies are available to passengers when needed—so how (and why?) did this murder happen?
Fun premise, interesting setting, well constructed, quick read.
#booksky
It's a cozy murder mystery novella set on an interstellar ship. New bodies are available to passengers when needed—so how (and why?) did this murder happen?
Fun premise, interesting setting, well constructed, quick read.
#booksky
Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, #1)
Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to …
www.goodreads.com
September 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
📚"Murder by Memory" by @oliviawaite.com, random library pickup.
It's a cozy murder mystery novella set on an interstellar ship. New bodies are available to passengers when needed—so how (and why?) did this murder happen?
Fun premise, interesting setting, well constructed, quick read.
#booksky
It's a cozy murder mystery novella set on an interstellar ship. New bodies are available to passengers when needed—so how (and why?) did this murder happen?
Fun premise, interesting setting, well constructed, quick read.
#booksky