IT Revolution
@itrevolution.com
Helping technology leaders succeed through books (The Phoenix Project, Team Topologies), events (DevOps Enterprise Summit), research, podcasts (The Idealcast), and more.
Malcolm Gladwell's tipping point framework maps perfectly to AI adoption. Mavens who burn tokens before coffee. Connectors who spread tips between projects. Salespeople who turn weekend hacks into demos. Often the same people who accelerated DevOps adoption.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 14, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Malcolm Gladwell's tipping point framework maps perfectly to AI adoption. Mavens who burn tokens before coffee. Connectors who spread tips between projects. Salespeople who turn weekend hacks into demos. Often the same people who accelerated DevOps adoption.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
Individual autonomy: single contributors make progress without waiting. Team autonomy: small groups operate independently. User autonomy: consumers control their experience.
All three matter for Progressive Delivery.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
All three matter for Progressive Delivery.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Individual autonomy: single contributors make progress without waiting. Team autonomy: small groups operate independently. User autonomy: consumers control their experience.
All three matter for Progressive Delivery.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
All three matter for Progressive Delivery.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
One betting company built identity verification in Python (a language they barely knew) using AI-assisted development. The demo was so good, cautious production leadership approved deployment. Then their vendor hiked prices. The experiment became a critical production service.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
One betting company built identity verification in Python (a language they barely knew) using AI-assisted development. The demo was so good, cautious production leadership approved deployment. Then their vendor hiked prices. The experiment became a critical production service.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
GitHub gives developers deployment autonomy but maintains responsibility for platform reliability. That's delegation, not abdication.
You can trust autonomy when you back it with engineering practices that minimize the cost of mistakes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
You can trust autonomy when you back it with engineering practices that minimize the cost of mistakes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
GitHub gives developers deployment autonomy but maintains responsibility for platform reliability. That's delegation, not abdication.
You can trust autonomy when you back it with engineering practices that minimize the cost of mistakes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
You can trust autonomy when you back it with engineering practices that minimize the cost of mistakes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Picture handing a chainsaw to someone who's only used a hatchet. Without guidance, they'll ruin it or accidentally destroy something, then tell everyone the tool is dangerous. This is exactly what happens with bad AI first experiences in engineering teams.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Picture handing a chainsaw to someone who's only used a hatchet. Without guidance, they'll ruin it or accidentally destroy something, then tell everyone the tool is dangerous. This is exactly what happens with bad AI first experiences in engineering teams.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
Your engineers are watching how YOU experiment with AI. Post snippets, brag about wins, share failures. When you hide behind policies, they sense fear. Visible optimism from leadership matters more than any training program.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 14, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Your engineers are watching how YOU experiment with AI. Post snippets, brag about wins, share failures. When you hide behind policies, they sense fear. Visible optimism from leadership matters more than any training program.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
Amazon's two-pizza team rule: teams should be small enough that two pizzas feed everyone and have everything needed to build, deploy, and maintain services independently.
It's all about where you place constraints.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
It's all about where you place constraints.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Amazon's two-pizza team rule: teams should be small enough that two pizzas feed everyone and have everything needed to build, deploy, and maintain services independently.
It's all about where you place constraints.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
It's all about where you place constraints.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Quinn Slack at Sourcegraph built a leaderboard tracking token usage across the company. Their VP of Finance topped the charts one week. Engineers saw non-technical colleagues succeeding and felt inspired to dive deeper. Visibility sparks curiosity, curiosity sparks competition.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 13, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Quinn Slack at Sourcegraph built a leaderboard tracking token usage across the company. Their VP of Finance topped the charts one week. Engineers saw non-technical colleagues succeeding and felt inspired to dive deeper. Visibility sparks curiosity, curiosity sparks competition.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
Most organizations try to control risk through approval processes instead of through engineering practices.
This creates false confidence while slowing everything down.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
This creates false confidence while slowing everything down.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Most organizations try to control risk through approval processes instead of through engineering practices.
This creates false confidence while slowing everything down.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
This creates false confidence while slowing everything down.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Before you schedule brown-bag lunches or commission analyst reports about AI adoption, open a chatbot and spend 10 hours coding with it yourself. Kim and Yegge are right—hands-on play will inform your strategy better than 100 pages of research.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
November 13, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Before you schedule brown-bag lunches or commission analyst reports about AI adoption, open a chatbot and spend 10 hours coding with it yourself. Kim and Yegge are right—hands-on play will inform your strategy better than 100 pages of research.
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
itrev.io/3LpQkPN
Autonomy only works with high psychological safety. Without it, you get either paralysis (people afraid to act) or recklessness (people avoiding scrutiny).
You can't mandate psychological safety, but you can build it through consistent responses to failure.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
You can't mandate psychological safety, but you can build it through consistent responses to failure.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Autonomy only works with high psychological safety. Without it, you get either paralysis (people afraid to act) or recklessness (people avoiding scrutiny).
You can't mandate psychological safety, but you can build it through consistent responses to failure.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
You can't mandate psychological safety, but you can build it through consistent responses to failure.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Adobe lets users choose which AI model version to use. Developers can experiment without company-wide approvals. Product teams decide exposure timing.
Innovation at the speed of development without forcing disruptive changes on users.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Innovation at the speed of development without forcing disruptive changes on users.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Adobe lets users choose which AI model version to use. Developers can experiment without company-wide approvals. Product teams decide exposure timing.
Innovation at the speed of development without forcing disruptive changes on users.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Innovation at the speed of development without forcing disruptive changes on users.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Delegation maintains accountability while transferring authority. Abdication transfers both.
Progressive Delivery advocates radical delegation, not abdication. You give teams power but retain responsibility for outcomes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Progressive Delivery advocates radical delegation, not abdication. You give teams power but retain responsibility for outcomes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Delegation maintains accountability while transferring authority. Abdication transfers both.
Progressive Delivery advocates radical delegation, not abdication. You give teams power but retain responsibility for outcomes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Progressive Delivery advocates radical delegation, not abdication. You give teams power but retain responsibility for outcomes.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Trust = (Competence + Reliability + Alignment) / Risk
This equation determines how much autonomy teams can handle. Build competence, demonstrate reliability, maintain alignment, and reduce risk through engineering.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
This equation determines how much autonomy teams can handle. Build competence, demonstrate reliability, maintain alignment, and reduce risk through engineering.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Trust = (Competence + Reliability + Alignment) / Risk
This equation determines how much autonomy teams can handle. Build competence, demonstrate reliability, maintain alignment, and reduce risk through engineering.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
This equation determines how much autonomy teams can handle. Build competence, demonstrate reliability, maintain alignment, and reduce risk through engineering.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Before Git developers worked serially, only one person could modify code at a time. Then, Git enabled parallel autonomous work. That wasn't just a technical improvement—it changed how software work could be organized.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Before Git developers worked serially, only one person could modify code at a time. Then, Git enabled parallel autonomous work. That wasn't just a technical improvement—it changed how software work could be organized.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Autonomy without alignment = chaos. Alignment without autonomy = stagnation.
Most organizations lean heavily toward alignment and wonder why innovation moves so slowly.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Most organizations lean heavily toward alignment and wonder why innovation moves so slowly.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 10, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Autonomy without alignment = chaos. Alignment without autonomy = stagnation.
Most organizations lean heavily toward alignment and wonder why innovation moves so slowly.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Most organizations lean heavily toward alignment and wonder why innovation moves so slowly.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
GitHub deploys over 100 times per day with no approval committees. Sounds like chaos? It's actually more stable than most enterprises that deploy monthly with extensive approvals.
The secret is moving constraints to the right places.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
The secret is moving constraints to the right places.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
GitHub deploys over 100 times per day with no approval committees. Sounds like chaos? It's actually more stable than most enterprises that deploy monthly with extensive approvals.
The secret is moving constraints to the right places.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
The secret is moving constraints to the right places.
itrev.io/48PDd4d
Fans of Mik Kersten's game-changing book Project to Product will be excited to hear about his new book, Output to Outcome: An Operating Model for the Age of AI, which will be out next summer.
Preorder the paperback now, and stay tuned for info on the ebook and audiobook!
itrev.io/4oQ0eZf
Preorder the paperback now, and stay tuned for info on the ebook and audiobook!
itrev.io/4oQ0eZf
November 8, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Fans of Mik Kersten's game-changing book Project to Product will be excited to hear about his new book, Output to Outcome: An Operating Model for the Age of AI, which will be out next summer.
Preorder the paperback now, and stay tuned for info on the ebook and audiobook!
itrev.io/4oQ0eZf
Preorder the paperback now, and stay tuned for info on the ebook and audiobook!
itrev.io/4oQ0eZf
Bill's adventures continue in the second volume of The Phoenix Project Graphic Novel! It's been a delight seeing these familiar characters come to life with Mike Collin's skilled illustrations, and we can't wait for volume 3...
November 8, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Bill's adventures continue in the second volume of The Phoenix Project Graphic Novel! It's been a delight seeing these familiar characters come to life with Mike Collin's skilled illustrations, and we can't wait for volume 3...
Abundance isn't about unlimited spending. It's about removing friction from innovation before your competitors figure it out.
First of four pillars in Progressive Delivery: itrev.io/4ngWheX
First of four pillars in Progressive Delivery: itrev.io/4ngWheX
November 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Abundance isn't about unlimited spending. It's about removing friction from innovation before your competitors figure it out.
First of four pillars in Progressive Delivery: itrev.io/4ngWheX
First of four pillars in Progressive Delivery: itrev.io/4ngWheX
We're so excited to be publishing Hyperadaptive: Rewiring the Enterprise to Become AI-Native by Melissa M. Reeve, which will be hitting shelves next spring. The paperback is up for preorder now, and it will also be available as an ebook and audiobook.
buff.ly/ZTs14pk
buff.ly/ZTs14pk
November 7, 2025 at 7:01 PM
We're so excited to be publishing Hyperadaptive: Rewiring the Enterprise to Become AI-Native by Melissa M. Reeve, which will be hitting shelves next spring. The paperback is up for preorder now, and it will also be available as an ebook and audiobook.
buff.ly/ZTs14pk
buff.ly/ZTs14pk
Every minute spent waiting for resources is a minute not spent solving user problems.
In today's competitive environment, you can't afford those minutes anymore.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
In today's competitive environment, you can't afford those minutes anymore.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
November 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Every minute spent waiting for resources is a minute not spent solving user problems.
In today's competitive environment, you can't afford those minutes anymore.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
In today's competitive environment, you can't afford those minutes anymore.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
The upcoming AI revolution will separate winners from losers based on who can experiment with multiple models and iterate rapidly on feedback.
You can't do that with scarcity thinking.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
You can't do that with scarcity thinking.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
November 6, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The upcoming AI revolution will separate winners from losers based on who can experiment with multiple models and iterate rapidly on feedback.
You can't do that with scarcity thinking.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
You can't do that with scarcity thinking.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
Limited testing environments = longer cycles. Resource justification = discouraged experiments. Risk aversion = competitive disadvantage.
The things that feel safe are making you vulnerable.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
The things that feel safe are making you vulnerable.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
November 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Limited testing environments = longer cycles. Resource justification = discouraged experiments. Risk aversion = competitive disadvantage.
The things that feel safe are making you vulnerable.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
The things that feel safe are making you vulnerable.
itrev.io/4ngWheX
Did you hear about the second edition of Team Topologies? The book is back and better than ever with new case studies and next-level insights from the authors.
Order today from your favorite bookseller!
Order today from your favorite bookseller!
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Did you hear about the second edition of Team Topologies? The book is back and better than ever with new case studies and next-level insights from the authors.
Order today from your favorite bookseller!
Order today from your favorite bookseller!