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This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Personal

Cable Modem Wonderland

I’ve been offline for a few days. AT&T has dropped cable modem service due to a dispute with the failing Excite@Home ISP. About 850,000 of AT&T’s 1.4 million cable modem subscribers come over teh @Home network, and all of them are without service. AT&T is converting all of these subscribers over to their own network, but I’ve been without service since late Friday night. Right now I’m dialed into an ISP’s free trial service. I’d forgotten how slow and cranky dial up can be.

AT&T called earlier this evening to tell me that my service should be back on Thursday. That will be nice. Dial-up service with only one phone line is a pain. Since I’m job hunting, I need to balance the time I spend online looking for a job with keeping the line free so prospective employers can call.

Recently Written

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10 OKR traps and how to avoid them
May 8: I’ve helped lots of teams implement OKRs or fix a broken OKR process. Here are the 10 most common problems I see, and what to do instead.
AI is Smart, But Wisdom Requires Judgement
May 3: AI can process data at lightning speed, but wisdom comes from human judgment—picking the best imperfect option when facts alone don’t point the way.
Decoding Product Leadership Titles
Mar 18: Not all product leadership titles mean what they sound like. ‘Head of Product’ can mean anything from a senior PM to a true VP. Here’s how to tell the difference.
What branding can teach about culture
Jan 8: Culture is your company’s point of view in action—a framework guiding behavior, even in the unknown. You can’t copy it; it must reflect your unique perspective.
Think Systems, not Symptoms
Dec 15: Piecemeal process creation frustrates teams and slows work. Stop patching problems and start solving systems. Adopting a systems thinking approach helps you design processes that are efficient, aligned with goals, and truly add value.
Your Policies Aren’t Your Culture
Dec 13: Policies guide behavior, but culture is the lived norms and values of your team. Policies reflect culture -- they don’t define it. Netflix’s parental leave shift didn’t change its culture of freedom and responsibility. It clarified how to live it.
Lighten Your Process Burden
Dec 7: Everyone hates oppressive processes, but somehow we keep managing to create them.

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