19 Things I’ve Found to be True Over 19 Years in Tech.

After 19 years of working at Google, I’ve decided to embark on a new adventure. The team has handed off the 2nd edition of the Site Reliability Engineering Book to O’Reilly’s production process, so it felt like this was the right time.

I will continue to fly the flag for SRE best practices, especially as the SRE Book 2nd edition comes out in just a matter of weeks. As someone who believes strongly that you can SRE anything, I will write a proper retrospective on my career after I’ve had some time to unwind and reflect. Once an SRE, always an SRE!

For now, I’ll leave you with these 19 things I’ve found to be true in my 19 years working in Big Tech.

1. Hope is not a strategy. These are wise words coined by Ben Treynor Sloss, internalize them.
2. It’s not the perks, it’s the people that matter. Never forget it. 
3. The pendulum always swings. If you see a program you like, jump on it. No opportunity wasted!.
4. Your network is your superpower, invest in it thoughtfully and consistently.
5. Being reliable is your most powerful currency, it’s what trust and credibility is built upon.
6. If you just get things done the rest will follow. Hypothesize, experiment, course correct and continue. A strategy is worth nothing if you don’t execute against it.
7. Work expands to fill the time you give it. Set appropriate boundaries.
8. If you don’t set and defend your boundaries, people will step on them and you. Apply your own oxygen mask before helping others.
9. Scope will always creep if you let it. Don’t let it.
10. Capacity planning and load shedding are great life hacks. SRE best practices aren’t just for software.
11. It’s important to trust but verify. Support the work, check the math. Use AI, but don’t let AI make you lazy.
12. Where there’s a will there’s a way, especially if you think both creatively and pragmatically. 
13. Assuming good intent leads to better outcomes, with less drama, and less stress as important positive side effects.
14. It’s only useful to (respectfully) pick the battles you are equipped to fight. Let the rest go. Think seriously about the size of the boulder you are proposing to roll up the hill and who you have lined up to help you before you start pushing. 
15. Focus on doing what you love and the rest will work itself out. The popular or traditional choice isn’t always the optimal choice for you.
16. You must advocate for yourself even if it feels uncomfortable. Give your manager and your supporters the tools and data they need so they can advocate for you. Be the signal that cuts through the noise.
17. Your manager has an outsized influence on your career. Seek out the good ones and stick with them.
18. Change is (always) uncomfortably exciting, but (usually) not as scary as you think it will be.
19. It’s helpful to leave a trail of breadcrumbs. “Future You” will always thank you for it.

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