What MMA taught me about working in tech
summary
Mixed martial arts yields ten concrete lessons for engineering: prioritize the right people and avoid toxic “brilliant jerks”; run a codified post-mortem roundup (example: reports emailed company‑wide, 4–5 times a week) to make mistakes safe; treat launches like fight camps with two‑week sprints and tapering; sleep, diet and fundamentals matter; embrace diversity; use pen‑testing tools like nmap scans and plan to change plans; expect to get punched and rely on your prep and teammates to recover.
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chapters (17)
- 0:00Intro
- 1:47Ancient history
- 6:50Elephant in the room
- 8:10Not a vacuum
- 8:33The right people
- 12:03The right environment
- 19:47Getting enough rest
- 21:29Burnout is a real thing
- 22:46Burnout is like over-training
- 24:02Diet is everything
- 28:45Learn the basics
- 32:33Embrace diversity
- 33:27A diverse fundamental
- 34:39Tech needs diversity to succeed
- 36:55Penetration testing (seriously)
- 41:33Plan to change plans
- 42:36Validation is a trap
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