Hello, I'm Jonathan Cutrell.

Engineering manager with a chosen bias for long-term thinking.

The Paradox of Transcendence

One of the most consistent messages you will find from world-class performers is a refocusing on fundamentals. The intuitive mental model…

Using Docker for Gatsby local development

After fighting a bit with my work-issued computer not wanting to build my Gatsby site, I finally decided to bite the bullet and build out a…

Thinking Machine

My perpetual goal is to build a better thinking machine. I've gone back and forth on this for a long time. What do I want to get better at…

Patterns for Long-Term Remote Work

Talking about remote work is en vogue right now, and rightfully so. Coronavirus poses a threat to workplaces around the world, some…

How Remote First Companies are Antifragile

Modern workplaces are being forced to respond with caution as COVID-19 spreads worldwide. As of the writing of this post, over 100k cases…

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Why Long-Term?

Long-term thinking requires a paradigm shift.

Long-term thinking is a forcing function that powerfully aligns organizations and individuals. Thinking long term means valuing:

People over products
Character over skills
Trends over spikes
Norms over exceptions
Teaching over showing
Philosophy over tactics
Habits over heroics
Smooth over fast
Data over anecdotes
Impact over hype
Causes over symptoms

Most people have a bias for short-term execution. This can be necessary for survival. Only exceptional ventures optimize for the long-term.

My Values

Optimize for the Long-Term

Cultivate Understanding

Fearless Bravery

Go Happy

Current Work

Director of Technology, PBS

Supporting engineers responsible for content delivery services for millions of end users.

Host, Developer Tea

A top-100 tech podcast with over 15m all-time downloads by listeners in over 200 countries.
Latest episode: Refactor Your Labeling Techniques

Co-founder, Spec.fm

I co-founded a podcast network called Spec for designers and developers who want to level up in their careers. Spec hosts episodes from 13 different podcasts today, with millions of listens.