When the punch list is the gift.

Hey

Reader —

I've been thinking about beginnings this week. We kicked off a brand new project with a community health organization, ran a demo for another client that's been months in the making, and documented a fresh batch of user stories for an enterprise platform. Three completely different starting lines, all in the same five days.

What struck me is how different each "beginning" felt. One was the slow, careful kind — audits and stakeholder conversations and alignment sessions. Another was the electric kind, where months of invisible work suddenly became a real thing people could click through. And the third was the quiet kind, where good documentation sets the stage for someone else's success. I used to think I was a "launch day" person. Turns out I might be a "first day" person instead.

3 Things I'm Thinking About

1

Podcasts becoming entertainment brands

Goalhanger just hit 250k paying subscribers. When I produced shows for NPR and PRI, I would have loved direct access to members like that. The creator-to-audience relationship is finally catching up to where it should have been all along. Let a million member-supported shows bloom.

2

The AI hiring slop problem

The Markup published a piece about fake candidates and AI-generated applications flooding hiring pipelines. I've been helping consulting clients recruit this season and can confirm — real developers have portfolios they can't wait to show off. They talk around NDA terms by anonymizing case studies. So many legit candidates are getting buried by the noise.

3

The tipping point (literally)

HBR ran a piece arguing that the tipping backlash isn't about generosity — it's a customer experience problem. Businesses are monetizing empathy, and both workers and customers feel exploited. As someone who thinks about CX all day, this one stuck with me. When the transaction itself becomes the friction, you've lost the plot.

One Thing I Learned This Week

The punch list is the gift. After our client demo this week, we walked out with a detailed list of fifteen-plus remaining templates to build. My first instinct was to see that as a mountain of work. But then I realized: a client who gives you a specific, thoughtful punch list is a client who's invested. Vague feedback means they're not paying attention. Detailed feedback means they can see the finish line and they want to get there with you.

Links That Made Me Stop Scrolling

When Tipping Becomes a Customer Experience Problem

Harvard Business Review

The tipping backlash isn't really about generosity — it's about businesses monetizing empathy at the point of sale. When the transaction itself becomes friction, everyone loses.

Kimwolf Botnet Lurking in Corporate, Govt. Networks

Krebs on Security

Krebs is always worth your time, and this one's a reminder that the infrastructure we trust is only as strong as the weakest link in its supply chain. Sobering stuff for anyone managing enterprise systems.

We Posted a Job. Then Came the AI Slop.

The Markup

A firsthand look at what happens when you post an open role in 2026. Fake candidates, recycled portfolios, and recruiter scams. The hiring pipeline has a signal-to-noise problem that's only getting worse.

Goalhanger Hits 250k Paying Subs

The Media Club

Podcasts are starting to look a lot more like entertainment brands. The direct creator-to-audience model is finally maturing, and it's beautiful to watch.

From the Archives

Too Much Content (2016)

Everyone's feeling nostalgic for 2016 this week, so here's one from the vault that still holds up. Ten years later, the "too much content" problem has only gotten louder — and the advice is the same.

Read it again →

Currently Booking: Strategy Sessions

I've got a few spots open for 1:1 strategy sessions this quarter. If you're a UX leader navigating a tricky organizational challenge, a founder trying to figure out your next hire, or just someone who wants to think through a problem with an outside perspective — let's talk.

Book a Session

Joe Taylor Jr.