Is Your Throttle Stuck on Open?

I was in a conversation with some peers about our rates of information consumption and how that compares to our rate of actually digesting it. Asking ourselves how we can turn it all into meaningful impact for ourselves and for customers. That chat reminded me of a car problem I had a few years ago.

My daily driving vehicle was in need of new tires and was going to be unavailable for a few days so I was driving a loaner car. Even though the loaner was well broken in, as evidenced by the odometer, I was grateful to keep with my packed schedule of in person meetings. On the day of the incident I had left the first meeting and was driving 30 minutes to the next one. Waze navigation suggested some back country roads instead of the normal route due to heavy construction traffic. As I came around a corner the car suddenly lurched forward, the engine revving so high that in a split second the tachometer pegged into the red. Regardless of my brake stomping efforts, I wasn’t slowing down. I was speeding up. There I was speeding faster and faster down winding country roads not knowing what I’d be coming up to around the next corner. So I made a command decision. Pick a property, aim for it and slam the car into park as soon as I’m off the road. Luckily, it worked. I crossed the road’s edge line and came to a skidding stop when I slammed into park on an unsuspecting farmer’s property. After a tow and some time with a mechanic the cause was determined to be that a piece of plastic on the throttle mechanism had broken.

Our rates of information consumption as compared to meaningful digestion feel similarly out of control like that stuck throttle. Sure, we’re moving at a high rate of speed, but in what direction and to what outcome?

Our job as network engineers designing data centers in these AI-related builds feels similarly chaotic. All speed, lack of directionality and concern about where we’ll end up. Will we consume the right information at the right time? Are we actively processing that information to build the TCO-aware solutions that allow a business to focus on the cost and business value of Inference and token economics?

As leaders, what are we doing to ensure our teams are heading in the right direction and at the appropriate speed? It is in resolving challenges like this one that I apply the team approach. Clearly the technological road ahead keeps adding curves. We can’t expect individuals to navigate worthwhile research papers, case studies and marketing and make the time to digest it all. Whether you view this as taking a village or through the lens of Napoleon Hill's recommendation of building a Master Mind Group, a collective approach is a way to fill the gaps in any one individual’s knowledge. The job of a leader isn’t to consume everything. It’s to build a system that converts signals into action for the team.

To that end, some friends and I started a study group that we call SundAI School. We meet every Sunday morning to discuss the past week’s news, product updates and deployment stories. Each of us brings a unique perspective. I treasure these weekly meetings, and am always looking to match the value my peers bring and contribute meaningfully to each discussion.

A good skipper doesn’t let the ship race full steam ahead without knowing the next waypoint. I’m curious, what systems have you built for yourself or your team to ensure no one is speeding uncontrollably toward the next curve?