Slight Reliability

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How do you ingest and store petabytes of telemetry every day in a cost effective and high performing way? How can you do this in a way which gives engineers the operational data they need to keep services running? How has this challenge be tackled in the past and what's been the evolution?
This week I'm joined by Observe co-founder Jacob Leverich to go deep into this topic. We discuss...
💾 A deep-dive into the evolution of telemetry storage and where it's going
💽 The advent of generic storage that handles metrics, logs, and traces well
🫶 Having empathy for people who need great observability but struggle to obtain it
🤲 Not holding telemetry data hostage
✍️ Lessons from 8 years of running a start-up
...and much more.
You can find Jacob on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-leverich/
And find out more about Observe here:
https://www.observeinc.com/
In the episode Jacob referred to Google's Dremel analysis platform: https://research.google/pubs/dremel-interactive-analysis-of-web-scale-datasets-2/
And Apache Iceberg: https://iceberg.apache.org/
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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How do you take all the utopian ideas you read about in books and apply them to the reality of the organisations we work in?
This week I'm joined by leader, mentor, and coach Rob Roe to tackle this question. We discuss...
🌪️ The pitfalls of functional silos
🤫 Is the annual budget a load of rubbish?
🍃 How our management promotion systems are often broken
🫂 The power of virtual teams
📗 Team interaction models
...and much more.
You can find Rob on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinsonroe/
References from the episode:
Rob's YouTube channel "Unlocking Change": https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingchange
Action Inquiry by Bill Torbert: https://gla.global/the-glp/action-inquiry/
Seven Transformations of Leadership: https://hbr.org/2005/04/seven-transformations-of-leadership
Trademe Team Topologies case study: https://teamtopologies.com/industry-examples/trade-me-journey-towards-a-thinnest-viable-platform
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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We spend a third of our life at work. It needs to be something we enjoy and something with purpose. Our work experience also impacts our family, friends, and our personal lives.
This week I'm joined by tech engineer, leader, and author Richard Bown to explore this and many other topics including...
🌪️ The difficulty in applying the ideas we read in books in real organisations
🤫 When you want to implement a thing you can't talk directly about the thing
🍃 Does change require senior leadership? Can it be grassroots?
🫂 The importance of looking after yourself at work
📗 The experience of publishing a novel
...and much more.
You can find Richard's book "Human Software - A Life in I.T" here: https://humansoftwarebook.com/
...and you can find Richard on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bown/
References from the episode (excluding some of the TV shows we mentioned):
Rosegarden Linux music composition editing environment: https://www.rosegardenmusic.com/
Managing Humans by Michael Lopp: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/managing-humans-biting/9781430243144/
Rands leadership Slack: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113934.The_Goal
Local Hero (1983): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085859/
Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet: https://davidmarquet.com/books/turn-the-ship-around-book/
Scrivener (book writing tool): https://scrivener.app/
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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When you become a people leader there is no manual. How can we not only learn leadership skills but practice them and build leadership muscle?
This week I'm joined by Orion Group Limited co-founder Xiao Zhang to discuss...
👑 The challenge of transitioning into people leadership
💪 How we don't get fit by watching other people work out
⌚ Pausing as an act of active leadership
🌌 The power of slack time for creativity and systems thinking
🌊 Going below the waterline
...and much more.
You can find Xiao on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiao-zhang-nz/
You can find Orion Group Limited here: https://www.oriongrouplimited.com/
Xiao mentioned Brené Brown's new book Strong Ground https://brenebrown.com/book/strong-ground/
I mentioned The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/
I couldn't find the article on slack time but this is pretty good: https://buildrightside.com/problem-upgrade-chart
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre

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This week I kick off the 2026 season with some news and we explore how to prepare for a new role.
You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):
https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/
You can find Stephen on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre