<![CDATA[Root Cause]]>Everyone talks about the future of tech. Few talk about the consequences.

ROOT CAUSE brings together senior operators. Engineers, DevOps leaders, founders, former CTOs. To dissect the real stories behind big technical decisions.

What happens after the migration? After the pivot? After the AI integration?

Our show is dedicated to answering what nobody tells you about scaling systems, what nobody tells you about leadership or the vicious hype cycles.

If you’ve built, broken, fixed, and rebuilt systems at scale, this show is for you.

Let’s root cause this.

]]>https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Sat, 18 Jul 2026 06:18:56 GMTMon, 11 May 2026 12:14:42 GMT60Nune<p>Everyone talks about the future of tech. Few talk about the consequences.<br /></p><p>ROOT CAUSE brings together senior operators. Engineers, DevOps leaders, founders, former CTOs. To dissect the real stories behind big technical decisions.</p><p></p><p>What happens after the migration? After the pivot? After the AI integration?</p><p></p><p>Our show is dedicated to answering what nobody tells you about scaling systems, what nobody tells you about leadership or the vicious hype cycles.</p><p></p><p>If you’ve built, broken, fixed, and rebuilt systems at scale, this show is for you.<br /></p><p>Let’s root cause this.</p>episodicNunenisabek@envimate.comno<![CDATA[Root Cause of Architectural Thinking]]>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Barry O'Reilly, 25 years in software architecture, former chief architect at Microsoft, startup CTO, and the creator of Residuality Theory, to get to the root cause of what senior architects actually do when they say they run on gut feeling. When Microsoft asked Barry to teach junior architects how he did his job, he discovered he couldn't describe his own methods, and neither could any of the senior architects he asked. That frustration turned into two books and a PhD in complexity science. We dig into why a random simulation of stress produces architectures that survive events nobody predicted, why equirements and risk management quietly limit the very thinking they were supposed to support, why our industry spreads ideas through charisma instead of scientific proof, and whether an LLM can ever produce an architecture. If you've ever been told "that's just experience," this episode puts words on it.

00:00 Cold Open: The Architect vs the Implementer

02:06 Guest Introduction: Structuring the Magic

03:00 Pure Mathematics: Help or Trap?

06:20 Think Less, Do More? The Industry's Thinking Problem

09:09 Why Software Isn't Developing as a Science

12:26 Pop Culture, Gurus, and the Hype Machine

15:09 "My Industry Is Low Stakes": Why Quality Still Pays

17:54 Two Books That Decide If You're an Architect

22:09 Creativity vs Craft: Naming the Magic

25:39 Residuality Theory: The Marbles Analogy

31:59 How to Start: The Naive Architecture and Random Stress

36:35 Attractor States: Why Stressing Works

39:30 All Architecture Is Stress

44:14 The Trouble with Non-Functional Requirements

48:49 Should Architects Become Domain Experts?

52:02 Does This Apply to Small Systems and Startups?

57:36 Answering the Critics: "We've Always Done This"

01:01:28 Stressor Analysis: Architecture Never Stops

01:04:57 Shared Language and Reflective Practice

01:07:04 Has AI Made Code Cheaper?

01:12:54 Can LLM Agents Do Residuality?

01:18:43 The Walk Around the Problem Is the Point

01:20:40 First Steps into Residuality

01:25:18 Book Recommendations

01:29:39 A Benign Pride: Fly Fishing at 34 Meters

01:32:01 Question for the Next Guest and Closing

Find Barry at:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-o-reilly-b924657/

• Barry’s first book: https://leanpub.com/residuality

• Barry’s second book: https://leanpub.com/architectsparadox

• The intro talk you should watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPUoiG6w_U

Find me (Nune) at:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/

* Substack: https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/

]]>2ad59f19-46f0-40b4-a1c9-2bae98be6890Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:08:22 GMT<p>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Barry O'Reilly, 25 years in software architecture, former chief architect at Microsoft, startup CTO, and the creator of Residuality Theory, to get to the root cause of what senior architects actually do when they say they run on gut feeling. When Microsoft asked Barry to teach junior architects how he did his job, he discovered he couldn't describe his own methods, and neither could any of the senior architects he asked. That frustration turned into two books and a PhD in complexity science. We dig into why a random simulation of stress produces architectures that survive events nobody predicted, why equirements and risk management quietly limit the very thinking they were supposed to support, why our industry spreads ideas through charisma instead of scientific proof, and whether an LLM can ever produce an architecture. If you've ever been told "that's just experience," this episode puts words on it.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Cold Open: The Architect vs the Implementer</p><p>02:06 Guest Introduction: Structuring the Magic</p><p>03:00 Pure Mathematics: Help or Trap?</p><p>06:20 Think Less, Do More? The Industry's Thinking Problem</p><p>09:09 Why Software Isn't Developing as a Science</p><p>12:26 Pop Culture, Gurus, and the Hype Machine</p><p>15:09 "My Industry Is Low Stakes": Why Quality Still Pays</p><p>17:54 Two Books That Decide If You're an Architect</p><p>22:09 Creativity vs Craft: Naming the Magic</p><p>25:39 Residuality Theory: The Marbles Analogy</p><p>31:59 How to Start: The Naive Architecture and Random Stress</p><p>36:35 Attractor States: Why Stressing Works</p><p>39:30 All Architecture Is Stress</p><p>44:14 The Trouble with Non-Functional Requirements</p><p>48:49 Should Architects Become Domain Experts?</p><p>52:02 Does This Apply to Small Systems and Startups?</p><p>57:36 Answering the Critics: "We've Always Done This"</p><p>01:01:28 Stressor Analysis: Architecture Never Stops</p><p>01:04:57 Shared Language and Reflective Practice</p><p>01:07:04 Has AI Made Code Cheaper?</p><p>01:12:54 Can LLM Agents Do Residuality?</p><p>01:18:43 The Walk Around the Problem Is the Point</p><p>01:20:40 First Steps into Residuality</p><p>01:25:18 Book Recommendations</p><p>01:29:39 A Benign Pride: Fly Fishing at 34 Meters</p><p>01:32:01 Question for the Next Guest and Closing</p><p></p><p>Find Barry at:</p><p> • LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-o-reilly-b924657/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-o-reilly-b924657/</a></p><p> • Barry’s first book: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leanpub.com/residuality" target="_blank">https://leanpub.com/residuality</a></p><p> • Barry’s second book: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leanpub.com/architectsparadox" target="_blank">https://leanpub.com/architectsparadox</a></p><p> • The intro talk you should watch: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPUoiG6w_U" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPUoiG6w_U</a></p><p></p><p>Find me (Nune) at:</p><p>* LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/</a> </p><p>* Substack: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/</a></p>no01:35:0016Root Cause of Architectural Thinkingfull<![CDATA[Root Cause of a Healthy Team]]>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Eric Lubow, a CTO who treats organizations like distributed systems, which means the root cause of a broken team is usually a design problem, not a people problem. Eric has spent more than 20 years building and repairing teams and platforms, from co-founding SimpleReach to running engineering through dozens of acquisitions at Thrasio, and he is now Chief Product and Technology Officer at Mapp. He is also a jiu-jitsu coach, and that shapes how he leads. We get to the root cause of what actually makes a team healthy, why becoming a manager means changing your definition of done, and why ceding control is the part nobody warns you about. We talk about leading AI agents the way you would lead a person, why silent heroes quietly turn into silent burnouts, and how to hire into a team instead of into a vacuum. Honest and specific, with none of the leadership-content platitudes, including the lonely parts of the job most people at the top never say out loud.

00:00 Introduction: What Makes a Healthy Team

03:05 Jiu-Jitsu, Languages, and a Healthy Ego

08:23 Martial Arts, Balance, and "Everything Is Maintenance"

13:12 Teams as Distributed Systems and Conway's Law

16:38 The IC-to-Manager Transition: Ceding Control

19:10 Delegation and a New Definition of Done

22:24 Giving Away Your Legos

23:49 Can You Learn to Be a Manager?

25:21 Don't Just Become the Opposite of Your Bad Manager

27:54 Leading AI Agents Like You Lead People

31:55 Will AI Replace People? Force Multiplier, Not Replacement

36:45 What Actually Makes a Team Healthy

38:56 Adoption Curves and Why Teams Mimic Leaders

42:06 A Culture of Sharing vs Shadow IT and Shadow AI

47:41 The Hero Problem: Silent Heroes, Silent Burnout

53:20 Burnout, Boundaries, and Trusting the Team

55:33 Hiring Into a Team, Not a Vacuum

1:02:15 The Loneliness of Leadership

1:06:48 Why "I Don't Know" Is a Sign of Strength

1:09:13 Book Recommendations: Sci-Fi and Leadership

1:13:49 What Eric Would Tell His Younger Self

1:15:45 The Most Benign Thing You're Proud Of

Find Eric at:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eblubow/

• His blog: https://eric.lubow.org (which heavily influenced this episode)

• Beyond the Belt podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthebeltpod

Find me (Nune) at:

]]>611845e7-ba76-4f54-9884-e537b054f994Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:29:20 GMT<p>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Eric Lubow, a CTO who treats organizations like distributed systems, which means the root cause of a broken team is usually a design problem, not a people problem. Eric has spent more than 20 years building and repairing teams and platforms, from co-founding SimpleReach to running engineering through dozens of acquisitions at Thrasio, and he is now Chief Product and Technology Officer at Mapp. He is also a jiu-jitsu coach, and that shapes how he leads. We get to the root cause of what actually makes a team healthy, why becoming a manager means changing your definition of done, and why ceding control is the part nobody warns you about. We talk about leading AI agents the way you would lead a person, why silent heroes quietly turn into silent burnouts, and how to hire into a team instead of into a vacuum. Honest and specific, with none of the leadership-content platitudes, including the lonely parts of the job most people at the top never say out loud.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction: What Makes a Healthy Team</p><p>03:05 Jiu-Jitsu, Languages, and a Healthy Ego</p><p>08:23 Martial Arts, Balance, and "Everything Is Maintenance"</p><p>13:12 Teams as Distributed Systems and Conway's Law</p><p>16:38 The IC-to-Manager Transition: Ceding Control</p><p>19:10 Delegation and a New Definition of Done</p><p>22:24 Giving Away Your Legos</p><p>23:49 Can You Learn to Be a Manager?</p><p>25:21 Don't Just Become the Opposite of Your Bad Manager</p><p>27:54 Leading AI Agents Like You Lead People</p><p>31:55 Will AI Replace People? Force Multiplier, Not Replacement</p><p>36:45 What Actually Makes a Team Healthy</p><p>38:56 Adoption Curves and Why Teams Mimic Leaders</p><p>42:06 A Culture of Sharing vs Shadow IT and Shadow AI</p><p>47:41 The Hero Problem: Silent Heroes, Silent Burnout</p><p>53:20 Burnout, Boundaries, and Trusting the Team</p><p>55:33 Hiring Into a Team, Not a Vacuum</p><p>1:02:15 The Loneliness of Leadership</p><p>1:06:48 Why "I Don't Know" Is a Sign of Strength</p><p>1:09:13 Book Recommendations: Sci-Fi and Leadership</p><p>1:13:49 What Eric Would Tell His Younger Self</p><p>1:15:45 The Most Benign Thing You're Proud Of</p><p></p><p>Find Eric at:</p><p> • Linkedin: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eblubow/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/eblubow/</a></p><p> • His blog: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://eric.lubow.org" target="_blank">https://eric.lubow.org</a> (which heavily influenced this episode)</p><p> • Beyond the Belt podcast: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthebeltpod" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthebeltpod</a></p><p>Find me (Nune) at:</p><ul><li>LinkedIn<i>:</i> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/</a> </li><li>Substack<i>:</i> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/</a></li></ul>no01:18:4015Root Cause of a Healthy Teamfull<![CDATA[Root Cause of Solopreneur Success: Before, During, and After AI]]>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Orel Zilberman, the solo builder behind WriteStack, the biggest tool out there for Substack creators. Orel spent 599 days shipping around ten products that made zero dollars, then picked one thing, stuck with it for six months, and turned it into a six-figure business. He has lived three versions of solo building in three years: before the current AI tooling, as it arrived, and now. We get to the root cause of what AI actually changed for one-person companies and what it didn't. Building got faster, but knowing what to build, and sticking with it long enough to find out if it works, is exactly as hard as it always was. Honest and unfiltered, including the messy parts most "become an entrepreneur" content leaves out.

00:00 Introduction to Root Cause and Solo Building

04:57 The Journey of Building WriteStack

06:42 What is SubStack and WriteStack?

09:28 "Why Bother" if the platform / big players will replace you

13:14 "Why bother" if AI will replace all SaaS

14:46 Knowing WHAT to Build and How to Distribute

18:30 Finding the Right Idea to Stick With

23:22 Learning from Opportunities and Failures

26:10 Navigating the Cold Start Problem

28:10 Leveraging AI Tools for Productivity

30:49 The Future of Software Engineering in the Age of AI

33:53 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

37:20 Being Better Than Most

38:49 Book Recommendations and Lifelong Learning

41:04 Reflections on Education and Career Choices

Find Orel at:

• His product - https://www.writestack.io/ 

• His journey - https://theindiepreneur.substack.com/ 

• Substack notes analysis - https://thewritingedge.substack.com/

• Substack profile - https://substack.com/@orelzilberman

Find me (Nune) at:

]]>63af0108-2e71-4844-9416-88f59337f387Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:26:20 GMT<p>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Orel Zilberman, the solo builder behind WriteStack, the biggest tool out there for Substack creators. Orel spent 599 days shipping around ten products that made zero dollars, then picked one thing, stuck with it for six months, and turned it into a six-figure business. He has lived three versions of solo building in three years: before the current AI tooling, as it arrived, and now. We get to the root cause of what AI actually changed for one-person companies and what it didn't. Building got faster, but knowing what to build, and sticking with it long enough to find out if it works, is exactly as hard as it always was. Honest and unfiltered, including the messy parts most "become an entrepreneur" content leaves out.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction to Root Cause and Solo Building</p><p>04:57 The Journey of Building WriteStack</p><p>06:42 What is SubStack and WriteStack?</p><p>09:28 "Why Bother" if the platform / big players will replace you</p><p>13:14 "Why bother" if AI will replace all SaaS</p><p>14:46 Knowing WHAT to Build and How to Distribute</p><p>18:30 Finding the Right Idea to Stick With</p><p>23:22 Learning from Opportunities and Failures</p><p>26:10 Navigating the Cold Start Problem</p><p>28:10 Leveraging AI Tools for Productivity</p><p>30:49 The Future of Software Engineering in the Age of AI</p><p>33:53 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs</p><p>37:20 Being Better Than Most</p><p>38:49 Book Recommendations and Lifelong Learning</p><p>41:04 Reflections on Education and Career Choices</p><p></p><p>Find Orel at: </p><p> • His product - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.writestack.io/" target="_blank">https://www.writestack.io/</a> </p><p> • His journey - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://theindiepreneur.substack.com/" target="_blank">https://theindiepreneur.substack.com/</a> </p><p> • Substack notes analysis - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thewritingedge.substack.com/" target="_blank">https://thewritingedge.substack.com/</a> </p><p> • Substack profile - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@orelzilberman" target="_blank">https://substack.com/@orelzilberman</a></p><p></p><p>Find me (Nune) at:</p><ul><li>LinkedIn<i>:</i> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/</a> </li><li>Substack<i>:</i> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/</a></li></ul>no00:46:5714Root Cause of Solopreneur Success: Before, During, and After AIfull<![CDATA[The Root Cause of Wanting to Learn]]>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Ia Mg - seasoned engineer, former CS and digital literacy teacher at the Free University of Tbilisi, and the author of the blog Bits Complicated - to get to the root cause of learning itself, and whether the machines we've built are about to make us better at it or worse.

We dig into why everyone should understand technology even if they never write code, why domain knowledge has always mattered more than programmers wanted to admit, and what happens to learning when the answer is always one prompt away. Along the way: tech debt as a tax instead of a failure ("legacy as a service"), the "learning debt" that builds every time you accept a ready-made answer, why conversation-based coding is a process problem and not just an output problem, and why learning might be the most rebellious thing you can still do for yourself.

00:00 Guest intro and episode goal

02:45 Teaching Programming to Non-Coders

04:13 The Importance of Technology Literacy

09:41 AI and the Future of Programming

16:10 AI as a Teacher of Programming

22:16 Evaluating AI Responses in Learning

26:49 Concerns About the Next Generation

30:08 AI as an Abstraction in Programming

33:40 Conversational Development vs. Traditional Coding

37:34 Understanding Tech Debt

42:09 Learning Debt in the Age of AI

45:06 AI is the next social network?

46:47 Embracing the Chaos of Innovation

47:59 The Joy of Coding vs. AI

53:22 Navigating the Job Market in Tech

57:30 Book Recommendations

01:02:08 Summary of the Discussion

01:02:41 Learning as a Rebellious Act

01:04:09 Practical Recommendation on using AI consciously

01:06:21 Engineering is more than coding

Find Ia at: 


Find me (Nune) at:

]]>aee52240-d28e-4992-9fbc-f6f3624220a3Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:15:42 GMT<p>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Ia Mg - seasoned engineer, former CS and digital literacy teacher at the Free University of Tbilisi, and the author of the blog Bits Complicated - to get to the root cause of learning itself, and whether the machines we've built are about to make us better at it or worse.</p><p></p><p>We dig into why everyone should understand technology even if they never write code, why domain knowledge has always mattered more than programmers wanted to admit, and what happens to learning when the answer is always one prompt away. Along the way: tech debt as a tax instead of a failure ("legacy as a service"), the "learning debt" that builds every time you accept a ready-made answer, why conversation-based coding is a process problem and not just an output problem, and why learning might be the most rebellious thing you can still do for yourself.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Guest intro and episode goal</p><p>02:45 Teaching Programming to Non-Coders</p><p>04:13 The Importance of Technology Literacy</p><p>09:41 AI and the Future of Programming</p><p>16:10 AI as a Teacher of Programming</p><p>22:16 Evaluating AI Responses in Learning</p><p>26:49 Concerns About the Next Generation</p><p>30:08 AI as an Abstraction in Programming</p><p>33:40 Conversational Development vs. Traditional Coding</p><p>37:34 Understanding Tech Debt</p><p>42:09 Learning Debt in the Age of AI</p><p>45:06 AI is the next social network?</p><p>46:47 Embracing the Chaos of Innovation</p><p>47:59 The Joy of Coding vs. AI</p><p>53:22 Navigating the Job Market in Tech</p><p>57:30 Book Recommendations</p><p>01:02:08 Summary of the Discussion</p><p>01:02:41 Learning as a Rebellious Act</p><p>01:04:09 Practical Recommendation on using AI consciously</p><p>01:06:21 Engineering is more than coding</p><p></p><p>Find Ia at: </p><ul><li>Blog: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iyamg.com/bitscomplicated/" target="_blank">https://iyamg.com/bitscomplicated/</a></li><li>LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ia-mgvdliashvili-0b459768/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ia-mgvdliashvili-0b459768/</a> </li></ul><p><br />Find me (Nune) at:</p><ul><li>Blog: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/</a> </li><li>LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/</a> </li></ul>no01:10:0613The Root Cause of Wanting to Learnfull<![CDATA[The Root Cause of Never Learning]]>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Adrian Hornsby — former AWS Principal Engineer, founder of Resilium Labs, and author of Why We Still Suck at Resilience — to get to the root cause of what's quietly breaking inside engineering organizations as AI absorbs more of the thinking. We dig into the gap between how we imagine our systems work and how they actually work, why that gap is where all the real learning lives, and what happens to a team when the thinking itself gets delegated to something that sounds confident but doesn't know which walls are load-bearing. 

00:00 Pre-show Banter and the Dog

01:08 Introduction of the Episode and the Guest

05:00 What's Wrong with the Name of the Show

07:35 The Importance of Learning from Successes

09:53 Defining Work as Imagined and Work as Done

13:43 Leading vs Being Hands-On

28:49 Learning From the Gap

30:39 Chaos Engineering

31:31 Load Testing

32:50 Game Days

34:00 ORRs - Operational Readiness reviews

34:41 Learning From the Incident

36:25 How AI has Affected the Gap

41:57 Navigating the Complexity of AI Delegation

43:45 Skill Atrophy and the New Generation of Engineers

47:12 Building Tools That Keep You Smart

52:18 We Need a Crisis to Slow Down

58:30 Building Intuition in AI-Driven Systems

01:03:17 The Human Touch in Technology

01:07:32 Facing Fears and Embracing Change

01:16:28 Question for the Next Guest and Closing

Adrian has generously decided to run a discount with the promocode “rootcausebynune” - for the first 30 copies you can buy his book for as low as 14.99 - that’s over 70% discount over the suggested price!

https://leanpub.com/whywestillsuckatresilience/c/rootcausebynune 

Find Adrian at:

Find me (Nune) at:

]]>f6ad9ba0-9bcf-4b54-819f-7677e99f4c32Tue, 26 May 2026 07:08:32 GMT<p>In this episode of Root Cause we sit down with Adrian Hornsby — former AWS Principal Engineer, founder of Resilium Labs, and author of <i>Why We Still Suck at Resilience</i> — to get to the root cause of what's quietly breaking inside engineering organizations as AI absorbs more of the thinking. We dig into the gap between how we imagine our systems work and how they actually work, why that gap is where all the real learning lives, and what happens to a team when the thinking itself gets delegated to something that sounds confident but doesn't know which walls are load-bearing. </p><p></p><p>00:00 Pre-show Banter and the Dog</p><p>01:08 Introduction of the Episode and the Guest</p><p>05:00 What's Wrong with the Name of the Show</p><p>07:35 The Importance of Learning from Successes</p><p>09:53 Defining Work as Imagined and Work as Done</p><p>13:43 Leading vs Being Hands-On</p><p>28:49 Learning From the Gap</p><p>30:39 Chaos Engineering</p><p>31:31 Load Testing</p><p>32:50 Game Days</p><p>34:00 ORRs - Operational Readiness reviews</p><p>34:41 Learning From the Incident</p><p>36:25 How AI has Affected the Gap</p><p>41:57 Navigating the Complexity of AI Delegation</p><p>43:45 Skill Atrophy and the New Generation of Engineers</p><p>47:12 Building Tools That Keep You Smart</p><p>52:18 We Need a Crisis to Slow Down</p><p>58:30 Building Intuition in AI-Driven Systems</p><p>01:03:17 The Human Touch in Technology</p><p>01:07:32 Facing Fears and Embracing Change</p><p>01:16:28 Question for the Next Guest and Closing</p><p></p><p>Adrian has generously decided to run a discount with the promocode “rootcausebynune” - for the first 30 copies you can buy his book for as low as 14.99 - that’s over 70% discount over the suggested price!</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leanpub.com/whywestillsuckatresilience/c/rootcausebynune" target="_blank">https://leanpub.com/whywestillsuckatresilience/c/rootcausebynune</a> </p><p></p><p>Find Adrian at:</p><ul><li><b>Resilium Labs:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://resiliumlabs.com" target="_blank">resiliumlabs.com</a></li><li><b>LinkedIn:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adhorn/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/adhorn/</a> </li><li><b>Substack:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://newsletter.resiliumlabs.com/" target="_blank">https://newsletter.resiliumlabs.com/</a></li></ul><p>Find me (Nune) at:</p><ul><li><b>LinkedIn:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisabek/</a> </li><li><b>Substack:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thoughtfultechnologist.com/</a> </li></ul>no01:18:0812The Root Cause of Never Learningfull<![CDATA[Who's Speaking for the Experts?]]>In this very first episode of Root Cause we sit down with Marc Babin - an award-winning digital marketing professional and creator of over a dozen of podcasts - to get to the root cause of personal branding - why it matters more than ever and how a busy professional who doesn't like the empty talks can survive the content noise and still make themselves visible.

00:00 Show and Guest Introduction
02:54 The Value of Authentic Content in a Noisy World
06:18 AI and Content: Good Authentic Content is King
09:47 Reel-Thinking vs Podcast Creation
13:57 Creating Engaging Content in Niche Markets
18:14 Sales vs. Marketing: Building Trust Through Content
22:02 The Long Game in Content Creation
25:48 Personal Branding in the Digital Age
28:28 Setting Up for Success in Content Creation
33:05 Overcoming Perfectionism in Content Creation
38:27 Embracing the Silence of Early Content
43:29 Navigating Privacy and Online Presence
48:36 The Discomfort of Starting
53:14 The Root Causes of Expert Silence
57:53 How to Start Creating Content
01:00:30 Question for the Next Guest and Closing

Follow Marc Babin:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/babinmarc/
The Podcast Blueprint Website - https://www.yourpodcastblueprint.com/
The Podcast Blueprint LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/podcast-blueprint/

Additional Material mentioned in the episode:
The Podcast Consumer 2025 report from Edison Research - https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Podcast-Consumer-2025-revised-FINAL.pdf
Read People Like a Book: How to Analyze, Understand, and Predict People’s Emotions, Thoughts, Intentions, and Behaviors By Patrick King - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56199402-read-people-like-a-book

]]>eee6ddb1-ed5b-4e4a-81b0-5c3dce73fa1fMon, 11 May 2026 13:37:45 GMT<p>In this very first episode of Root Cause we sit down with Marc Babin - an award-winning digital marketing professional and creator of over a dozen of podcasts - to get to the root cause of personal branding - why it matters more than ever and how a busy professional who doesn't like the empty talks can survive the content noise and still make themselves visible.<br /><br />00:00 Show and Guest Introduction<br />02:54 The Value of Authentic Content in a Noisy World<br />06:18 AI and Content: Good Authentic Content is King<br />09:47 Reel-Thinking vs Podcast Creation<br />13:57 Creating Engaging Content in Niche Markets<br />18:14 Sales vs. Marketing: Building Trust Through Content<br />22:02 The Long Game in Content Creation<br />25:48 Personal Branding in the Digital Age<br />28:28 Setting Up for Success in Content Creation<br />33:05 Overcoming Perfectionism in Content Creation<br />38:27 Embracing the Silence of Early Content<br />43:29 Navigating Privacy and Online Presence<br />48:36 The Discomfort of Starting<br />53:14 The Root Causes of Expert Silence<br />57:53 How to Start Creating Content<br />01:00:30 Question for the Next Guest and Closing<br /><br />Follow Marc Babin:<br />LinkedIn - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/babinmarc/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/babinmarc/</a><br />The Podcast Blueprint Website - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.yourpodcastblueprint.com/" target="_blank">https://www.yourpodcastblueprint.com/</a><br />The Podcast Blueprint LinkedIn Page - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/podcast-blueprint/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/podcast-blueprint/</a><br /><br />Additional Material mentioned in the episode:<br />The Podcast Consumer 2025 report from Edison Research - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Podcast-Consumer-2025-revised-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Podcast-Consumer-2025-revised-FINAL.pdf</a><br />Read People Like a Book: How to Analyze, Understand, and Predict People’s Emotions, Thoughts, Intentions, and Behaviors By Patrick King - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56199402-read-people-like-a-book" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56199402-read-people-like-a-book</a></p>no01:02:4111Who's Speaking for the Experts?full