Observations from inside the machine.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/en-usMon, 03 Aug 2026 18:03:05 GMTThe Forward Deployed Product Manager is an emerging role that most job descriptions can't quite capture. After three months in it, here's what I think a Forward Deployed Product Manager actually is and what problem it's really solving.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/why-forward-deployed-product-managers-exist/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/why-forward-deployed-product-managers-exist/Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTProduct & DeliveryForward deployedProduct managementCustomer successA simple status request unleashes a Pandora's Box of hurried conversations that collapse hundreds of interrelated conditions into a single color. There's a reason quantum mechanics has something useful to say about that.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/schrodingers-status/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/schrodingers-status/Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTLeadership & SystemsStatus reportingComplexityOrganizational systemsA customer put Gradial head-to-head against their translation vendor. The time savings were striking — but what a throwaway comment revealed about waiting, critical paths, and creative freedom was more interesting than the numbers.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/found-in-translation/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/found-in-translation/Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTProduct & DeliveryForward deployedTranslationCustomer outcomesOrganizations plan meticulously for technology migrations and skills training. They almost never plan for the identity transformation underneath both — and it might be the reason so many transformations stall.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/transforming-the-identity-license/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/transforming-the-identity-license/Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdentity & WorkIdentityDigital transformationOrganizational changeAnthropic recently posted a role paying up to $400,000 — not for an engineer, but for someone who helps people understand the technology. The most valuable skill in an AI world might be the one generalists have been quietly practicing for years.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/the-generalist-was-right-all-along/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/the-generalist-was-right-all-along/Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdentity & WorkGeneralistsTranslationAI careersThe Alchemist gets criticized for being too simple. That's exactly why it works. A piece on curiosity, ambiguity, and why the most important disposition you can bring to AI transformation is the willingness to keep walking.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/ambiguity-rewards-the-curious/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/ambiguity-rewards-the-curious/Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTLeadership & SystemsCuriosityAI transformationAmbiguityYears of project and program management taught me that ambiguity kills execution. Turns out AI works exactly the same way — and the skills that make a great PM might be the most underrated advantage in the age of AI.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/stop-prompting-your-ai-start-project-managing-it/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/stop-prompting-your-ai-start-project-managing-it/Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTEnterprise AIAI collaborationProject managementPromptingLeaving Adobe after 8.5 years taught me that career transitions aren't just logistical — they're grief. And as AI reshapes more roles and identities, more of us are going to have to learn how to process that.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/grieving-your-past-selves/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/grieving-your-past-selves/Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdentity & WorkCareer transitionIdentityAI and workWe expect people to respond to information they don't have. We do the same thing to our AI tools. The problem is older than both — and the fix is the same.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/read-the-room/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/read-the-room/Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTLeadership & SystemsCommunicationContextAI collaborationThe Luddites weren't wrong about disruption. They just couldn't see the final shape of what was coming. Neither can we — but that doesn't mean we're powerless.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/you-are-not-your-cms/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/you-are-not-your-cms/Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdentity & WorkExpertiseCareer identityTechnological changeAfter years of enterprise MarTech and a month into AI, one thing keeps coming back: people are still the point. A piece about technology, friction, and throwing a really good party.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/let-ai-plan-the-party/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/let-ai-plan-the-party/Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdentity & WorkHuman-centered AITechnology and lifeAI and workEight years of enterprise MarTech implementations taught me the blockers are never where you expect. My first week at a startup confirmed it.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/even-the-future-has-a-backlog/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/even-the-future-has-a-backlog/Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTEnterprise AIMarTechAI adoptionOrganizational changeWhy enterprise AI adoption usually breaks down at the workflow, trust, and organizational level — not the model level.https://yepsen.net/field-notes/most-enterprise-ai-problems-arent-ai-problems/https://yepsen.net/field-notes/most-enterprise-ai-problems-arent-ai-problems/Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTEnterprise AIAI adoptionEnterprise workflowsOrganizational systems