Same Mountain, Different Climb

This past weekend I built two agents and checked the code in to my git repo while I was skiing. From a ski lift in Winter Park, CO.

I’m not saying that to flex. I’m saying it because two days before, I was on a call with a mentee who is working just as hard - learning the basics of AI, pushing through tools and concepts that don’t click yet, slogging through what feels like a wall that won’t move. He’s building a comprehensive on-call schedule for his father’s trade business — real complexity, real stakes, real love behind it. Two people. Fully committed. Spending enormous energy.

Same mountain. Very different climb.

Here’s what I’ve learned about transformation - and digital transformation especially: it creates conflict that your teams absorb in ways you can’t always see. When what you’re doing changes what others must do, or how much they must do it, the business case is clear, but the human cost is real. And that tension lingers even after the strategy gets resolved at the top.

My default has always been optimism - tempered with enough realism to stay honest about how hard it actually is. In 2023, in the middle of exactly that kind of pressure, a marketing manager on my team did something unexpected. She looked at the spirit I’d been trying to project and gave it a name.

Team P.A.C.E.

Stickers were made. T-shirts followed. Not because anyone was mandated to smile - but as a reminder that no matter how steep it got, we were choosing to lead with intent.

Positive Attitudes Change Everything.

It wasn’t always the default. That’s the point. It’s a choice, and sometimes a hard one… made against the weight of the climb.

My mentee will get there. The basics are the price of admission and paying them builds something you can’t shortcut. I’ve been on this mountain longer, which means hard for me looks different, not easier or simpler. The ski lift doesn’t mean it’s easy. It means I’ve climbed enough to know the view is worth it.

Whatever part of the mountain you’re on right now - find your pace.