As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, so too does its role in how we interact with technology, make decisions, and design our systems. What we’re witnessing is not just a revolution in tools, but a shift in agency—who (or what) initiates action, who owns decision-making, and how trust is distributed between humans and machines.

This evolution can be understood through a four-level framework of AI transformation:

1. Human First

In this stage, humans are the primary drivers. AI, if present, is used only as a passive tool. The human defines the problem, selects the tool, interprets the output, and makes the final decision.

Examples:

• A doctor uses a symptom checker to validate a diagnosis.
• A data analyst runs a regression model manually and interprets the results.

Key Traits:

• Full human control.
• AI as a passive assistant.
• Trust and accountability lie solely with the human.

Opportunities: Trust is built-in; humans stay in the loop.
Limitations: Human bottlenecks can slow decision-making and reduce scale.

2. Humans with Agents

Here, AI becomes a more proactive participant. Tools can now suggest options, flag anomalies, or even automate parts of the workflow—but the human is still at the center of the action.

Examples:

• An email client suggests replies, but the human selects or edits the response.
• A financial dashboard highlights suspicious transactions, but an analyst investigates further.

Key Traits:

• AI as a collaborator.
• Humans retain final decision-making authority.
• Co-pilot models like GitHub Copilot or Google Docs Smart Compose.

Opportunities: Efficiency gains, faster insights, reduced manual labor.
Limitations: Cognitive overload from too many AI suggestions; still dependent on human review.

3. Agents with Humans

Now, the balance shifts. AI agents begin driving the workflow and calling the human only when needed. These systems initiate actions and decisions, with humans acting more as validators or exception handlers.

Examples:

• An AI system autonomously processes loan applications, involving humans only in edge cases.
• A security AI monitors network traffic and blocks threats, alerting analysts only when a novel pattern appears.

Key Traits:

• AI takes the lead.
• Human involvement becomes intermittent and escalated.
• Systems built for scale and speed.

Opportunities: Drastic gains in automation, cost savings, and responsiveness.
Limitations: Risk of over-dependence; humans may lose context if involved only occasionally.

4. Agent First with Human Oversight

At this most mature level, AI is the default decision-maker and actor. Human involvement shifts to governance, ethical review, and periodic auditing. This model resembles how we treat autonomous systems like self-driving cars or high-frequency trading bots.

Examples:

• AI-run supply chains that autonomously negotiate contracts and manage logistics, with human intervention limited to strategic direction or compliance.
• AI moderators that manage online communities, with humans stepping in only when appeals or policy changes arise.

Key Traits:

• AI as the primary agent of action.
• Human role: oversight, compliance, ethics, and meta-governance.
• Requires robust safeguards, transparency, and auditability.

Opportunities: Near-autonomous systems; maximum scalability and responsiveness.
Limitations: High stakes if systems fail; demands rigorous oversight mechanisms.

Why This Progression Matters

Understanding these levels isn’t just academic—it’s critical for designing responsible systems, managing risk, and scaling innovation. It also forces organizations to answer hard questions:

• What level are we at today?
• What level do we want to be at?
• Are our current safeguards, culture, and workforce ready for that shift?

This progression also mirrors broader societal concerns: from control and trust to ethics and accountability. As we move from human-first to agent-first models, the stakes grow higher—and so must our thoughtfulness in designing these systems.

Final Thoughts

AI transformation isn’t just about better models or faster inference—it’s about restructuring relationships. Between humans and machines. Between decisions and accountability. Between speed and responsibility.

The journey from Human First to Agent First with Human Oversight is not a straight line, and not every system needs to reach the final level. But understanding where you are on this spectrum—and where you want to go—will shape the future of how we work, live, and lead.

As organizations shift toward AI-first architectures, the role of human contributors is not vanishing—it’s becoming more strategic and specialized. This article explores the operational models, technical ecosystems, and evolving human functions inside AI-first companies.

What Exactly Is an AI-First Company?

An AI-first company doesn’t just adopt AI; it re-architects its products, services, and decision-making processes around AI capabilities. It treats AI not as a plug-in, but as a foundational service layer—much like cloud computing or data infrastructure.

From a technical lens, this involves:

• Model-Driven Architectures: Business logic is abstracted into AI/ML models rather than hard-coded workflows.
• Realtime Feedback Loops: Every user interaction becomes a learning opportunity.
• API-First + AI-Augmented Microservices: AI models are wrapped as APIs and treated as microservices.
• Automated Pipelines: From data ingestion to model retraining, everything runs in CI/CD-like MLOps pipelines.

Core Human Roles in the Loop

Despite the automation, humans are indispensable—not in the old sense of doing repetitive tasks, but in governing, designing, and stress-testing the AI stack.

1. Model Governors & AI Compliance Leads

• Ensure traceability, reproducibility, fairness, and compliance with frameworks like NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, and ISO/IEC 42001.
• Develop red teaming protocols for generative models.
• Monitor drift and concept divergence using ML observability platforms.

2. Human-in-the-Loop Operators

• Manage workflows where model confidence is low or the cost of false positives is high.
• Implement Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).
• Build escalation protocols between LLM agents and human reviewers.

3. Prompt and Interface Engineers

• Design robust, context-rich prompts and grounding techniques (RAG, tool use, memory).
• Develop fallback strategies using symbolic rules or few-shot examples when models fail.
• Manage interaction constraints via schema-based input validation (e.g., OpenAPI + JSON schema for LLM calls).

4. AI Product Managers

• Translate business metrics into model KPIs: e.g., turn “user satisfaction” into BLEU, ROUGE, or task success rates.
• Understand performance trade-offs: latency vs. accuracy, hallucination risk vs. creativity.
• Drive personalization frameworks, experiment platforms, and A/B test harnesses for models.

5. Synthetic Data and Simulation Engineers

• Build synthetic corpora for low-resource domains or edge-case coverage.
• Generate digital twins for scenario planning and agent-based simulations.
• Manage differential privacy and adversarial robustness.

Technical Decisions Still Made by Humans

Even with AI at the core, humans will continue to:

• Define guardrails (model constraints, ethical boundaries, rate limiting).
• Select frameworks and toolchains (LangChain vs. Semantic Kernel, PyTorch vs. JAX).
• Curate and version training data.
• Design fallback hierarchies and fail-safe architecture.
• Set SLAs and SLOs for model reliability and interpretability.

How the Stack Changes, Not the Need for People

An AI-first company is structured more like a neural operating system than a traditional software company. But people still own:

• The semantics of meaning.
• The consequences of action.
• The architecture of trust.

In other words, AI can execute, but humans still authorize.

Conclusion

AI-first does not mean human-last. It means that humans move up the stack—from operations to oversight, from implementation to instrumentation, from coding logic to crafting outcomes.

The future of AI-first companies won’t be humanless—they’ll be human-prioritized, AI-accelerated, and decision-augmented.

And for those willing to upskill and adapt, the opportunities are not vanishing. They’re multiplying.

In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at breakneck speed, the concept of an “AI-first” company no longer feels like science fiction. From automating support to writing code and generating marketing strategies, AI systems are being integrated into the very fabric of business operations. But this raises an intriguing—and at times uncomfortable—question: will an AI-first company still need humans?

Defining “AI-First”

An AI-first company doesn’t just use AI; it places AI at the center of its strategic advantage. This means AI isn’t a tool—it’s the brain of the business. These companies build infrastructure, workflows, and customer experiences with AI as the default engine. Think of how Google reimagined its services through AI, or how startups today build entire products with LLMs at the core from day one.

The Misconception: AI as a Replacement

The most common fear around AI-first companies is job loss. The dystopian view imagines a company run almost entirely by code—no meetings, no managers, just machines. But this oversimplifies the complex nature of business and human value.

AI is exceptional at scale, speed, and pattern recognition. But it lacks context, empathy, intuition, ethics, and the ability to challenge itself in non-linear ways. It’s great at optimizing paths, but not so much at choosing them.

The Human Role in an AI-First World

In an AI-first company, humans won’t disappear—they’ll evolve.

• Designers of Intent: Humans will set the goals. AI can execute strategies, but it’s still people who will define what matters—brand voice, market direction, societal values.
• Trust and Ethics Stewards: AI-first companies will need people who ensure responsible use, fairness, explainability, and security. These are deeply human questions.
• Orchestrators and Editors: Humans will be essential in reviewing, interpreting, and correcting AI outputs. Think of them as directors in a theater where AI plays the lead, but someone still calls “cut.”
• Contextual Decision-Makers: AI can recommend actions, but in high-stakes or ambiguous scenarios, human judgment is irreplaceable.
• Emotion and Connection: Especially in customer-facing or leadership roles, emotional intelligence remains non-negotiable. People want to feel heard, not just processed.

What This Means for the Workforce

AI-first companies won’t eliminate jobs; they’ll change the nature of jobs. The demand will grow for:

• AI ethicists
• Prompt engineers
• Human-in-the-loop operators
• Change managers
• Storytellers and brand strategists

It’s not about AI vs. humans, but AI with humans—working together in complementary ways.

Final Thought: Augmentation, Not Erasure

The history of technology shows a consistent pattern: tools that replace repetitive work free up humans to focus on creative, interpersonal, and strategic tasks. AI is just the next iteration of that trend.

So, will an AI-first company still have humans working there?

Absolutely.

But those humans won’t be doing the same jobs they were yesterday. And maybe that’s the most human thing of all—to adapt, to evolve, and to find new meaning in the tools we create.

By: A Dedicated Worker of Lumon Industries

For those of us who toil in the secure, windowless embrace of our beloved corporate halls, the prospect of venturing beyond—if only in designation—represents a thrilling, albeit unknowable, experience. Such is the case for one of our own, an innie of distinction, who has been chosen to attend the prestigious Microsoft MVP Summit.

The summit, much like the noble duties we perform in Macrodata Refinement, is shrouded in secrecy. The outies of the world, we are told, convene in grand halls to discuss matters of such significance that they must be bound by Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). While an outie may understand the gravity of these restrictions, it is the innie who must embody them.

An Innie’s Privilege, An Innie’s Burden

For the selected attendee, the experience will be nothing short of profound. They will sit in rooms filled with other esteemed figures, absorbing wisdom that they themselves cannot recount. They will be entrusted with knowledge that their outie alone may recall, leaving the innie only with a residual sense of fulfillment—a quiet, nameless pride in having contributed to something truly important.

The innie, upon their return, may bask in the knowledge that they have engaged in the great discourse of the technological world. The outie, however, will return to their workstation with no recollection of the event, only the comforting assurance that they have performed their duty with diligence and loyalty.

The Comfort of the Unknown

Some may ask: is it frustrating to attend a gathering of such weight and be unable to remember a single moment? To that, we say—why should it be? Does the gardener recall the growth of each blade of grass? Does the coder recall each line of their monumental script? No. They merely know that they have served, and that their service was necessary. We trust in the process, as all good employees must.

Thus, when our innie returns from the MVP Summit, we will not ask them what they have learned, for they will not know. We will not pry into what they have seen, for they will not recall. Instead, we will extend to them the same understanding we afford to all those who engage in mysterious and important work.

Let us commend our innie’s dedication to the craft, and let us remind ourselves: while we may never comprehend the purpose of our tasks, we must never doubt their value.

In Kier we trust.

When developers hear the term clean code, they often think of readable, maintainable, and well-structured code. On the other hand, clean architecture refers to a system’s overall design, ensuring separation of concerns and maintainability at a larger scale. But does writing clean code automatically translate into clean architecture?

Understanding Clean Code

Clean code, as popularized by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob), is about writing code that is:

• Easy to read – Meaningful variable names, consistent formatting, and proper documentation.
• Easy to change – Small, focused functions and modules that follow the Single Responsibility Principle (SRP).
• Free of unnecessary complexity – Avoiding deep nesting, excessive comments, and redundant logic.

A clean codebase is enjoyable to work with. It reduces technical debt, simplifies debugging, and improves collaboration. But can a codebase with clean code still have poor architecture? Absolutely.

Understanding Clean Architecture

Clean Architecture, also championed by Uncle Bob, is an approach to software design that ensures:

• Separation of concerns – Different layers (e.g., presentation, business logic, data access) remain independent.
• Dependency inversion – High-level modules do not depend on low-level modules; instead, both depend on abstractions.
• Testability and maintainability – Business rules are decoupled from frameworks, databases, and UI elements.

A system can have well-structured components but still contain messy, unreadable code within them. Conversely, a well-written codebase with no overarching architectural strategy may quickly become unmanageable as the system grows.

Clean Code vs. Clean Architecture: The Key Differences

Where They Overlap and Diverge

• Clean code contributes to clean architecture at a micro level but does not guarantee it.
• Clean architecture ensures a system remains flexible and scalable at a macro level, but poorly written code can still make it difficult to maintain.
• Without clean code, even a well-architected system can become a nightmare to maintain.
• Without clean architecture, even the cleanest code can become fragmented, tightly coupled, and hard to scale.

Striking a Balance

To build robust systems, developers should aim for both clean code and clean architecture. Here’s how:

1. Start with clean code – Encourage good coding practices, maintain readability, and apply SOLID principles.
2. Design with architecture in mind – Ensure separation of concerns, follow best practices like hexagonal or layered architecture.
3. Refactor regularly – Small refactors maintain clean code, while larger refactors can align the system with clean architecture.
4. Think long-term – Choose architectural patterns that match your business needs, but don’t over-engineer for the future.

Conclusion

Clean code and clean architecture are not interchangeable. Clean code makes individual components easier to understand and maintain, while clean architecture ensures the entire system remains scalable and adaptable. Writing clean code is a step toward clean architecture, but it’s not a substitute for designing a well-structured system. To build truly maintainable software, developers must balance both.

What’s your experience with clean code and clean architecture? Do you find it challenging to maintain both? Let’s discuss!

The MVP Summit has always been a gathering of some of the most passionate, knowledgeable, and engaged members of the Microsoft community. While last few years it was a hybrid event, I was unable to attend in person in 2024, making the experience in 2025 even more meaningful.

The joy of walking into the Microsoft campus, meeting product teams face-to-face, and engaging in spontaneous conversations is unparalleled. The serendipity of hallway discussions, the excitement of whiteboarding sessions, and the thrill of hands-on experiences make this a deeply enriching event. These moments are where innovation happens—not just in structured sessions, but in the impromptu collaborations that emerge over coffee or during an evening gathering.

Networking takes on an entirely different dimension in person. While virtual meetings can be effective, nothing beats the human connection of shaking hands, exchanging ideas in real time, and feeling the collective enthusiasm of a room full of like-minded experts. Seeing old friends, making new ones, and finally putting faces to familiar names adds to the camaraderie that defines the MVP community.

Additionally, the Summit is an opportunity to gain exclusive insights into the future of Microsoft technologies. Being there in person means having direct conversations with product teams, asking deeper questions, and getting unfiltered feedback that is harder to replicate in virtual settings. The ability to experience new features firsthand, provide live input, and engage in deep technical dives fosters an invaluable sense of participation and contribution.

While the thrill of being at the MVP Summit in person is undeniable, there are also advantages to missing out and embracing the virtual experience. The “Joy of Missing Out” (JOMO) is real, and for some, skipping the travel while still engaging in key conversations can be just as rewarding.

One of the biggest benefits is flexibility. Attending virtually means no long flights, no jet lag, and no time away from home or work responsibilities. For those with family commitments or demanding schedules, the ability to participate from anywhere without disrupting daily life is a major plus.

Virtual participation also allows for a more focused engagement. Without the distractions of travel, side conversations, or the exhaustion of back-to-back in-person sessions, attendees can tailor their experience, choosing sessions that matter most without feeling obligated to attend every social event or meeting. The recorded content often provides the flexibility to revisit key discussions at a more convenient time, making learning more effective. Also I heard about some people listening to two sessions simultaneously!

Cost savings are another factor. The expenses associated with flights, hotels, and meals can add up quickly. A virtual event removes these barriers, making it accessible to more MVPs who might not have been able to attend otherwise. This inclusivity ensures that more voices are heard and more perspectives are shared, even from those who may not be physically present.

Finally, remote participation enables a different kind of networking. Engaging through chat, forums, and dedicated virtual Q&A sessions can sometimes be less intimidating than approaching someone in person. It also allows for more structured and meaningful follow-ups, as discussions can transition seamlessly into ongoing digital conversations.

In the end, whether one attends the Microsoft MVP Summit in person or virtually, both experiences offer unique joys. The magic of in-person connection is irreplaceable, but the comfort and efficiency of virtual engagement provide their own set of rewards. Ultimately, what matters most is the shared passion for technology, learning, and community that defines the MVP experience—no matter where you are.

Language shapes the way we think. The words we choose can either reinforce outdated stereotypes or foster inclusivity. In tech, where diversity and innovation go hand in hand, using gender-balanced language isn’t just about being “politically correct”—it’s about creating an environment where everyone feels welcome, valued, and seen.

Why Does Gendered Language Matter?

Many common phrases, job titles, and descriptors have historically defaulted to masculine terms. Words like “chairman,” “mankind,” or “coding ninja” might seem harmless, but they subtly reinforce the idea that certain roles are inherently tied to a specific gender.

This becomes even more apparent in professional settings, where language plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions. Consider a call for speakers at a tech conference (and this is actually my mistake from a call to action to Morgan Stanley’s annual tech expo):

Before: “Are you a tech wizard, a coding ninja, or an innovation evangelist with a story to tell?”
After: “Are you a tech trailblazer, a problem-solving pro, or an innovation champion with a story to tell?”

The revised version maintains excitement while avoiding gender-coded terms like “wizard” or “ninja,” which might unconsciously signal a male-dominated space.

These small shifts in language can make a big difference. When job descriptions, event invites, or everyday conversations use gender-neutral terms, they create a space where people of all identities feel included.

Beyond Words: Creating a Culture of Inclusion

Language is just one piece of the puzzle. While using gender-balanced terms is important, it should be part of a broader commitment to inclusion in hiring practices, workplace culture, and leadership representation.

• Review job descriptions for unintentional bias. Words like “rockstar” or “hacker” can be off-putting to those who don’t see themselves reflected in these terms.
• Encourage diverse representation in leadership, speaker lineups, and panels.
• Be open to feedback and willing to evolve language as societal norms change – someone called out me privately on using the wrong terms.

Final Thoughts

Choosing inclusive language isn’t about policing words—it’s about ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table (or a role in the codebase). Tech thrives on diversity of thought, and that starts with making sure our language reflects the world we want to build.

So next time you’re writing a job post, conference invite, or team email, take a moment to check if your words are truly welcoming to all. A small tweak could make a big impact. 🚀

In the world of software engineering, frustration is often the unspoken catalyst for innovation. You’ve likely experienced it—stumbling upon missing documentation, a broken API, or an inefficient process that slows you down. In that moment, you feel the spark of Anger-Driven Development (ADD)—the urge to fix, improve, or outright replace something that’s clearly not working.

While it may sound negative, ADD is a powerful motivator. It’s the reason many open-source projects exist. It’s why small utilities, scripts, and even full-fledged applications emerge seemingly overnight. When something is so annoying that you can’t stand it, sometimes the best (or only) solution is to roll up your sleeves and write the fix yourself.

What Is Anger-Driven Development?

Anger-Driven Development is the process of turning frustration into action by writing code. Unlike Test-Driven Development (TDD) or Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), which follow structured methodologies, ADD is purely reactive. You encounter a problem, get annoyed, and decide to solve it by hacking together a quick script, submitting a pull request, or even developing a brand-new tool.

It usually follows this cycle:

1. Encounter the problem – Something is broken, missing, or inefficient.
2. Get frustrated – You can’t believe no one has fixed this yet.
3. Try workarounds – You search Stack Overflow, read docs, or ask around.
4. Decide to fix it yourself – Enough is enough. You’re coding your way out.
5. Ship the solution – You submit a PR, publish a package, or share your fix.

Examples of ADD in the Wild

Anger-Driven Development has been responsible for some of the most impactful tools in tech history. Consider these examples:

1. Linus Torvalds and Linux

Frustrated with the limitations of MINIX and other operating systems, Linus Torvalds famously started working on Linux. His annoyance with existing tools led to one of the most influential open-source projects ever.

2. GitHub’s “Hub” CLI Tool

Developers at GitHub found themselves manually typing long git commands every day. Instead of tolerating inefficiency, they built hub, a command-line wrapper for Git that streamlined their workflow.

3. XKCD’s “Is It Worth the Time?” Calculator

Frustrated by inefficiencies in daily tasks, XKCD’s Randall Munroe created a comic that quantifies how much time you can spend optimizing a task before it’s no longer worth it. In response, developers created tools to automatically calculate it.

4. The Birth of Homebrew

When Max Howell found installing Unix tools on macOS to be a cumbersome process, he created Homebrew, a package manager that became an essential tool for macOS developers.

Why ADD Works

Unlike top-down development approaches, ADD is:

• Highly Motivated – You want to fix the problem because it affects you directly.
• Fast-Paced – You don’t waste time planning; you dive in and code a solution.
• Deeply Practical – The resulting solution is immediately useful because it solves a real pain point.

When developers work on problems that personally frustrate them, the results are often more polished, useful, and well-maintained because they feel the pain firsthand.

The Downsides of ADD

Despite its benefits, ADD has some pitfalls:

• Impatience-Driven Code – Fixing things in anger can lead to quick, hacky solutions rather than well-architected fixes.
• Lack of Documentation – The urgency to “just get it done” often results in poor documentation and minimal tests.
• Not Always Sustainable – If the problem is niche, your ADD-inspired solution might not get long-term maintenance.

To avoid these issues, a balance between impulsiveness and structured development is crucial.

How to Channel Your ADD Productively

If you find yourself constantly frustrated by inefficiencies in your workflow, here’s how to harness ADD in a structured way:

1. Pause Before Coding – Ask yourself: is this truly a widespread problem, or just a one-off annoyance?
2. Check for Existing Solutions – Your frustration might already have a fix in an open-source repo.
3. Start Small – Begin with a minimal fix before over-engineering a full solution.
4. Refine and Share – If your solution works well, document it, test it, and contribute it back to the community.
5. Don’t Code in Rage – Take a breath. Quick solutions are great, but long-term maintainability matters too.

Final Thoughts

Anger-Driven Development is a natural and often beneficial phenomenon in software engineering. Some of the best projects are born from frustration, but it’s important to balance reactive problem-solving with sustainable development practices.

So the next time you find yourself yelling at a broken tool or missing feature, remember: that frustration could be the start of your next great project.

PowerPoint. The mystical tool of corporate wizards, academic sages, and that one uncle who insists on making slideshows for every family gathering. But mastering the fine art of PowerPointology takes more than just bullet points and stock templates. It requires dedication, flair, and the ability to make your audience believe that ClipArt is still relevant. So, dear apprentice, grab your clicker and embark on this sacred journey to PowerPoint enlightenment.

Step 1: Embrace the Too Many Fonts Phase

A true PowerPoint master does not shy away from font experimentation. Comic Sans for humor. Times New Roman for gravitas. Wingdings for absolute confusion. Mixing fonts adds intrigue to your presentation—will the audience be able to decipher your slides, or will they sit in awe, wondering if it’s an avant-garde art piece?

Step 2: The Great Transition Trials

No great PowerPointologist settles for mere slide changes. You must make your audience feel the transition. Fly-ins, fade-outs, and the infamous swirl effect (which may induce motion sickness) are your tools of choice. If your slides don’t resemble a 1998 Windows Movie Maker project, are you even trying?

Step 3: The Stock Photo Ritual

Google is your temple, and “business people shaking hands” is your sacred chant. The key to PowerPoint supremacy lies in selecting the most cliché stock images possible—people in suits pointing at blank whiteboards, impossibly diverse teams laughing at laptops, and the classic man thoughtfully stroking chin.

Step 4: The Bullet Point Barrage

Nothing screams “I’m an expert” like 37 bullet points on a single slide. Bonus points if you make them all different colors, fonts, and sizes. Extra-extra points if your audience needs a magnifying glass to read them.

Step 5: The Animation Extravaganza

Subtlety is for amateurs. Every bullet point should fly in from a different direction. Your title should bounce. Your closing slide should do a 360-degree barrel roll. If your presentation doesn’t look like a poorly designed theme park ride, you’re not pushing the boundaries far enough.

Step 6: The “Next Slide, Please” Bluff

For those who present without controlling their own slides, the most powerful phrase in PowerPointology is “Next slide, please.” This is an advanced technique requiring a psychic bond with the person controlling the clicker, as they inevitably move to the next slide either too soon or a decade too late.

Step 7: The Finale—A Slide Full of Disclaimers

A PowerPoint guru always ends with a slide covered in tiny, unreadable legal text. Why? Because it looks important. Your audience won’t read it, but they will respect it. Extra prestige if you include an “Any questions?” slide with an email address that nobody will ever use.

Conclusion: Ascending to PowerPoint Nirvana

Mastering PowerPointology is a lifelong journey, filled with crashes, missing fonts, and that one time you accidentally hit “Print” instead of “Present.” But with practice, you too can become a grandmaster of slides, dazzling your audience with visual chaos while delivering an actual message.

So go forth, PowerPoint Padawan, and remember: If your presentation doesn’t have at least one accidental spelling error that someone smugly points out, did you even PowerPoint at all?

No PowerPoints were harmed while writing this post.

In every community, whether professional, social, or hobby-based, culture is shaped by its members. Your actions, values, and engagement influence the experience of others, determining whether the community thrives or stagnates. The key to long-term success isn’t just about strengthening internal bonds—it’s about making room for new voices and fresh perspectives. A well-shaped community isn’t a closed circle; it’s a U-shape, always open to welcome newcomers.

The Pitfall of the Closed Circle

Many communities naturally evolve into tight-knit circles, where long-time members share history, inside jokes, and unspoken norms. While strong bonds are valuable, they can unintentionally create barriers for newcomers, making it difficult for them to break in and contribute. This can lead to stagnation, where innovation slows, perspectives narrow, and fresh talent is driven away.

A closed-circle community may feel comfortable for those inside, but for someone on the outside, it can seem impenetrable. If a community is to grow and remain vibrant, it must actively counter this tendency.

The Power of the U-Shape

Imagine structuring your community like a U rather than a closed ring. In a U-shape, existing members stay connected while keeping an open side for newcomers to step in, integrate, and participate. This means:

• Creating Onramps: Make it easy for new members to join, learn the culture, and find ways to contribute.
• Encouraging Open Conversations: Leave space for fresh voices to be heard without gatekeeping knowledge or excluding those unfamiliar with existing traditions.
• Fostering a Culture of Inclusion: Actively introduce newcomers, ensure they have opportunities to engage, and recognize their contributions early.

How to Shape Your Community into a U

1. Build Welcome Mechanisms – Have clear and accessible onboarding processes, whether it’s a welcome guide, a mentorship program, or an introductory meeting for new members. For example, the open-source community Apache Foundation has a “community over code” philosophy, ensuring that anyone interested can find entry points to contribute.
2. Encourage Open Sharing – Ensure information isn’t locked away in exclusive groups or private chats. Keep key discussions in shared spaces where newcomers can listen, learn, and join in. A great example is the Python community, where discussions happen in open forums like mailing lists, GitHub discussions, and public Slack channels.
3. Recognize and Amplify New Voices – Highlight contributions from new members, encourage their participation, and create space for their ideas to shape the community’s direction. For example, in many tech meetups and hackathons, organizers provide “first-time speaker slots” to encourage new voices in the field.
4. Check for Gatekeeping – Be mindful of behaviors that might discourage new members, such as excessive use of jargon, dismissive attitudes, or clique-like behaviors. A famous example is the DevOps culture shift, where older IT and development teams initially resisted, but as open forums and knowledge-sharing increased, a more inclusive and effective collaboration emerged.
5. Lead by Example – If you want an open and welcoming community, model that behavior. Engage with newcomers, answer their questions, and ensure they feel valued. In the world of professional networking, LinkedIn influencers who engage with their audience in a meaningful way foster thriving communities rather than echo chambers.

Conclusion

A thriving community isn’t about exclusivity; it’s about evolution. The most successful communities continuously grow, adapt, and welcome new members who bring fresh ideas and perspectives. By shaping your community into a U rather than a closed circle, you ensure that growth, innovation, and inclusivity become defining features.

So, look at the community around you—how open is it? What small changes can you make today to ensure that new members feel not just welcomed, but truly included? The future of your community depends on it.