Des Moines Quadrangle · Iowa 41.5868° N · 93.6250° W
Product · Coaching · Building things

Josh VandeWiele.

I'm a father, a coach (little league and enterprise), a serial hobbyist, and currently learning as much as I can with AI. I love product in every sense and application, and I have a passion for helping people love their job and deliver value.

BasedDes Moines, Iowa
PracticeProduct and AI Ops
BackgroundUSMC · Sgt · 3 tours
CurrentlyBuilding, baking, coaching
§ 01 · Projects 1,200′
§ 01 Things I've made on my own time

What I've been building.

Field note

Most of this started as something I built for myself. If you have a question about any of it -email me.

§ 02 · Kitchen & Principles 1,640′
§ 02b What I believe about leading people

How I work.

01 / Stance

Lead through intent.

Tell people what the outcome looks like and why it matters, then trust them to find the route. I learned it as commander's intent in the Marine Corps, and I still lean on it.

02 / Method

Multiply, don't diminish.

Liz Wiseman's Multipliers is the model I come back to most. A leader's job is making the people around them smarter and more capable, which is hard to do while you're busy being the smartest person in the room.

03 / Feedback

Radical candor, never the silent treatment.

Care personally and challenge directly, in Kim Scott's words. When I put off a hard conversation it's almost always for my own comfort, and the other person pays for the delay.

04 / Structure

Topologies before processes.

How teams are wired shapes what they can produce, which is the heart of Skelton and Pais's Team Topologies. When something looks like a process problem, I check the shape of the team first.

05 / Growth

You have to be bad at something to get good at it.

Getting comfortable being uncomfortable is how we grow, in health and fitness the same as in product and AI. Nobody starts out good at anything. I'd rather help people appreciate the journey and the excitement of innovation than watch them wait until they feel ready to start.