Writing
Deep-dives on software architecture and the way source code is structured — written to be understood by beginners, yet useful to teams shipping at scale. Diagrams, real examples, no hand-waving.
A pre-mortem is the quiet habit of imagining that a plan has failed before it begins, then working backward to find the reasons. This article explains the idea and shows how to use it in code, large systems, promotion planning, interviews, and personal goals without turning preparation into pessimism.
A small production change can teach more than a clean release: how panic feels, why rollback matters, and how guardrails, habits, and shared ownership turn an incident into experience.
A day on Hoang Nguu Son, 972 m, with more than 150 Zalo teammates: a few minutes of wondering whether I could keep up, sunny slopes, checkpoint pauses, and the moment we reached the summit. I carried that feeling back into work as a friendly, practical reminder: when things get hard, adjust the pace and keep moving; to climb the next mountain, first come down from the current one, clear what is not working, and prepare honestly for the next challenge.
A team can be carefully managed and still drift. Using John Kotter's distinction between coping with complexity and coping with change, here is how to spot when a team is over-managed and under-led — and small, repeatable ways to bring the direction back.
Warren Bennis said leaders do the right thing while managers do things right. Robert Sutton added the part that matters: to do the right thing, you must understand what it takes to do things right. On the trap of vision detached from craft — and the bounce between big picture and detail.
Abraham Zaleznik noticed that people uncomfortable with direct engagement communicate in signals rather than messages. On why vague communication feels safe to send and lands as anxiety, how it quietly breeds office politics, and why a clear message is a kindness — especially when it is hard.
Some people restore order the instant disorder appears; others can hold a problem open long enough to understand it. On tolerance for ambiguity as a learnable discipline, the cost of solving before understanding, the Einstellung trap, and why the maturity is in how long you can stay with a hard problem.
Bennis and Goldsmith described two ways to move people: push (deadlines, KPIs, position power) and pull (meaning and trust). On the unforgettable sign-language image of reins versus a cradle, why pull is slower but deeper, the honesty it requires, and when to reach for each. The closing piece of the series.
Culture fit sounds responsible, but it can reward sameness and hide vague concerns. This piece separates real values signals from comfort signals and argues for culture contribution.
