Field Note: Hoover Dam Lessons: Proudly Maintained By Mike E.
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Field Note: Hoover Dam Lessons: Proudly Maintained By Mike E.
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About this listen
On a tour of Hoover Dam, a small plaque on a generator stops everything: “Proudly Maintained By Mike E.” The field note uses that moment to show a systems principle that is easy to miss in digital work: reliability is not just process, it is stewardship with a name attached.
You will hear why named ownership beats vague ownership, why committees cannot truly own an interface or a decision, and why pride can function as a real control measure when it is paired with good engineering practice. Then it brings the lesson home to modern systems where the “plaques” are invisible and “the team owns it” often means problems get bounced, while the people who actually care carry the load until they burn out.
Closing diagnostic: if you cannot name who would be comfortable signing their name to a critical system, you do not just have a culture problem. You have a risk problem.
Reflection: Who is the Mike E for your most critical system, and do they know it?
https://anthonyveltri.com/hoover-dam-lessons-proudly-maintained-by-mike-e/