The genesis post

When I got to Silicon Valley in the 1980s, I believed deeply that the technology we were building could deliver a better society than the one I'd grown up in. We were going to automate drudge work with our magical machines so you could concentrate on what was interesting. We would create ways for people to connect and communicate across time and distance like never before. Steve Jobs talked about leaving a dent in the universe. All us nerds aimed to leave behind dents for the better.

I'm socially liberal. I like programs that help out folks who need it. I think the long economic shadow cast by slavery and racism is bad for the country, and we ought to let the light in. I believe that kids ought to have good schools and full bellies. I'm in favor of love and hope everyone can find some, with whoever is right for them.

I'm a deep American patriot, proud of my country for much. I'm committed to the ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I believe that the words "to form a more perfect union" were carefully chosen to communicate down the generations the ongoing obligation to advance those ideals.

I am devastated by the fact that Donald Trump has been elected President twice. That's the wrong kind of dent in the universe.

I was the CEO of my last two companies. I got to travel around the Valley, and around the world, talking to peers and colleagues. For decades, they expressed beliefs and opinions consistent with mine. Many of us shared a view of what the world ought to be and of our obligations to it.

Since Trump's reelection, it's nearly impossible to find business leaders willing to speak out in the way my friends and I have spoken to one another for so long.

That makes a certain kind of disappointing sense. There's a well-grounded fear that the administration will retaliate against its critics. That's personally intimidating. If you're an officer of a company, then the company could also be targeted. You face additional threats from your board and shareholders if your public views injure the business.

It's simpler and safer all around to keep your mouth shut.

But it's also profoundly wrong. A core strength of this country is a vigorous debate on policies, taking advantage of our First Amendment rights to speak out freely. We need to challenge authority and orthodoxy and persuade people to our view. Silence weakens America.

When I was leading Cloudera, I used to write a love letter to the company every Monday. It was a way for me to speak honestly to everyone about important things. Mostly, that was about our products, our customers, our market. Often, though, I used that platform to highlight social issues that mattered to me and to the business. We were among the companies, for example, to publicly challenge Indiana governor Mike Pence's anti-trans legislation in 2015. I used my weekly letter to talk about why that stance mattered to the company.

I retired from Cloudera in 2019. I don't have that platform anymore. I've kind of missed it.

I have an important advantage in my retirement. I can't be the target of board revolts or shareholder lawsuits based on my speech or my politics. I can speak freely where my former colleagues feel constrained.

And I've got a degree of privilege that I think comes with obligations. I'm a rich old cis white guy living in a blue state. I grew up in a society that gave me plenty of opportunity and support. Things have turned out pretty well for me. If you're trans, gay, brown, poor, undocumented, then attracting attention to yourself attracts risk now, too. A guy with my advantages can and should stand out front and say the things that need saying.

So I've decided to create this newsletter as a love letter to my country and my industry. I aim to write weekly or so, as I used to do, about whatever is important to me in the moment. You should expect me to call out hypocrisy, challenge prejudice, advocate for the under-served and protect, where I can, those who need it.

I've chosen Ghost as my hosting platform based on recommendations from folks I trust. You can absolutely sign up as a member and get these articles in your email. Ghost also provides an RSS feed, so you can subscribe that way to keep the clutter out of your inbox. And I'll share links on my Mastodon feed when I post something new.

I've got several topics queued up already. I'll look for ways for folks to suggest additional ideas later.

I'm excited to get started!