Tweaks

Author: mikepack

_posts/2026-02-26-the-intersection.md

@@ -23,21 +23,19 @@ Software development has always suffered from a bitter dichotomy between what to
 
 PMs discover, shape, and prescribe what to build. Engineers figure out how.
 
-This model is fraught with conflict — sometimes cognitive, sometimes emotional. It’s often inefficient because it forces ideas through a translation layer between disciplines and people.
+This model creates conflict; sometimes cognitive, sometimes emotional. It’s lossy and inefficient, forcing ideas through a cross-functional translation layer that strips away nuance and intent.
 
 It doesn’t have to be this way. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with a different model. One that collapses the gap instead of managing it.
 
 # Engineering
 
 I’ve long believed the best engineers wear product and business hats. Shared context creates shared ownership.
 
-It’s like a student driver car with two steering wheels, two pedals, and two brakes. Both seats can steer, neither is a passenger.
-
 Coaching engineers to think like businesspeople and act like PMs has been wildly successful for me, long before GenAI. Now, GenAI commoditizes much of the code and frees engineers for planning and partner management, pulling them out of the weeds and back into creative ownership of outcomes. The payoff is real: shared ownership fuels creativity, and creativity sharpens execution.
 
 But AI isn’t the only lever. Low-code tools built for engineers create a collaborative canvas where engineers and business partners move from discovery to production without a heavy PM handoff.
 
-For example, we recently built a scheduling matchmaker to get patients to the right providers. Instead of writing a PRD and handing it off, the engineer sat in discovery and shaped the edge cases live with the stakeholder. Within days, it was in production with no handoff, no re-translation, no re-interpretation.
+For example, we recently built a scheduling matchmaker to get patients to the right providers. Instead of writing a PRD and handing it off, the engineer discovered and shaped the edge cases live with the stakeholder. Within days, it was in production with no handoff, no re-translation, no re-interpretation.
 
 Any approach that pulls engineers out of the weeds and onto higher ground is a win.
 
@@ -69,8 +67,8 @@ Work in the intersection moves faster because each role absorbs part of the othe
 
 It’s also more collaborative. PMs and engineers still bring specialized skills, but now they overlap enough to share accountability. Engineers depend on PMs for sharper discovery, PMs depend on engineers for durable building blocks.
 
-The traditional dichotomy isn’t going away, and The Intersection model isn’t for everyone.
+It’s like a student driver car with two steering wheels, two pedals, and two brakes. Both seats can steer, neither is a passenger.
 
-But for teams that want to ship quickly and creatively, The Intersection turns tension into leverage and shared ownership into momentum.
+The traditional dichotomy isn’t going away, and The Intersection model isn’t for everyone. But for teams that want to ship quickly and creatively, The Intersection turns tension into leverage and shared ownership into momentum.
 
 If there’s an amphitheater, don’t argue across it — step into it and make music together.