For people who make software
You can go far alone, but we’ll go further together
A small group of us meets one Friday morning a month in downtown Greenville. Same people, eight months, then we break for the summer.
Interested in an upcoming cohort?
New cohorts start in September and February.
The lack of support at my workplace made these meetings very valuable to me. I was able to rethink how to approach my situations.
I started Cohort in 2017 because I needed it. None of us have this figured out, but some are further down the road than others.
Cohort is a small, facilitated peer group. Same people for the duration. Just practitioners helping each other figure it out. You bring what you’re dealing with, and the group helps you think it through.
I put it together so that you’re sitting with people from other companies, not your own. Nobody is talking in front of their coworkers, which is why people say what they actually think.
The side effect is a network outside the place you work — the people you’ll call when you’re looking for your next role, or trying to fill one.
How it works
- What actually happens?
- We meet once a month in a small group of peers. We build a list of questions together, then spend 10-15 minutes on each one. Think of it like an AMA—except you’re answering too. All meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule.
- Does it change from year to year?
- The format keeps evolving. One year the group read five books together. Another was built around a single book plus a couple of coaching and interpersonal frameworks to use at work. It follows whatever the group needs.
- Who’s in the room?
- People who make software, from CTOs and directors to mid-level engineers and everyone in between — each from a different company.
- What topics come up?
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Real examples from past sessions:
- A Staff Engineer: “I’m doing a 360 review, and I’ve never done that before. How do I do that?”
- An EM: “I had to give very negative feedback and a warning to a poor performer. I’m not sure I did it right. Here’s what I said. Would you all say anything different?”
- A Tech Lead: “I feel like our project management process is broken in some way. This is what we’re doing, and I think we should move it. What do you all think?”
Others that have come up: how to manage developers who aren’t underperforming but aren’t excelling either, favorite decision frameworks, and how AI has changed the way you work.
- Is this free?
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No, and it isn’t cheap either. I started Cohort in 2017 and tried free back then. Over the years I tried cheap. Either way, people simply wouldn’t show up. I found I need to make it expensive enough that people value it.
It’s roughly break-even for me anyway. The money covers coffee and some light food, reserving the space, and whatever other materials we need.
- Do you offer a trial?
- No, for the same reason. I tried cheap, and cheap didn’t work.
- How do you handle privacy?
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All Cohort meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule:
When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
That’s why the photos are blurred.
The discussions helped me articulate ideas that were already floating in my head but without focusing had never been fully formed.
I realized my concept of productivity should go deeper than Jira cards moving across a board. I should look at the bigger picture and make sure I’m contributing to work getting delivered.