Angus Grundy (@angus386236)

Thoughtful and beautifully written as always, John. The idea of putting aside an identity as a 'coder' to assume that of 'manager' will strike a chord with many, I'm sure. The act of doing that might have become a psychological blocker (or 'bottleneck'). But you were able to set it aside. Now you've found a reason to take up this capability again and build something. That's great to hear. The 'rationalization' you mention early in the piece to keep coding to 'keep your hand' in would, I think, be a justifiable one. But the idea that by "continuing to code as a manager you’re maintaining your ability to empathise with other engineers" sounds like a great strategy to bust that bottleneck in service to your goal. And I'm looking forward to seeing the platform as it develops :)