An SRE framework validated through 25,498 tickets, three mergers, and 5+ years of applied research. ROI: 5.2:1 – 11.2:1, statistically validated (p < 0.001).
Structure should be stable enough to provide coherence, fluid enough to metabolize change.
Get the Narrative →The Curse
Titian, Sísifo (1548–49) · Museo del Prado
Every SRE knows this painting. The boulder that rolls back down. The work that returns. The fix that breaks again. TOIL is the curse of Sisyphus.
In 2023, our TOIL hit 59.7%. Engineers were drowning. The industry was reporting 82% burnout rates. And then came the third merger in four years.
Every acquisition erased progress. Every reorganization killed momentum. We were building on sand.
The Question
Most organizations fight change. They build rigid structures, then watch them shatter.
We asked something different:
What if the problem isn’t change—but our resistance to it?
Water doesn’t break when you pour it into a new container. It takes a new shape. The water remains water.
The Jazz Lesson
Brussels, 2010. I was learning saxophone. My friend Ivo was learning bass. We attempted Coltrane’s Equinox with a drummer who was the only competent musician among us. We failed spectacularly.
But that failure taught me something: jazz doesn’t work when everyone plays their part in isolation. It works when musicians listen, adapt, respond. The sheet music is just a starting point. The real music happens in the spaces between the notes.
I still don’t play Equinox properly. But I’ve spent 5+ years applying its lesson to organizations.
The Heresy
Traditional organizations seek stability like mitochondria—frozen, efficient, incapable of evolution. They sacrificed adaptability two billion years ago. Most management theory asks you to do the same.
We rejected that.
Luhmann taught us that systems survive by maintaining boundaries, not by freezing structures. The boundary is what matters—not the components inside it. Olivetti taught us that efficiency without dignity is just exploitation with better metrics. The factory floor deserves the same respect as the boardroom.
We built an idempotent organization: stable practices that people flow through. Run the same operation twice, get the same result. The capability persists. The individuals rotate. The humans retain dignity.
“Adversity is not the opposite of reliability—it is the teacher of reliability.”
Three Mergers. Zero Knowledge Loss.
| Cycle | Years | The Test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-2021 | Origin lab. Proved 68% interrupt reduction. |
| 2 | 2021-2022 | First merger. Would the culture transfer? It did. |
| 3 | 2022-now | Two more mergers. 59.7% → 44.7% TOIL. It held. |
Each merger was supposed to destroy us. Each one made us stronger.
The framework didn’t just survive adversity. It was designed for adversity.
The Numbers
5+ years. 25,498 tickets. Three mergers. One framework.
| 44.7% TOIL | 84% faster | 3 mergers absorbed | Zero knowledge loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below Google’s 50% target | P85 cycle time | Across multiple cycles | Zero SPOFs |
ROI: 5.2:1 – 11.2:1 · Payback: 2-6 months · Statistical significance: p < 0.001
How It Works
| Practice | The Point |
|---|---|
| Gatekeeping | Shield teams from noise. Rotate the shield weekly—no martyrs. |
| Rotation | Everyone learns everything. Hero culture dies. Capability spreads. |
| Quarterly pulse | One question: Does our shape still match our strategy? |
| Talent pools | Shared resources. Reassignment without politics. Flexibility without betrayal. |
| Culture carriers | Find them. Amplify them intentionally. Culture doesn’t happen by accident. |
The Voices
“I have never in my career experimented as much as in these few years.” — Principal Architect, 30 years experience
“Kanban has been a massive improvement. First time I can see what people are working on.”
“We all have to share that amount of pain.” — From the Link & Think interview
The gatekeeping practice is the focus of an upcoming SREday Munich Q2 2026 talk on 2026-05-21.
Get the Full Story
The Narrative: The human story. Jazz lessons. Lived experience. Philosophy.