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Engineers (and I count myself among them) love new tools. A new programming language, framework, database, or design technique appears, and it looks faster, cleaner, and more elegant than what came before. It’s tempting to reach for it right away.
The problem is, “new” usually means “not tested at scale,” “light on documentation,” or “missing the hard edges that only years of use can expose.” I’ve seen too many companies discover those edges in the middle of a critical project.
I’m not anti-innovation. I know these tools, and I use them when they’re the right answer. But “right” doesn’t mean “new.” It means the best solution for the problem at hand — one that balances stability, support, and long-term sustainability.
Why This Matters
Most of the issues I get called in to solve at Borrowed Brains come down to teams being swept away by shiny technology:
Product Clarity → Teams start with the tool, not the problem. A good product begins with requirements that solve something customers are willing to pay for.
Product Rescue → Projects run into the weeds because the tech choice made everything more complicated than it needed to be. My job is to bring it back to a simpler, stable base.
Engineering Health Check → New tools without process leave gaps in testing, documentation, or delivery. I expose those gaps and show teams how to close them.
Fractional CTO → Engineering-led companies often need someone to remind them that tools are a means, not an end. My role is to align the engineering enthusiasm with business outcomes.
The Essence of Good Products
Every successful product I’ve worked on shares the same DNA:
Precise requirements that address a customer's need.
A solid solution is reliable and well understood.
As simple as it can be, no extra complexity for its own sake.
Repeatable and scalable, so delivery isn’t a one-off.
That’s where the real value lies, not in the sexiest tool or framework, but in the clarity, simplicity, and repeatability that enable you to build something people trust.
Final Thought
New tools are exciting. But excitement doesn’t keep the lights on or win customer trust. What does is finding the best solution, sometimes that’s shiny and new, sometimes it’s tried and true.
At Borrowed Brains, my focus is always the same: to ensure that the engineering choices serve the product, the customer, and the business — not the other way around.
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