Our Values

A Mini-Memoire

1. Ages 5-10

   I spent my free time reading fantasy books and playing Dungeons and Dragons alone. I felt bored, lonely, and institutionalized at school. I spent the bus rides home wanting to die.

2. At 10

   I discovered the Karate Kid and the search for meaning in life.

3. At 12

   I discovered competitive math and learned to calm my nerves through meditation. I won some math competitions and discovered a level of inner peace I never thought possible.

4. At 15

   I learned about the scope of environmental disasters and risks, including in my hometown Baltimore. I was overwhelmed with the agonizing sense that humanity was crazy.

5. At 16

   I decided to become a Buddhist monk and dedicate my life to bridging Buddhist wisdom and the modern world.

6. At 22

   I moved into a meditation center and found my teacher. Purpose crystallized.

7. At 24

   I became a Buddhist monk and Resident Teacher of a meditation center in Baltimore. Teaching came naturally; running a business did not.

8. At 30

   I had memorized 500 pages of traditional Buddhist texts and built a reputation for memory, logic, peace, and sincerity.

9. At 34

   I became the global director of IT for the Kadampa Buddhist Tradition.

10. At 37

    I left monastic life, got married, and started a career in Salesforce development.

11. At 39

    I authored the guidelines for software development and trained hundreds at the largest Salesforce consultancy.

12. At 41

    I discovered DevOps and lean, humanistic philosophies focused on transforming culture in tech and manufacturing. I struggled to find others who understood that vision.

13. At 43

    I wrote the first book on DevOps for Salesforce and became an evangelist at one of the fastest growing companies serving software developers.

14. At 47

    I published a leading book adapting Lean techniques to knowledge work, and became Chief Product Officer at a software startup.

15. At 49

    I left tech entirely to found Living Code, a company focused on building wise and ethical cultures in software companies. My life mission moved to the foreground: integrate Buddhist wisdom into corporate transformation.