Ship the damned code already!

Most organisations are still terrified of shipping software. Sad but true.

Think about it. You’ve got change advisory boards who’ve never changed anything. Release windows that exist to slow you down. Processes designed to add friction rather than value.

None of that happened by accident. Smart people built those barriers because they’re scared of what might happen if engineers could actually ship code.

Some teams have given up fighting. Others are trapped in environments that punish initiative. Many have just accepted that slow is normal. The process feels safer than pushing for change.

That’s the actual problem we need to solve.

The Only Question That Matters

What would you do if you had to ship daily? If your next paycheque depended on it? If your company’s survival was on the line?

Be honest. You know exactly what needs changing. You know which meetings waste time, which processes add friction, which tools need updating. You’re just scared to push for it.

That fear isn’t stupid. Change is risky. Pushing against established process is exhausting. Fighting inertia is hard.

But you know what’s worse? Watching your competitors ship daily while you’re still fighting over which 20 story points to deliver this month.

The Real Problem

Your organisation hasn’t built all this process because they hate progress. They’ve built it because they don’t believe shipping can be safe.

Prove them wrong.

Don’t fight the system - make it irrelevant through expertise. Build capabilities so robust that process becomes unnecessary. Create safety through engineering, not paperwork.

Making It Real

The fastest teams ship constantly because they’ve made speed and safety the same thing. Their excellence makes process redundant.

When you’re that good, process dissolves. Risk reviews become redundant. Change advisory boards run out of questions to ask. You get to ship more because you’ve made it safer to ship fast than to ship slow.

The Hard Part

If you want to go faster, learn to speak their language.

Turn technical risk into business outcomes. Deployment frequency into competitive advantage. Quality into speed. Make shipping faster feel safer than shipping slow.

The people you think are blocking you? They’re protecting something valuable. Figure out what that is. Show them a better way to protect it. Help them take credit for enabling progress rather than blocking it.

Getting It Done

Start today. Pick something small. Make it bulletproof. Ship it.

Do it again tomorrow. And the next day. Build momentum through consistency. Show what’s possible through expertise.

When they ask how it’s possible, help them take credit for enabling it. When they worry about risk, show them how you’ve handled it. When they talk about process, show them something better.

The Reality Check

Every team that ships daily faced the same barriers you’re facing. Same bureaucracy. Same legacy systems. Same scared managers. They just decided to solve the problem instead of using it as an excuse.

Your org isn’t special. Your systems aren’t unique. Your problems aren’t harder than everyone else’s.

You’ve just convinced yourself that shipping is someone else’s job. That process is more important than progress. That safety means moving slowly.

The Truth

There are two types of engineers in this world:

Those who say “this is why we can’t ship faster” And those who make it happen anyway.

Which one are you?