Debug the system. Unleash the engineer.
I’m an engineer and former CTO who burned out badly enough to build a system for getting back — and kept refining it until it was about much more than getting back. I coach engineers and their leaders through it: find what’s actually in the way, fix the loop, put the recovered energy into work worth doing.
The method
DEBUG, applied to the engineer instead of the code.
Diagnose
Name the actual stressors, not the ones that are easiest to talk about. Most burnout reports point at the wrong line.
Evaluate
Sort what you control from what you only carry. The second list is usually longer than it should be.
Build
Put systems under the load — boundaries, rhythms, and defaults that hold when the week goes sideways.
Unlock
Get the creative energy back. It went somewhere; the work is finding out where and clearing the path.
Generate
Turn the recovered capacity into momentum and results you can point at, so the change survives contact with the roadmap.
Who it’s for
Two seats at the table.
Engineers
Rediscover why you liked this job. Build a sustainable, energizing career without job-hopping.
Leaders
Deadlines met, team intact. Culture where creativity survives the roadmap.
“Investing in coaching with Josh was a game changer for us. In just the first session, he helped 10x our subscription service. We launched a brand new side of our business with features we’d never even thought of before.”
CEO, Hopper Creative Group
Next step
Start with a conversation.
First call is a conversation, not a pitch.