Sign in

Matthew Skelton

@matthewskelton.com
2.9K followers 2.1K following 850 posts

CEO at Conflux | Exec Advisory | Operating Models | Capability Design | Co-author of 'Team Topologies' and 'Adapt Together'

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Semafor @semafor.com · 57m
Visitors to the US are on track to drop by almost two million year-on-year. “We’re the only major country in the world losing visitation,” the head of the US Travel Association said. “It’s mind-boggling.” www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
46245100
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 19h
Time for this classic again.
128136214601
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 5h
Looking forward to reading the new OOPSI book by Jenny Martin 📓 Genuinely transformational ideas and practices here...
031
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 13h
Leadership teams can use the same AI language while solving different problems. The Roundtable Accelerator brings those conversations together. Explore it here → confluxhq.com/shop/p/roundtable-acc…
Leadership teams can use the same AI language while solving different problems. The Roundtable Accelerator brings those conversations together.

Explore it here → https://confluxhq.com/shop/p/roundtable-accelerator-strategic-leadership-alignment-for-ai-adoption
011
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 29/09/2026
A simple Product Operating Model check: ask a team, “What do you own from start to finish?” If the answer is mostly handoffs, there’s still work to do. Explore the accelerator → teamtopologies.com/pom
A simple Product Operating Model check: ask a team, “What do you own from start to finish?” If the answer is mostly handoffs, there’s still work to do.

Explore the accelerator → https://teamtopologies.com/pom
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Nicole Bedera @handle.invalid · 28/09/2026
Another big one is teaching your son to see girls as equals. Instead of enrolling him in sex-segregated sports, introduce him to a co-ed team. And help him foster his more “feminine” interests where we can be in mixed-sex spaces, making mixed-sex friend groups.
6910114
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Nicole Bedera @handle.invalid · 28/09/2026
Teach your son to wait. Teach him that other people are as important as he is. Teach him to apologize and go back to the end of the line if he made an entitled decision. Teach him that girls and women deserve respect in *all* scenarios—not just during sex.
21346253
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/09/2026
Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc
nyti.ms
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
892115864
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Software Architecture Gathering @sagconference.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
𝗪𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 🎙️Who’s accountable when #AIAgents take action? Louise Humpington explores human oversight, delegated authority & #AI governance in our latest #SAG2026 interview. 👉️ t1p.de/rrwlm #SAGconf #LLM #ResponsibleAI
𝗪𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆
132
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 28/09/2026
Useful knowledge shouldn’t stay in one team. AI makes shared context even more important. Explore my Adapt Together keynote → matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/ad…
Useful knowledge shouldn’t stay in one team. AI makes shared context even more important.

Explore my Adapt Together keynote → https://matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/adapt-together-for-ai-success-enhancing-value-flow-with-curated-context-and-knowledge-diffusion
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
SwiftOnSecurity @swiftonsecurity.com · 27/09/2026
Well, just had a leading LLM get an internal error processing a Material Safety Data Sheet I sent it, so it HALLUCINATED THE ENTIRE THING INSTEAD and created a fake version of the product... so it could give answers about the product. Oh lord.
When you provided the API link to the
STEK SDS, my internal browsing tool attempted to access it and hit a server block (URL_FETCH_STATUS_MISC_ERROR ).
Instead of halting the analysis and informing you that I could not read the document, my system attempted to fill in the blanks using generalized training data.
2330368
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Maciek Hamela @maciekhamela.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
With the Strait of Hormuz closed, Iraq has resorted to moving its oil across the desert to Syria in hundreds of tanker trucks, in true Mad Max style. From there, it will be shipped to worldwide markets.
1501943546
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Some unintended consequences I suspect the rise of AI agents will create: 1. Restaurants that only take reservations by hand written letter, or more likely, don't take them at all. 2. Gigs where you can only buy tickets in person. 3. Businesses that operate without websites.
66938157
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 25/09/2026
"we do book clubs because we want to read and enjoy books, not to just discuss over summaries because it is "more productive"." #AI diegoe.be/2026/09/25/l...
diegoe.be
LLM Policies: Progress At All Costs
GNOME and KDE have started to consider LLM policies, and we should talk about what this is really about. KDE caught everyone's attention first by...
000
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 25/09/2026
Moving to the cloud did more than just change the technology at iBwave. It also required a rethink of the product and how teams were organized around it. You can see how we helped shape that transition → confluxhq.com/all-success-stories/c…
Moving to the cloud did more than just change the technology at iBwave. It also required a rethink of the product and how teams were organized around it. You can see how we helped shape that transition → https://confluxhq.com/all-success-stories/cloud-readiness-and-flow-architectures-at-ibwave
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Rob Bowley @robbowley.net · 25/09/2026
A good reminder to (re)read No Silver Bullet. Tools shrink accidental complexity; essential complexity remains.
X Quote Repost Screenshot:

François Chollet
@fchollet
I think the "difficulty" of software engineering is essentially constant no matter what abstraction level you move to, because human cognition adapts to new tools until it can fully utilize itself.

Tools are only affordances, not a magic wand that makes work disappear.

Great software engineering was immensely challenging before. It is still immensely challenging now, despite very different workflows.

Quote
Simon Willison
@simonw

The more time I spend working with coding agents, the more convinced I am that they make software engineering even harder

We can do amazing things with them, but unlocking their full potential requires extraordinary discipline and knowledge x.com/gergelyorosz/s…
194
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 24/09/2026
A Product Operating Model only becomes real when teams know what they own and feel confident working differently. Explore the Team Topologies Product Operating Model Accelerator → teamtopologies.com/pom
A Product Operating Model only becomes real when teams know what they own and feel confident working differently.

Explore the Team Topologies Product Operating Model Accelerator → https://teamtopologies.com/pom
011
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 23/09/2026
What happens to Team Topologies when AI agents join the way teams work? Responsibility matters even more. You can find the discussion here → matthewskelton.com/all-videos-and-p…
What happens to Team Topologies when AI agents join the way teams work? Responsibility matters even more.

You can find the discussion here → https://matthewskelton.com/all-videos-and-podcast-episodes/team-topologies-for-agentic-ai-the-futurise-podcast-with-rob-price-s2e18
010
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Janel Comeau 🍁 @verybadllama.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
submission guidelines: you can use US or UK spellings, so long as you are consistent me: listen it's not my fault you don't recognize the unique flavour that is Canadian English
717914
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 22/09/2026
AI needs context too. Useful knowledge can’t stay trapped in one team. Explore the Adapt Together keynote → matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/ad…
AI needs context too. Useful knowledge can’t stay trapped in one team.

Explore the Adapt Together keynote → https://matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/adapt-together-for-ai-success-enhancing-value-flow-with-curated-context-and-knowledge-diffusion
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🚨🚨 Social media venues such as #facebook and #instagram's algorithms have been designed by #meta to filter out 'social topic' such as #civilrights and #feminism. #Freespeech my ass. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Meta bans ads for Virginia Woolf play in Spain because they relate to feminism
Theatre told that Facebook and Instagram filter out ads mentioning ‘social topics’ such as civil rights or feminism
15323203
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 21/09/2026
AI adoption isn’t one decision. Leaders need to align on how work changes, who owns what, and what readiness means. Explore the Roundtable Accelerator → confluxhq.com/shop/p/roundtable-acc…
AI adoption isn’t one decision. Leaders need to align on how work changes, who owns what, and what readiness means.

Explore the Roundtable Accelerator → https://confluxhq.com/shop/p/roundtable-accelerator-strategic-leadership-alignment-for-ai-adoption
110
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
OpenAI and Microsoft admitted LLMs are predatory tech built on “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document said AI has created a “doom loop” that is killing “the entire web.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
404media.co
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
401522708
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 18/09/2026
One team proving a new way of working can be more convincing than another presentation. See how Team Topologies helped at scale → teamtopologies.com/news-blogs-newsl…
One team proving a new way of working can be more convincing than another presentation. See how Team Topologies helped at scale → https://teamtopologies.com/news-blogs-newsletters/banking-at-scale-a-blueprint-for-delivery-transformation-using-team-topologies
000
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 17/09/2026
If a client asked, “Are you comfortable working with Team Topologies?”, how consistent would your team’s answers be? The Fluency Program helps build that shared understanding. Explore it here → teamtopologies.com/fluency
If a client asked, “Are you comfortable working with Team Topologies?”, how consistent would your team’s answers be? The Fluency Program helps build that shared understanding.

Explore it here → https://teamtopologies.com/fluency
110
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Memento (artemis) Morty 🌙 @mementomorty.bsky.social · 22/03/2024
dude is one muscle away from having his own podcast where he sells protein powder and talks conspiracy theories with losers like joe rogan
836110
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 16/09/2026
LHV Bank didn’t solve growth by adding more teams. It rethought where responsibility should sit. Read the full story → confluxhq.com/all-success-stories/n…
LHV Bank didn’t solve growth by adding more teams. It rethought where responsibility should sit.

Read the full story → https://confluxhq.com/all-success-stories/nimble-scaling-lhv-bank-accelerates-value-flow-and-strategic-alignment-through-team-topologies
000
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 15/09/2026
Before giving AI more freedom, I’d give it a fence... Bounded agency means clear limits and responsibility. Read my conversation with Stackmint → matthewskelton.com/all-articles/sta…
Before giving AI more freedom, I’d give it a fence... Bounded agency means clear limits and responsibility.

Read my conversation with Stackmint → https://matthewskelton.com/all-articles/stackmint-bounded-agency-why-enterprise-ai-needs-governance-before-autonomy
011
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 14/09/2026
AI can add huge capacity. But if teams are still waiting on decisions or unclear on ownership, it may only speed up the confusion... Explore the idea here → confluxhq.com/insight/ai-native-ope…
AI can add huge capacity. But if teams are still waiting on decisions or unclear on ownership, it may only speed up the confusion...

Explore the idea here → https://confluxhq.com/insight/ai-native-operating-models-critical-pathways-to-enhanced-value-delivery
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
4059752383
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 13/09/2026
Today's #bicontrast 🎨🔳 photo: late summer flowers against a big sky. #photography
B&W: tall flowers against a big nearly cloudless skyColor: tall yellow flowers against a blue sky
030
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 12/09/2026
Today's #bicontrast 🎨🔳 photo - a wall in Bratislava #photography
060
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Mike Caulfield @mikecaulfield.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
"I dumped the rubric in, told it it was a teacher, and it was wildly inconsistent" Yeah, you want to see my shocked face, this is my shocked face
0151
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Btw, even among pro AI friends, this concern is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Devs wondering how we get senior devs if the ecosystem for junior devs goes away. Doctors talking about not needing interns. Lawyers not needing paralegals. There's an ecological aspect to this and we need a plan.
2674575
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 11/09/2026
Platform Engineering is about making something teams can trust. Clear ownership and good interfaces make all the difference. Find the full talk here → matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/ke…
Platform Engineering is about making something teams can trust. Clear ownership and good interfaces make all the difference.

Find the full talk here → https://matthewskelton.com/keynote-talks/keynote-platform-engineering-done-well
020
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 10/09/2026
The best part of the Practical Data Community meetup was seeing people focus on meaningful AI output. Shared context makes the difference: matthewskelton.com/all-videos-and-p…
The best part of the Practical Data Community meetup was seeing people focus on meaningful AI output. Shared context makes the difference: https://matthewskelton.com/all-videos-and-podcast-episodes/practical-data-community-meetup-team-topologies-adapt-together-and-effective-use-of-ai-for-writing
120
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 09/09/2026
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state. A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface. And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A crescent Moon seen during the day, arcing from upper left to lower right of the frame. At lower centre is the full disk of Jupiter; the small dots to its upper left and lower right and Io and Ganymede, respectively.
187165305075
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 09/09/2026
The Generative AI Organisational Reset www.alpha-matica.com/post/the-gen... 'What we call “The Generative AI Organisational Reset” treats AI not as a productivity add-on, but as a structural catalyst. It collapses traditional hierarchical pyramids into lean, horizontal human-AI networks.'
alpha-matica.com
The Generative AI Organisational Reset
GenAI breaks “more revenue → more people → more layers.” It flattens orgs into human–AI networks. Governance must be artefact-driven (logs, code, pipelines as truth). Small teams own full cycles;…
010
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 09/09/2026
Have we seriously reached the point where “there’s a greater than 10% chance this kills everybody” isn’t a stop sign, it’s merely a business risk? www.forbes.com/sites/siladi...
forbes.com
Anthropic Alignment Lead Issues Warning About AI Killing Humans As Researcher Resigns
The warnings come amid a push by some AI executives for a coordinated slowdown in AI development.
513956
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 09/09/2026
Aligned domains matter even more with AI. When teams share a clear domain and understand what they own, AI can support the work instead of adding noise. It’s the simplest way to make AI useful across an organization. Find the full read here → teamtopologies.com/ai-success
Aligned domains matter even more with AI. When teams share a clear domain and understand what they own, AI can support the work instead of adding noise. It’s the simplest way to make AI useful across an organization.

Find the full read here  → https://teamtopologies.com/ai-success
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Daniel Sugarman @danielsugarman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This Neo-Nazi is attempting to target RNLI volunteers. The police have to act, and the Prime Minister should be making a public statement.
Neo Nazi attempts to target RNLI volunteers
3710279
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 08/09/2026
Looking forward to reading my copy of Collective Confidence by Andre Martin. "The winning formula of the world's best teams" 📘
White guy with short black/silver hair holding a book called Collective Confidence. In ther background is a bookcase with many books.
000
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 08/09/2026
AI thrives on organizational foundations. When teams have clear responsibilities and simple ways to work together, AI strengthens that. When they don’t, it mostly magnifies the friction: teamtopologies.com/news-blogs-newsl…
AI thrives on organizational foundations.  When teams have clear responsibilities and simple ways to work together, AI strengthens that. When they don’t, it mostly magnifies the friction: https://teamtopologies.com/news-blogs-newsletters/why-team-topologies-is-the-essential-foundation-for-ai-roi
000
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Tube Mapper- Luke Agbaimoni @tubemapper.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Another photo of the narrow tiled pathway at Goodge Street station, easily one of my favourite locations on the Underground. Despite its striking appearance, it often goes unnoticed as passengers hurry towards the lifts. Is this the narrowest location on the underground network?
Goodge Street station
720932
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 07/09/2026
Huh. Accidentally outer myself as a musician today (amateur): outside a restaurant then inside to order food. Waiter takes the order then asks: "Hope you don't mind me asking but are you a musician?" Me: "huh,.. how come?" Waiter: "I saw you moving about to the music you're listening to" 🤷💪📯
121
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 07/09/2026
Fast flow often starts with finally seeing how work really moves. That’s what stood out at EBSCO: data made the real patterns visible, and teams could act with confidence. Full story → confluxhq.com/ebsco
Fast flow often starts with finally seeing how work really moves. That’s what stood out at EBSCO: data made the real patterns visible, and teams could act with confidence.

Full story → https://confluxhq.com/ebsco
020
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A weird side effect of AI that can make legal workflow less efficient than in pre-AI days www.ft.com/content/9877...
Another problematic consequence for lawyers is that some clients have become so cautious about the risks of their sensitive data being fed into large language models that they have used tech tools to prevent their lawyers from downloading and even printing the information. In some cases that has forced law firms to assign more associates to a case and work in a less
efficient way than in the pre-AI era.
64517
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 05/09/2026
While James Orr is in the news – let’s look at what he’s been up to with Michael Gove... goodlaw.social/we4g
goodlaw.social
Putin’s megaphone: Orbán’s far-right push into UK universities is fuelled by Russian oil
Good Law Project has uncovered a network funded by Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán, that uses profits from refining Russian oil to platform far right and anti-trans campaigners in the UK
114992
Reposted by Matthew Skelton
Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
HOLY SHIT DUDES fucking with the environment is now not just a sin (which Francis also said), it is classed as a direct fuck-you to God and a central tenet of the reasoning is the need to care for "our common home," i.e. you are morally obligated to think about the other people who also live here
americamagazine.org
Vatican theological commission defines ‘sin against creation and the Creator’ in new document
The more than 29,000 word text calls for ecological conversion due to “sin against creation and the Creator.”
981292360
Matthew Skelton @matthewskelton.com · 04/09/2026
AI can accomplish a great deal. The more challenging question is if your organization is structured to use it effectively. Team Topologies offers a framework for considering the clear boundaries and necessary context that AI also requires. Explore AI success → teamtopologies.com/ai-success
AI can accomplish a great deal. The more challenging question is if your organization is structured to use it effectively. Team Topologies offers a framework for considering the clear boundaries and necessary context that AI also requires.

Explore AI success → https://teamtopologies.com/ai-success
000