Well said! The role of an FDE was a groundbreaking one. It was the first opportunity I had to solve problems that I believed needed more attention for the growth of the company. You just aren’t able to take that passionate viewpoints in other environments. I appreciate having the opportunity to experience that within a growing company. I would... See more

The FDE has a conflict-riddled relationship with core product teams defined by constant contradictions. FDE’s are encouraged to build custom software. Devs are encouraged to forget their roadmaps to swarm high value opportunities. Devs are also encouraged to ignore FDE’s. FDE’s are also forbidden from deviating from a few core product principles.... See more

The FDE role was famously inspired by Karp’s observation of how excellent French restaurants operate. The waitstaff is an intrinsic part of the kitchen. If you want to order the wrong wine with the fish, the wait staff will simply tell you no. In order to provide the best experience the delivery mechanism has to be a part of the product, it has to... See more

James Pratama

One of Palantir’s secrets in the Zero to One sense of the word has been the FDE. We were criticized for a very long time for this approach to building and delivering software. This criticism was annoying in the moment but in a full accounting quite valuable for Palantir. The criticism created a chilling effect and resulting conformity in how... See more

The FDE works for Palantir because it is intrinsically linked to the unique ambition, product strategy, and business strategy we pursue. The tribute bands go half way. They capitulate on needing an FDE like role, but are still stuck in the prison of low-value, low-complexity, extractive software business models. This results in underwhelming roles... See more

The FDE role is also intertwined with an unconventional business strategy: having the right clients is a better way to build an enduring, scaleable business than trying to have all the clients. We publicly disclose that we generate >$1.1 billion in annual revenue from our top 20 clients. We achieve these exceptional ACV’s because we are deeply... See more