# Kurt Kemple's Website

## About

This is the personal website of Kurt Kemple, Senior Director of Developer Relations at Slack. Kurt's journey to tech leadership began in the most unexpected place: learning to code while incarcerated. That unconventional start shaped his entire approach to technology and his belief that the best opportunities often exist where conventional thinking ends.

Kurt specializes in finding the intersection between developer needs and business outcomes, whether that's building AI-enabled tools that deliver 10x productivity gains, creating measurement frameworks that connect DevRel to revenue, or identifying market dynamics before they materialize. He's the creator of frameworks and theories like DX Audits, Developer Relations Value Cycle, Frustration Coalitions, Keystone Paradox, Lava Leadership, LLM Experience (LX), Leaky Prompts, and more that help individuals and companies identify, name, and dismantle complexity.

His work focuses on making the invisible work of developer relations visible and measurable, connecting systematic approaches to developer experience with clear business impact. Kurt's writing combines strategic thinking with actionable frameworks, drawing from his experience in DevRel, product management, and engineering leadership. His blog covers everything from day-to-day DevRel operations to high-level competitive strategy and organizational psychology.

Currently writing a book on strategic DevRel for Apress, Kurt writes, speaks, and advises on developer relations strategy, competitive market analysis, and building exceptional developer experiences. His perspective is shaped by resilience, systems thinking, and a commitment to democratizing technology access.

When not dissecting market dynamics or building developer communities, you'll find him exploring the world through street photography, riding his motorcycle, or going on adventures with his wife and two kids.

## Blog Posts

### AI & Technology Strategy

**[Democratizing AI: Empowering Creators and Shaping the Future of Innovation](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/democratizing-ai-empowering-creators)**
*Framework: AI Democratization Strategy*

- **Intent**: Advocate for widespread AI access to drive innovation
- **Key Framework**: Five pillars: open research, accessible tools, education, ethics, supportive policy
- **Practical Tips**: Focus on user-friendly AI tools, expand AI education, create ethical frameworks
- **Impact**: Vision for equitable AI development that benefits all of humanity

**[LLM Experience: The Missing Discipline in AI Development](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/llm-experience)**
*Framework: LLM Experience (LX) Design*

- **Intent**: Establish LX as a discipline that optimizes for AI cognition and information architecture
- **Key Framework**: Architecture-centric design over prompt-centric design
- **Practical Tips**: Multi-level embedding, semantic chunking, context prioritization, automatic enhancement
- **Impact**: Transforms AI systems from functional to exceptional through superior information architecture

**[Leaky Prompts: How Context Pollution Degrades AI Performance](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/leaky-prompts)**
*Framework: Context Engineering for AI Systems*

- **Intent**: Identify and prevent context pollution that degrades AI performance over time
- **Key Framework**: Task drift + conversational noise = context pollution
- **Practical Tips**: Context pruning, task anchoring, information hierarchy, checkpoint validation
- **Impact**: Maintains AI system quality and focus through extended interactions

**[Gap-filling Expertise with Claude Projects](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/gap-filling-expertise-with-claude-projects)**
*Framework: AI-Assisted Cross-Functional Work*

- **Intent**: Use AI to bridge expertise gaps when cross-functional teams are unavailable
- **Key Framework**: Configure AI assistants for specific organizational roles
- **Practical Tips**: Upload relevant documents, create custom instructions, use for preliminary reviews
- **Impact**: Maintain project momentum while preparing for expert collaboration

### Competitive Strategy & Market Analysis

**[Market Disruption in the AI Era](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/market-disruption-in-the-ai-era)**
*Framework: Jobs to Be Done + Frustration Coalitions + Blue Ocean Strategy*

- **Intent**: Explain how modern B2B SaaS disruption actually happens
- **Key Framework**: Three frameworks working together to create systematic disruption
- **Practical Tips**: Monitor sentiment-inertia gaps, focus on user experience over features, understand PLG acceleration
- **Impact**: Provides predictive framework for both attacking and defending market positions

**[Frustration Coalitions: The Hidden Threat to Every B2B SaaS](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/frustration-coalitions-the-hidden-threat-to-b2b-saas)**
*Framework: Frustration Coalition Formation*

- **Intent**: Identify and prevent organized customer defection
- **Key Framework**: Six-stage coalition formation process
- **Practical Tips**: Watch for linguistic shifts from "I" to "we", monitor NPS vs churn gaps, focus on workflow friction
- **Impact**: Early warning system for mass customer churn events

**[The Frustration Coalition Framework](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/the-frustration-coalition-framework)**
*Framework: Complete Frustration Coalition Framework*

- **Intent**: Comprehensive strategic framework for predicting B2B customer defection
- **Key Framework**: Six-stage formation process with PLG acceleration effects
- **Practical Tips**: Monitor early warning indicators, implement platform defense strategies, track sentiment-inertia gaps
- **Impact**: Systematic approach to competitive intelligence and customer retention

**[The Captive User Trap: Why Stable Usage + Declining NPS = Maximum Danger](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/the-captive-user-trap)**
*Framework: Captive User Analysis*

- **Intent**: Explain why stable usage with declining satisfaction is the most dangerous pattern
- **Key Framework**: Trapped user frustration leads to explosive exodus events
- **Practical Tips**: Reframe retention metrics, focus on user empowerment over entrapment
- **Impact**: Helps companies identify hidden competitive vulnerabilities

**[The Sentiment-Inertia Index (Sii): Measuring Frustration Coalition Disruption](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/sentiment-inertia-index)**
*Framework: Sentiment-Inertia Index Formula*

- **Intent**: Quantify risk of frustration coalition formation
- **Key Framework**: Sii = (100-NPS)/Churn Rate
- **Practical Tips**: Align metrics to same population, use as trending indicator, focus on user/customer churn
- **Impact**: Provides quantifiable early warning system for competitive displacement

### Mental Models & Philosophy

**[YAP (Yet Another Program) Mental Model](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/explaining-the-yap-model)**
*Framework: YAP Mental Model*

- **Intent**: Illustrate challenges of managing multiple cross-functional initiatives
- **Key Framework**: Program management inflation leads to inflection point where management overhead exceeds value
- **Practical Tips**: Strategic program selection, focus on efficiency, balance creation with participation
- **Impact**: Helps teams recognize when they're managing more than executing

**[Impostor Syndrome and the Knowledge Bubble Philosophy](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/impostor-syndrome-and-the-knowledge-bubble-philosophy)**
*Framework: Knowledge Bubble Philosophy*

- **Intent**: Combat impostor syndrome through reframing knowledge comparison
- **Key Framework**: Everyone has similar-sized knowledge bubbles filled with different things
- **Practical Tips**: Recognize that others don't know as much as you think, focus on different rather than less
- **Impact**: Healthier perspective on knowledge and expertise differences

**[Distributing Challenge: On Building Highly Engaged Teams](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/pyramid-of-challenge)**
*Framework: Pyramid of Challenge*

- **Intent**: Ensure all team members are appropriately challenged and engaged
- **Key Framework**: Triangle representing workload distribution from high complexity/low availability to low complexity/high availability
- **Practical Tips**: Avoid challenge gaps, balance team composition, use as framework for growth
- **Impact**: Prevents both under-challenging and over-challenging team members

**[Simplifying Decisions: The Drop, Defer, Delegate Method](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/simplifying-decisions-the-drop-defer-delegate-method)**
*Framework: Three D's Decision Framework*

- **Intent**: Streamline decision-making and prioritization in fast-paced environments
- **Key Framework**: Drop (eliminate non-essential), Defer (strategic timing), Delegate (empower others)
- **Practical Tips**: Regular review cycles, honest priority assessment, clear stakeholder communication
- **Impact**: Transforms scattered initiatives into focused, high-impact strategy

**[Lava Leadership: How Strategic Thinkers Can Drive Change from Below](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/how-strategic-thinkers-can-drive-change-from-below)**
*Framework: Lava Leadership Strategy*

- **Intent**: Help non-executives drive organizational change through strategic thinking
- **Key Framework**: Build coalition, speak leadership language, create compelling narrative
- **Practical Tips**: Leverage informal networks, start small with pilots, be patient and persistent
- **Impact**: Empowers individual contributors to influence organizational direction

**[The Keystone Paradox: When Being Essential Becomes a Liability](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/the-keystone-paradox-when-being-essential-becomes-a-liability)**
*Framework: Keystone Identification and Dismantling*

- **Intent**: Prevent single points of failure in teams through knowledge hoarding
- **Key Framework**: Identify keystones, dismantle knowledge silos, build resilient teams
- **Practical Tips**: Prioritize documentation, implement succession planning, rotate responsibilities
- **Impact**: Creates more resilient teams and prevents organizational bottlenecks

### Platform Strategy & DevRel

**[A Measured Approach to Top-of-Funnel Alignment](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/a-measured-approach-to-top-of-funnel-alignment)**
*Framework: Three Key Metrics for DevRel Alignment*

- **Intent**: Align DevRel efforts with Marketing and Developer Experience teams
- **Key Framework**: Focus on New Developer Acquisition, Activation Rate, and Time-to-Value
- **Practical Tips**: Track first interactions as acquisition events, define activation as consistent value creation, measure velocity from first touch to activation
- **Impact**: Creates shared language across teams and demonstrates cross-functional value

**[The Developer Advocate's Guide to Addressing Product Friction](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/developer-advocates-guide-to-addressing-product-friction)**
*Framework: DX Audits v2*

- **Intent**: Systematic approach to identifying and resolving developer experience issues
- **Key Framework**: Four-step process: Discover, Build, Report, Follow Up
- **Practical Tips**: Create friction logs, channel empathy in user testing, provide executive summaries with actionable items
- **Impact**: Proven framework for making DevRel feedback more structured and reportable

**[The Developer Advocate's Guide to Metrics and Reporting](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/developer-advocates-guide-to-metrics-and-reporting)**
*Framework: Developer Advocacy Value Cycle (DAVC)*

- **Intent**: Comprehensive guide to measuring DevRel impact and avoiding vanity metrics
- **Key Framework**: Engagement → Impact → Enablement cycle
- **Practical Tips**: Distinguish between trusted/untrusted metrics, success vs insight metrics, build paper trails for impact
- **Impact**: Foundational resource for DevRel measurement and proving business value

**[Funnels or Flywheels: Cross-Functional Alignment in DevRel](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/funnels-or-flywheels-finding-alignment)**
*Framework: Existing Model Integration*

- **Intent**: Align DevRel with existing company growth frameworks
- **Key Framework**: Integrate with PLG flywheel stages (Evaluate, Activate, Adopt, Expand, Advocate)
- **Practical Tips**: Use shared OKRs, create cross-functional syncs, implement rotation programs
- **Impact**: Demonstrates how DevRel amplifies other departments' work

**[Systems Thinking and Invisible Work: Bringing Clarity to DevRel](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/systems-thinking-and-invisible-work-bringing-clarity-to-devrel)**
*Framework: Systems Thinking for DevRel*

- **Intent**: Make invisible DevRel work visible and improve team understanding
- **Key Framework**: Tiered customer enablement approach with clear role separation
- **Practical Tips**: Map workflows and interdependencies, conduct "invisible work" audits, create visual maps
- **Impact**: Better resource allocation and more comprehensive role descriptions

**[Operationalizing DevRel: Countering the YAP Syndrome](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/managing-program-ops-in-devrel)**
*Framework: YAP (Yet Another Program) Counter-Strategy*

- **Intent**: Prevent DevRel teams from drowning in program management overhead
- **Key Framework**: Separate program management from program participation
- **Practical Tips**: Automate routine tasks, standardize processes, create DevRel Manager role
- **Impact**: Allows advocates to focus on high-value activities instead of administrative work

### Communication

**[The Developer Advocate's Guide to Getting Buy-In](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/developer-advocates-guide-to-getting-buy-in)**
*Framework: Buy-in Strategy and Skills*

- **Intent**: Help DevRel professionals successfully advocate for changes
- **Key Framework**: Communication, empathy, patience, persistence as core skills
- **Practical Tips**: Collect quantitative data, record user experiences, build prototypes, look for alignment
- **Impact**: Systematic approach to influencing organizational change

**[The Developer Advocate's Guide to Asking for Things](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/developer-advocates-guide-to-asking-for-things)**
*Framework: Three Rs of Asking*

- **Intent**: Professional approach to making requests that create value for all parties
- **Key Framework**: Recognition, Request, Reward
- **Practical Tips**: Recognize why you need specific people, be descriptive about commitments, ensure mutual value
- **Impact**: Reframes "transactional" relationships as value-creating partnerships

**[Balancing Execution and Communication in Long-Term Product Initiatives](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/balancing-execution-and-communication-in-long-running-projects)**
*Framework: Execution-Communication Balance*

- **Intent**: Maintain momentum and support throughout multi-phase projects
- **Key Framework**: Balance doing work with communicating about work
- **Practical Tips**: Communicate full scope, provide regular updates, use demonstrations effectively
- **Impact**: Prevents loss of organizational support during long-term initiatives

### Content

**[The Developer Advocate's Guide to Content Creation](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/developer-advocates-guide-to-content-creation)**
*Framework: Content Pre-work Checklist*

- **Intent**: Systematic approach to creating effective developer content
- **Key Framework**: Five-part checklist: Objective, Motivation, Persona, Hook, Questions
- **Practical Tips**: Do work before the work, choose appropriate medium, get quality feedback
- **Impact**: Transforms content creation from inspiration-based to systematic process

**[Theory to Practice: Meeting Learners Where They Are](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/theory-to-practice)**
*Framework: Theory-Practice Learning Scale*

- **Intent**: Design developer education that caters to different learning styles
- **Key Framework**: Spectrum from theory enthusiasts to practice pioneers
- **Practical Tips**: Layer documentation, create interactive tutorials, provide multiple entry points
- **Impact**: More inclusive and effective learning experiences for diverse developer audiences

**[Unlocking Expert Minds: Eight Patterns for Interactive Knowledge Capture](https://kurtiskemple.com/blog/unlocking-expert-minds-eight-patterns-for-interactive-knowledge-capture)**
*Framework: AI-Guided Interview Patterns*

- **Intent**: Explore innovative approaches to capturing specialized knowledge
- **Key Framework**: Eight patterns for dynamic, AI-driven knowledge capture sessions
- **Practical Tips**: Use guided interactivity, adaptive questioning, real-time analysis
- **Impact**: Transforms static knowledge capture into dynamic expertise articulation

## Common Themes

Kurt's work consistently focuses on:

- Systematic approaches to traditionally intuitive work
- Cross-functional collaboration and alignment
- Measurement and metrics for proving impact
- User experience as competitive advantage
- Organizational psychology and team dynamics
- Practical frameworks combined with grand theory
- Strategic thinking applied to operational challenges

## Contact & More

Visit [kurtiskemple.com](https://kurtiskemple.com) for the complete blog and latest updates.
You can follow him on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtiskemple/) or subscribe to his newsletter **The Catalyst** on [Substack](https://kurtiskemple.substack.com/).