Fieldway exists to help people work better together, to do the next right thing, and to work in the best way. The best work honors both our teammates and our customers, and it delivers maximum value to both the business and its customers.
I help companies develop the culture needed to unleash their employees and maximize value.
My name is Matthew Stublefield. I decided to start my own company after talking with executives, team leads, and employees at dozens of companies who needed help finding their way forward. With 20 years of experience in the IT space, I’ve run into many of the challenges that companies and teams are facing today, and I can help solve them.
My goal is to help you become better and move forward without me. I will teach your employees the skills they need to make your company better and delight your customers. I care deeply about your success and the experience of your customers, and those will always be my priority.
Values
A Just Path
The end does not justify the means; rather, the means must be just. The way we work, how we interact with one another, and our motivation all matter.
Begin with Curiosity
This one applies to both what we’re producing and people.
With people, don’t assume intent, tone, or situation. Give people the benefit of the doubt and ask questions about their approach, priorities, and goals.
With projects, people, and systems, always keep digging. Don’t make assumptions about anything, and don’t settle for surface answers or deflections.
Keep asking, “Why?”
Practice Empathy
Care deeply about people and the outcomes they are pursuing. And practice daily to develop more empathetic instincts and communications.
People Over Processes
The processes and tools should serve the people, not the other way around. What’s more, my job is to serve and empower your team. You matter, and you and your team take priority.
Systems Thinking
While there is value in breaking work, processes, and products down to their smallest pieces to consider them, we must also examine the whole and how it works together. Only through holistic consideration can we understand the system and develop successful ways forward, product features, or communication systems.
Scientific Approaches
Form hypotheses and test them. Always be thinking about how we can experiment inexpensively, learn, create feedback loops, and revise our worldviews based on what we have discovered.
Continuous Improvement
Small and incremental progress built on compounded learning is the surest and most successful path.
We don’t fail if we learn and continue improving. And most any improvement is worth implementing.
Courageous Honesty
Constructive conflict is healthy, and being honest about our strengths, weaknesses, discoveries, and concerns is critical.
What people think about you is less important than learning or making sure we’re going down the right path. Speak up.
Don’t compound ignorance with inaudibility.
Strunk & White
Sustainable Work Design
Find time to recharge in the way that works for you. Build your work schedule, work processes, and work interactions in a way that enables your best work.
Don’t design work structures, communication systems, or software configuration in a way that is unsustainable. If you need to incur debt, commit to a plan immediately for when you’ll pay it down.
Trust
I have worked with organizations and systems that must comply with HIPPA, ISO 27001, SOC2, PCI, and Sarbanes-Oxley.
I use Proton for email, calendar, and document storage to ensure all communications and documents are encrypted and secure. My laptop is similarly encrypted and kept physically secure at all times.
You can trust that I will treat your information with respect and protect your intellectual property and privileged data. If you have agreements you need me to sign or security audits that you would like me to complete, I can do that.