Writing
Fish Food for Thought
Fish Food for Thought began as a simple internal newsletter, a way for Mike to share weekly updates and reflections with a small group. Over time, it evolved into a widely read weekly publication with nearly 10,000 subscribers. The topics range across technology, product, organizations, and personal experience, but the through line is consistent. The writing focuses on leadership, particularly for those building and leading product and engineering teams, blending hard earned lessons from scaling companies with practical guidance that readers can apply immediately in their own work.
Across Scalability Rules, The Art of Scalability, and The Power of Customer Misbehavior, Mike’s motivation has been consistent: to make hard won lessons accessible to others. The books distill real experiences into practical guidance, not to showcase expertise, but to help leaders avoid common traps, make better decisions, and build organizations that succeed at scale without relearning the same lessons the hard way.
Books
Praise Quotes
Once again, Abbott and Fisher provide a book that I’ll be giving to our engineers. It’s an essential read for anyone dealing with scaling an online business. — Chris Lalonde, GM of Data Stores, Rackspace
For organizations looking to scale technology, people, and processes rapidly or effectively, the twin pairing of Scalability Rules and The Art of Scalability is unbeatable. — Jeremy Wright, CEO, BNOTIONS.ca and Founder, b5media
That book [The Art of Scalability] is still the absolute recipe for success, and you guys should feel great about all the work you did helping grow all of the people behind you. — Public Company CTO
The Art of Scalability is an excellent book, written by some guys that know A LOT about scaling technology and organizations… If you are involved in building or supporting a scalable technology business this is a MUST read. — ThriftBooks reviewer (summary of customer feedback)
This book offers key insights for executives who desire to embark on a journey of discovery with customers, as they innovate on behalf of customers to transform their organizations. — Lynda Applegate, Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School (review excerpt)
Finally, we have a book that breaks the mould by bringing the type of thinking on innovation that is most appropriate for today's information-intensive and networked world. The authors provide insight through illustration in a highly readable and compelling prose. It is a must-read for executives who want to their companies to compete and win. - Varun Grover, Distinguished Professor of Information Systems, Clemson University