As complexity increases, are you (too often) shouting into the wind? Do you see icebergs ahead yet fail to convince others to avoid them? Are your architecture-focused discussions more exhausting than productive? Does the accountant understand the value of your work?

The thinking and communication skills we've developed on the job often fail us when we face more-complex challenges. That is why we are learning DDD. Rather than double down on code-specific solutions, we are developing different, more effective conceptual approaches.

Yet, there is an underlying skillset the nourishes and supports our ability to practice DDD or any approach that challenges traditional "power" structures. In this workshop, we'll focus on that skillset.

We'll explore the four fundamental truths:

- Conway was right: communication architects software and systems

- Uncertainty is always a factor

- Fred Brooks was right: conceptual integrity matters most

- Continuous learning is essential: the modern hero is the person who weaves everyone else's expertise into a cohesive, trustworthy whole

And we'll explore four fundamental practices:

- Argumentation: creating strong and valid solutions based on sound reasoning

- Structuring collective reasoning: thinking well together

- Recognizing conceptual fallacies

- Cultivating the right types of energy: aka thoughts are only part of communication

In this talk, I'll link to practice materials to try at home.