<description>&lt;p&gt;A new or growing SRE team. A copy of the book. A company that says it cares about reliability. &lt;em&gt;What happens next? &lt;/em&gt;Usually… not much.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode, I sit down with &lt;strong&gt;Dave O’Connor&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;a 16-year Google SRE veteran&lt;/strong&gt;, to talk about what happens when organizations cargo-cult reliability practices without understanding the context they were born in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You might know him for his self-deprecating wit and legendary USENIX blurb about being “complicit in the development of the SRE function.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This one’s a treat — less “here’s a shiny new tool” and more “here’s what reliability &lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; looks like when you’ve seen it all.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✨ &lt;em&gt;No vendor plugs from Dave at all, just a good old-fashioned chat about what works and what doesn’t.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here’s what we dive into:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;The adoption trap&lt;/strong&gt;: Why SRE efforts often fail before they begin—especially when new hires care more about reliability than the org ever intended.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;The SRE book dilemma&lt;/strong&gt;: Dave’s take on why following the SRE book chapter-by-chapter is a trap for most companies (and what to do instead).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;The cost of “caring too much”&lt;/strong&gt;: How engineers burn out trying to force reliability into places it was never funded to live.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;You build it, you run it (but should you?)&lt;/strong&gt;: Not everyone’s cut out for incident command—and why pretending otherwise sets teams up to fail.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;Buying vs. building&lt;/strong&gt;: The real reason even conservative enterprises are turning into software shops — and the reliability nightmare that follows.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also discuss the evolving role of reliability in organizations today, from being mistaken for “just ops” to becoming a strategic investment (when done right).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dave's seen the waves come and go in SRE — and he's still optimistic. That alone is worth a listen.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://read.srepath.com?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1"&gt;read.srepath.com&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Reliability Enablers

Ash Patel & Sebastian Vietz

#67 Why the SRE Book Fails Most Orgs — Lessons from a Google Veteran

JUL 15, 202530 MIN
Reliability Enablers

#67 Why the SRE Book Fails Most Orgs — Lessons from a Google Veteran

JUL 15, 202530 MIN

Description

<p>A new or growing SRE team. A copy of the book. A company that says it cares about reliability. <em>What happens next? </em>Usually… not much.</p><p>In this episode, I sit down with <strong>Dave O’Connor</strong>, <strong>a 16-year Google SRE veteran</strong>, to talk about what happens when organizations cargo-cult reliability practices without understanding the context they were born in.</p><p>You might know him for his self-deprecating wit and legendary USENIX blurb about being “complicit in the development of the SRE function.”</p><p>This one’s a treat — less “here’s a shiny new tool” and more “here’s what reliability <em>actually</em> looks like when you’ve seen it all.”</p><p>✨ <em>No vendor plugs from Dave at all, just a good old-fashioned chat about what works and what doesn’t.</em></p><p>Here’s what we dive into:</p><p>* <strong>The adoption trap</strong>: Why SRE efforts often fail before they begin—especially when new hires care more about reliability than the org ever intended.</p><p>* <strong>The SRE book dilemma</strong>: Dave’s take on why following the SRE book chapter-by-chapter is a trap for most companies (and what to do instead).</p><p>* <strong>The cost of “caring too much”</strong>: How engineers burn out trying to force reliability into places it was never funded to live.</p><p>* <strong>You build it, you run it (but should you?)</strong>: Not everyone’s cut out for incident command—and why pretending otherwise sets teams up to fail.</p><p>* <strong>Buying vs. building</strong>: The real reason even conservative enterprises are turning into software shops — and the reliability nightmare that follows.</p><p>We also discuss the evolving role of reliability in organizations today, from being mistaken for “just ops” to becoming a strategic investment (when done right).</p><p>Dave's seen the waves come and go in SRE — and he's still optimistic. That alone is worth a listen.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://read.srepath.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">read.srepath.com</a>