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Sharing is Caring

Discover how "Sharing is Caring" became a cultural cornerstone at Stelligent, driving collaboration, innovation, and external recognition through transparency and open-source contributions.

Paul Duvall

14 Jan 2025 • 4 min read

In a recent post, I highlighted four tenets that guided Stelligent throughout the 2010s: Speed of Delivery, Sharing, Continuous Improvement, and Self-Service. While these principles might sound like they were established on day one, they actually emerged from a reflective discussion about six years into Stelligent’s journey. During a critical growth phase—when we scaled from 4 to 40 people in three years—my co-founder, Rob Daly, and I found ourselves in a coffee shop asking, “What are the top values driving our company?” That conversation gave birth to these four guiding pillars.

Of the four tenets, Sharing became the principle that fed into everything else we did. It wasn't just a value—it was a catalyst that amplified our efforts across Speed of Delivery, Continuous Improvement, and Self-Service. Sharing accelerated our growth, solidified our expertise, and created momentum that powered what I now call the "AWS Partner Flywheel."

Sharing wasn’t just about distributing knowledge—it became the engine of our culture and a driver of measurable outcomes. Through initiatives like blog posts, open-source tools, public speaking, and internal collaboration, Sharing formed the foundation of what later became the Flywheel’s "Share" step. It provided the momentum to move seamlessly between Learning, Doing, Measuring, and Iterating.

Shortly after we articulated these values, we launched an initiative called “Sharing is Caring.” Rob humorously coined the name, but its purpose was profound: to make sharing knowledge as natural and frictionless as possible. Every Friday, we spent one hour showcasing projects, solutions, or ideas. These sessions required no elaborate slides or formalities—just a willingness to share. They mirrored the ethos of continuous delivery practices, lowering barriers, and promoting iteration.

Sharing didn’t just strengthen our internal collaboration; it further positioned Stelligent as a thought leader in Continuous Delivery and DevOps on AWS. Over time, this openness became our not-so-secret weapon. While some worried that sharing might enable competitors to replicate our methods, we found the opposite to be true. Sharing elevated our expertise, attracted new customers, and reinforced our Flywheel.

The Flywheel is an eight-step mechanism for sustainable growth: Learn, Do, Measure, Share, Validate, Sell, Iterate, and Operate. Sharing isn’t just one of the steps; it’s the principle that amplifies every other step.

Learn: Sharing allowed us to refine and expand our expertise. By creating a culture where everyone contributed their learning, we further refined our superpower—Continuous Delivery and DevOps on AWS for enterprises.
Do: We applied this knowledge to deliver solutions like Stelligent U, mu, and cfn_nag. These solutions, designed with sharing in mind, became open-source resources that showcased our ability to reduce complexity for customers.
Measure: Sharing the KPIs that mattered to our customers—such as deployment frequency and recovery times—helped validate our impact and demonstrate ROI to customers. These metrics became powerful tools for storytelling.
Share: By publishing over 200 blog posts, creating open-source tools, and speaking at conferences, we amplified our impact. Sharing wasn’t just about broadcasting success—it was about fostering collaboration and innovation.
Validate: Sharing certifications, competencies, and customer testimonials reinforced our credibility. Customers saw not just our expertise but also our commitment to transparency and excellence.
Sell: Sharing created organic sales momentum. By openly showcasing our methods and results, we attracted customers who valued our expertise and outcomes.
Iterate: Feedback from shared insights fueled improvements in every aspect of our business. Sharing made iteration a natural and continuous process.
Operate: Automating parts of our operations through shared knowledge allowed us to scale efficiently while maintaining quality.

Stelligent U (GitHub Repo)
We initially created Stelligent U as an internal DevOps training platform to onboard new employees, equipping them with hands-on AWS skills and consulting expertise. Later, we made it available to the public as an open-source resource to help engineers gain practical AWS and DevOps knowledge.
mu (GitHub Repo)
Created by Casey Lee and later enhanced by others at Stelligent as well as the broader community, mu was an open-source tool that simplified microservices deployments on AWS. By leveraging ECS, Fargate, Lambda, and CodePipeline, it embodied our mission to reduce complexity, enabling customers to deploy and manage microservices at scale with ease.
cfn_nag (GitHub Repo)
Created by Eric Kascic, and enhanced and maintained by a broader community, cfn_nag is a scanner for AWS CloudFormation templates that detects security vulnerabilities and enforces best practices. Predating AWS CloudFormation Guard (cfn-guard) by several years, it similarly aimed to improve security and compliance. Over time, cfn_nag became a trusted tool by millions of AWS practitioners to identify and address potential security issues in their CloudFormation templates.
Blog Posts (Stelligent Blog)
Over a decade, we published over 200 articles detailing our technical approaches, lessons learned, and cultural philosophies. These posts solidified our reputation as DevOps on AWS thought leaders.
DevOps on AWS Radio
A podcast series I launched with Brian Jakovich that drew more than 5,000 monthly downloads over 3–4 years. These episodes allowed us to engage with the broader DevOps community and share our stories in a different medium.
AWS re:Invent Talks

Sharing became more than a principle; it was a strategic lever that fed into the Flywheel’s momentum. It transformed our internal culture, accelerated our growth, and built a legacy of thought leadership in the AWS ecosystem.

For AWS Partners, adopting a culture of Sharing can unlock similar growth. By embedding Sharing into every step of the Flywheel, you create a virtuous cycle of learning, innovation, and impact. Sharing accelerates momentum, strengthens customer trust, and reinforces your position as a leader in your superpower. When sharing becomes intrinsic to your culture, it not only drives growth but also fosters a sense of purpose and collaboration that sustains success.

Sharing: The Catalyst for the Flywheel

The AWS Partner Flywheel: Powered by Sharing

Results of a Culture of Sharing

The Power of Sharing in Your Flywheel