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We've all worked on those technical projects that felt doomed from the start.

In this episode, we're joined by Eyvonne Sharp and Mike Bushong to dig into what actually derails technical projects, and why the root cause is usually people, not packets.

We unpack:
- Why 80–90% of project failures aren’t technical
- What “executive sponsorship” is supposed to mean (and why most teams never use it)
- The real reason timelines feel arbitrary: information asymmetry
- What “healthy escalation” looks like (and how to avoid the courtroom vibe)
- How to deliver bad news to leaders: few words, calm tone, clear next step, clear ask
- The leadership move that instantly lowers the temperature: removing blame
- Why informal networks matter, including a legendary security-incident save powered by… cheesecake

If you’ve ever felt stuck in status-call theater, pressured to keep the project's status green, or unsure how to talk to leadership when reality hits, this episode is your playbook.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

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Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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Recorded on-site in Austin, Texas, at AutoCon 4 (Network Automation Forum), Andy sits down with Colin Doyle to talk about the human side of technical communication and why it matters more than ever in technical careers.

They dig into practical speaking advice for engineers: how to slow down without losing authority, why “dead air” feels scarier than it is, how to stop relying on scripts, and how to structure a talk so your audience can repeat your message when you leave the room. Colin shares the “audience-first” mindset shift: don’t tell your story, tell the audience’s story with you in it.

Then the conversation widens into the network automation adoption problem: why network automation still lags behind other IT domains, why tooling fragmentation creates anxiety (“what if I learn the wrong thing?”), and why starting with Python is often the safest first step. Colin also reframes overlays (EVPN/VXLAN) as a fundamental shift: abstraction changes operations, pushes configuration to the edge, and makes intent-based operations and assurance the real job.

If you’re a CLI lifer preparing to level up, or you’re giving your first big talk, this episode is a practical, grounding guide.

In this episode: communication fundamentals, talk prep, booth culture at AutoCon, automation adoption barriers, overlays → intent → assurance, and why you don’t need to be a “kung fu wizard” to start automating.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

Support the show

Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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Most network engineers know BGP, OSPF, and maybe EIGRP, but far fewer have hands-on experience with ISIS. In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff sits down with Russ White and Mike Bushong for a deep, opinionated, and refreshingly honest discussion about routing protocol design in modern data centers.

We explore why BGP has become the default hammer for every networking nail, what we lose when we blend underlay and overlay into a single protocol, and why some of the largest networks in the world still rely on IS-IS for simplicity, scale, and resilience.

This isn’t a “which protocol is best” argument, it’s a design conversation. One about failure domains, operational reality, education gaps, and why many engineers never learn the protocols that quietly power hyperscale networks.

In this episode:

Why BGP is policy-rich but intentionally slow
The architectural value of separating underlay and overlay
How ISIS works and why it’s simpler than you think
TLVs, scalability, and protocol evolution
Why familiarity often beats good design (for better or worse)
Where RIFT fits and where it doesn’t
The cost of losing deep protocol knowledge as engineers retire

If you’ve ever wondered why networks are designed the way they are, or if you’ve felt uneasy about “just using BGP everywhere,” this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations where technology meets the human side of IT.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

Support the show

Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng