Owl Things Considerede: Issue 7

Why 'good enough' is actually great strategy, plus a real estate company built on user empathy, flamenco recommendations, and astronaut dog reunion.

Published

May 19, 2026

Knowledge management tips: “Good enough” is a great strategy

The underrated power of "good enough" in knowledge management

There's a very common paralysis that can set in partway through a knowledge base launch. You started the project with a clean outline and a realistic timeline. But then a stakeholder had thoughts which led you to think of an entire section that should probably exist, which left you wondering if the structure was actually right at all. Before long, you have no idea what “done” might look like, or even how to keep moving towards it.

This isn't a you-problem. It's a knowledge management problem, and it happens to almost everyone.

The goal of a knowledge base should never be perfection, the goal is usefulness. One that exists and answers 70% of your readers' questions is doing infinitely more work than one that's still a draft because you haven't had time to write articles about every single feature. Getting something out the door isn't settling. It's strategy.

Scope creep rarely announces itself. It tends to show up wearing a very reasonable disguise: "We should probably include this section while we're in here." The antidote isn't lower standards, it's getting clearer on what your standards are for this launch, right now. What does phase one need to accomplish? What can live in phase two? Writing that down somewhere can make all the difference.

The best knowledge bases aren't the ones that launched perfectly. They're the ones that launched, were used, received feedback, and got better. If you're sitting on something that's 70% of the way there, consider this your gentle nudge: define what "enough" looks like for this phase, and launch the darn thing. You can always come back to make it better. In fact, you most definitely will. I wrote a longer blog post on this topic, which you can check out here, if you’re interested.

A company that inspires us: Care Block Development

Real estate development is not an industry most people associate with the word "lovable." It tends to conjure images of glass condos and rising rents, of neighborhoods changing in ways that benefit everyone except the people who already live there. This is exactly what makes Care Block Development worth talking about.

Care Block is a small, family-owned real estate company based in Denton, Texas. Founded by Jacob Moses, it does something straightforward but quietly radical: it acquires historic buildings, restores them with care, and manages them as homes for the people it serves. No flipping, no luxury coversions, they focus on historic rehabs. So far they’ve brought back to life a 1922 craftsman home, an 1886 prairiehouse, and a 1907 home that once housed a church founded by the family whose name it still carries.

What makes Care Block particularly interesting to us is where Jacob came from. Some of you may already know his name: he's the founder and original host of The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast. He launched it in 2016 to push back against the idea that technical writing was dull, and then, over time, he carried the values behind that work—user empathy, clear communication, iterative improvement—into something most people wouldn't think to connect it to: housing.

In a March episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer, Jacob talked about how those two worlds connect. He described creating onboarding documentation for new tenants, complete with laminated cards and QR codes, offering multiple ways for people to submit maintenance requests based on how they actually prefer to communicate, and building self-help guides for emergency situations. He also talked about using project management software to give clients real-time transparency into the estimating process. It was a move that raised eyebrows in the contracting world but felt completely obvious to someone whose whole career had been about centering the human on the other side of the information.

The phrase he continually returns to is "lovable places." The idea that something can be not just functional, but genuinely cared for, and applies it to neighborhoods. Care Block acquires properties directly from longtime local owners, many of whom Jacob himself rented from in his twenties, and who trust him specifically because of his commitment to the buildings and the community around them. It's a business built on neighborliness as a practice, not a tagline.

That's what resonates with us. The tools and industry are different, but the underlying question of how do we impactfully help the people we're here to serve? is one we ask ourselves every day, too. It's encouraging to see someone asking it so thoughtfully, and building something genuinely good in the process.

You can learn more about Care Block at careblockdevelopment.com, and if you haven't listened to Jacob's episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer yet, it's a very good one.

Dopamine dose

Some warm fuzzies to brighten your day

a closeup of a sleepy white dog who perks up at the end of the gif loop

Here are this issue’s day-brighteners:

Song to smile to:

I’ve lived most of the last decade in Spain, and with that privelege has come knowledge of so much amazing culture I wouldn’t have otherwise come across in North America. As the weather warms up here, I’m starting most of my morning walks with Camarón de la Isla’s incredible version* of Volando Voy. I highly recommend you do the same.

*Originally written by another Spanish treasure, Kiko Veneno, who you should absolutely also check out.

Heart-warming animal alert:

Artemis II Astronaut Kristina Koch’s warm welcome from her dog after her mission may or may not have brought a lil tear to my eye.

Who we're giving to:

At KnowledgeOwl, we have a community commitment that we call 2% for People and Planet.

Beyond our commitment to 1% for the Planet, we also give another 1% to a charity of a different owl's choosing each month. This program allows us to help many different people, in many different communities.

If you're looking for some donation inspiration, you might think about giving to organizations we've given to recently (or starting a similar program at your company!)

In March 2026, Chad, Executive Assistant to the CEO and Friend of Felines, donated to the Salem Friends of Felines (SFOF). The inspiration to donate there came from one of our customers who reached out to Chad after seeing his job title. It’s an organization our customer has volunteered at over the last several years :)

In April 2026, Zach, Developer Owl & Philosopher, donated to the Eastern Slope Ski Club, a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of skiing. Their primary program is the Junior Ski Program that provides skiing and snowboarding opportunities to over 900 elementary school children in the Mount Washington area.