My name is Robert W. Lederhilger III — most people call me Rob.
This site exists to bring together work that might otherwise appear disconnected: technology and AI, building businesses, a long-term vision for a regenerative farm, criminal justice reform, and the lessons that come from poorly designed systems and their consequences.
I’ve learned that these aren’t separate pursuits. They are different expressions of the same underlying question: how systems are built, how they fail, and what it takes to repair them — in technology, in land, and in life.
Systems & Soil is a personal journal, written in public, about rebuilding what’s broken — starting with myself.
I’ve spent much of my career building and operating technology systems, including AI-focused products and services. I’m drawn to systems thinking — how incentives shape behavior, how complexity creates unintended consequences, and how fragile things fail when a system is poorly designed.
At the same time, my wife and I are in the early stages of planning Restore Creation, a long-term vision for a regenerative farm rooted in stewardship, patience, and restoration. Right now that work is mostly vision and planning — learning, exploring land, and preparing for the moment when groundwork becomes possible.
Both pursuits — technology and land — are connected by the same question:
What does it mean to build something meaningful that can last?
This site also exists because my life has included real failure.
I’ve been impacted by the justice system, and I carry the weight of that. I don’t write from a place of arrival or resolution, but from inside the work of accountability. Over time, some posts will go deeper into that experience — not to relive it, but to understand it honestly.
Rebuilding in public, for me, means refusing to hide behind explanations or credentials. It means allowing work, consistency, and responsibility to speak over time.
Faith is part of this story — not as a slogan, but as an anchor.
I trust in God. Not because life has been easy or clean, but because restoration requires something deeper than willpower. That trust shapes how I think about responsibility, forgiveness, patience, and the possibility of redemption — for people, for land, and for systems that have failed.
I don’t expect everyone who reads this site to share that belief. I do hope the work speaks for itself.
Systems & Soil is not a brand, a funnel, or a manifesto.
It’s a record of learning in real time — about technology, land, responsibility, and the long road back from mistakes. If there’s a throughline, it’s this: circumstances matter, but they don’t get the final word.
This site exists to show that rebuilding is possible — slowly, imperfectly, and honestly.
Written by Robert W. Lederhilger III (Rob)