In my last post, I talked briefly about measurement. I related a common management saying that goes something like this, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t tell if you are improving.” I don’t know who said it so I went trying to research and find out. Fascinatingly, I never did find the actual original […]
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a fan of Management by Walking Around. One time, when I was a manager, I was wandering around doing my management thing and I was sitting at a desk with an engineer who was working on a project. As they showed me what they were doing, I realized the solution they […]
I heard a statement one time that introverts make good developers and extroverts make good managers. This preconceived notion stems from the fact that people tend to think of developers as sitting by themselves in front of a computer with headphones on, and managers on the phone or in meeting rooms all day. Thus, the […]
I heard about a concept this week that I like, which is the phrase, “Dealing With Ambiguity”. Now, this is a pretty straightforward phrase, but the context in which I heard was very interesting. It was the idea of this being a very specific skill that can be practiced and trained. In the area of […]
I have an analogy I like to use a lot. Have you ever felt like you’ve painted yourself into a corner? Or you see someone who thinks they have? This is a well-known analogy, but I’m going to take it one step further. Frequently when I see people who are convinced they have painted themselves […]
I remember one time, I was in the breakroom getting a cup of coffee. The counter seemed kind of dirty so I grabbed a handful of paper towels and wiped the counter down. As I was leaving the breakroom, a cup of coffee in hand, another person passed me entering the now-empty breakroom. I heard […]
How many times have you seen this job listing? Hiring: Expert in Floobabig Version 56.3b. Must have 5+ years of experience. Must be able to hit the ground running. I’ve talked with hiring managers in scenarios like this, and their answer usually is some variation of, “I need someone to be doing the Floobabig Version […]
You may have noticed, I basically live my work life from quotes. Memes, too, but that’s another story. Anyways, I thought for today’s blog post I would share with you some of my favorite quotes, why I think they are insightful, and how I apply them. Speed of iteration beats quality of iteration. – John […]
I always thought it was interesting when, from a people management perspective, there’s all this focus on finding your weaknesses and fixing them. For example, let’s say I took an ability assessment and scored super-way-high 10-out-of-10 on Coding, but super low 1-out-of-10 on Giving PowerPoint Presentations. What do you think a typical manager’s response would […]
Have you ever noticed that pretty much anyone, when looking at something for the first time, or joining a project or new effort, seems to always think it is a big mess? And probably needs fixing, perhaps even a complete throwaway and rewrite? I have a running joke that I frequently use, along these lines. […]
