How Do We Clone This Person?

In most places I’ve worked, there’s always those two or three people that are superstars, that seem to know everything and get everything done. As a result, those people also tend to be the most overworked. And at these places, it seems like management always makes the same joke, “We need to figure out how […]

Why it’s OK to Let People Fail

My first “real job”, part-time in high school, was at a pizza restaurant. I ended up working there for several years, even into college. I eventually was promoted to assistant manager! When I was working there in my early 20s I had reached a point where I could do any job in the store faster […]

Growing vs Hiring

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 […]

What Makes a Good Software Developer?

A lot of people think that the best developer is the brilliant person who can crank out tons of bug free code. That person who can sit by themselves, come up with amazing algorithms and solutions to problems, and then get all that code deployed and working. In a lot of cases this is correct, […]