career
First, do no harm
From a wonderful post by Matt Williams about the type of business he is looking for: A Business Manifesto We are uncovering better ways of running a business and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: – People and interactions over profits and prestige...
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If you hear “perception is reality” you’re probably being screwed
I was once told in a performance review that “perception is reality.” I was infuriated, and the words stuck in my mind as the most toxic thing a manager could say to an employee. I have avoided writing about it, but the “This American Life” episode about Carmen Segarra’s...
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Keeping talented employees
I saw a tweet the other day about the eight things that keep talented employees: Talented employees stay when they're:
1 paid well
2 mentored
3 challenged
4 inspired
5 empowered
6 appreciated
7 on a mission
8 having fun — Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) August 17, 2014 I’m normally not a fan of reducing human behavior to...
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Escaping the Windows prison
My friend Brad Clark over at Rigging Dojo is organizing a course on Maya’s C++ API (I am assuming it is Maya but could be another program). He had a question about student access to Visual Studio, to which I responded: @riggingdojo I cannot imagine doing a worse disservice...
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The low status of software engineers
A couple weeks ago I read an article by Michael Church titled “How the Other Half Works: an Adventure in the Low Status of Software Engineers“. It is the story of Bill, who had two very different experiences interviewing for two different positions at two different companies: one as...
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A manager’s primary job is to build trust
While interviewing for my new position at Cozy, I was repeatedly asked what the job of an Engineering Manager is.* By the end of the day, I had decided (for myself, anyway) that the most important job of an Engineering Manager** is building trust. Senior engineers must trust you....
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Portland, here we come!
Tomorrow, my family leaves on a four day trip to begin a new life in Portland, OR, as the Engineering Manager at real-estate startup www.cozy.co. I am incredibly excited to join the company for all sorts of reasons (the role, product, team, founders, location, pretty much everything). It’ll also...
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Hiring your cake and eating it too
When evaluating candidates, I have always been a believer that cultural fit and potential to improve is more important than technical ability. Of course I like to review real code samples and give a programming test, but I rarely ask for whiteboard programming. I am not a master of...
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Adjustable standing desks should be mandatory
At CCP’s Iceland office, everyone’s desk is able to adjust into a sitting or standing position. I don’t know who decided this perk. It must have been a huge expense. Adjustable sit/stand desks are already expensive in the USA, and in Iceland I’m sure they were three to five...
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Book done, back to blogging
This morning, I send in my final-est drafts for my book, Practical Maya Programming with Python. This is actually the second time it’s gone to production. The editing process has been, uh, challenging, which resulted in several months of delays. I’ll post with more information when it’s for sale,...
