Culture
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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Technical debt takes many forms
Most people are familiar with “technical debt” in terms of code or architectural problems that slow down development. There are other forms of technical debt, though, that can be overlooked. Dead Code: There are endless “dead code as debt” scenarios. You have a “live” function that is only used...
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High performance, poor morale, and the Niko-niko calendar
I was introduced to Niko-niko calendars by Max Webster at Niko Niko. Basically, they are a way of tracking a team’s mood over time. At the end of the day, team members put in a smile/frown/whatever face indicating their mood. You can see when people were happy or sad...
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Old towns, and legacy software
On our road trip from Austin to Portland, we stopped in a handful of towns that were booming in the late 19th century. In particular, Pendleton, Oregon made an impression. They were exhibiting serious effort and success revitalizing the town. Pendleton has a rich and interesting history, but has...
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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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Japanese vs. Western models of decision making
I was reading a book about The Toyota Way last year (sorry, can’t remember which) and something that stuck with me was a section on Japanese versus Western decision making*. The diagram was something like this: The crux of it is, Japanese companies like Toyota spend more time preparing...
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Can you quantify trust?
In a previous article, commenter Robert Kist asked: How are you going to judge if people trust you – what would your indicators be, if you decide to treat it as a metric? This is tricky. I don’t think there’s a good answer. Bad managers, who are by definition...
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Hire talented people and get out of their way?
Whenever I need inspiration for a blog post, I check my LinkedIn feed. I am bound to find a stupid inspirational quote. Today’s is: In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way. This advice (hire smart, don’t micromanage) is...
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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...
