Evolving Beyond The Technical
I have recently returned to writing after spending an entire year working on a digital transformation. So, this post is both timely and personal for me. The art and craft of professional software development is a fascinating animal. It is inherently abstract and can be highly complex. In order to function effectively across the lifecycle … Read more
“What do you mean the server went down?” asks the CEO. “It has been happening every week” the lead tech says. “It didn’t do that for the other customers,” laments the CEO. The tech replies “This customer is ten thousand times larger than all the other customers combined. We didn’t build the application to handle … Read more
What has a hundred legs, sits in your office, occupies fifty computer screens, clicks on keyboards and trackpads all day, and gets nothing accomplished? Answer: Your development team. Wait, the CEO says. What is going on here? We hired a bunch of developers. We bought a very long party table and two very long benches. … Read more
Imagine this scenario: your company paid a recruiting firm to find candidates for new technical roles in support of your expanding product portfolio. Technical talent is rolling in, your team is interviewing them, but nobody is accepting your offers. You are starting to wonder how this is happening. “We’re a world-class company, with world-class talent … Read more
There once was a wonderful dog that my grandmother had many years ago. His name was The Fox due to his arguably fox-like appearance. The Fox loved to go for car rides with my uncles and I. When we returned to the back alley behind my grandmother’s house, it was something of a ritual to … Read more
Ok, this is my last post of 2015. For those keeping track: yes, I fell off the wagon in November and most of December. Something about taking a new position that requires a rather high level of output and time-on-task. But I digress. I’ve written previously about the perils of focusing on technical skills at … Read more
How many times have you heard something like this? “We’re an Agile organization. We have two-week sprints!” I’ve heard it so many times, I don’t even react to the claim. It is usually a case where the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Truthfully, I really like the intentions behind the Agile movement. … Read more
The topic of organizational health in the knowledge-work field does not always get into the news, but the recent Amazon press here and here and here (among many other articles) has made for some reading that is both fascinating and morbid. Isn’t it entertaining to step back and listen to casual laypeople talking about the … Read more
Consider, if you will, a company that has an engineer whom they consider a “rock star.” He is constantly asked to put in extra time, which he does without question. He fixes every bug that comes his way, even when he considers it a requirements problem instead of a bug. Invisibly to the business, he … Read more
Meetings have a bad reputation in the corporate world. Everyone seems to have war stories of boring, wasteful, time-sucking meetings. In my own experience, I would estimate that about one in fifteen meetings that I attend is “effective” in my own definition. Alas, for my junior colleagues just entering the workforce, it is entirely possible … Read more