Buried. Back at the start-up, we were shifting gears. After six months of talking about shipping a product, we needed to ship a product and nothing gets everyone’s attention like a deadline. The good news was that QA had been doing its job and there was a pile of work in our bug database. The… more
I still miss the West Wing of a few years ago. I don’t think there has been a show what was so consistently good on so many different fronts. Since then, the only show which has come close in terms of must-watch weekly TV has been Lost, but a chunk of that show’s magic faded… more
“Rands, I’ve got the idea. I’m serious. It’s going to be big and I’ve got my three MBA buddies lining up seed financing. Seriously big idea here, Rands. And I need a favor.” Uh oh. “I need a Free Electron.” There is a list of the six confirmed Free Electrons that I know. Every six… more
Actual conversation. DSL has been off for over 12 hours and that’s about my limit. There’s only so long I can do without a fresh set of bits, so I break down and do my third least favorite thing to do… call customer support. Customer support frustrates me because of the well-designed ability to do… more
Two days later and the WWDC hangover is just about gone. I’d like to say the hangover was primarily booze-related, but it was a stress hangover. We had some big things to pitch this year and getting that pitch refined took some work. That is an understatement. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say… more
The week before WWDC is a good time to remember that it won’t always be like this. Take a deep breath and…
What do you do? Seriously, on your business card there is a title. Say it out loud. “Senior Manager of Engineering” “Industrial Data Analyst” “Human Factors Specialist” Is that what you actually do? Try this: think about the last four hours of your job and give yourself a title. Mine would be “Sr. Meeting Wrangler”… more
The first few days of any significant overseas trip, I’m a jerk. It’s not just the jetlag that’s poisoning my attitude; it’s the lack of context. I get twitchy when I don’t know where my stuff is. Combine that with the fact that no one is speaking English, there are two toilets in the bathroom,… more
Twelve days in Europe has revealed the following: Drinking good red wine with every dinner mellows you out Hanging in Italy and France during the World Cup is the only way to understand what soccer means to the rest of the world. My first night in Italy was the day of the USA versus Italy… more
Ed: The last day of Deconstructing Managers week. It all started on Day #1. What happens when they lose their shit? Pride and panic. The two delicious ends of the management spectrum. Pride is when it’s going swimmingly. Great product release, selling well. Hired that phenomenal guy from the other group who is going to… more