I don’t like fish. “But Rands, have you tried…” Yeah, I tried that. I don’t like fish. “Wait, wait, wait, what you need to try is…” Tried that, too. A couple of times. I don’t like fish. “Rands, you haven’t had good fish.” Yeah, I’ve had good fish. Many times. Girlfriends, good friends, bad friends.… more
I wrote a piece a long time ago about The Wolf. It’s my personal take on the mythical 10x engineer, except that they aren’t a myth. They exist. I’ve seen them. Many of them. The article was popular. With hindsight, I determined two populations cared about the piece and one who did not. One was… more
Many, many years ago, at my childhood house in the Santa Cruz mountains, I grabbed a shovel and started to dig a hole. Why? Unclear. I was six or seven. I’d seen what my Dad could do with a shovel, so one afternoon…. I started digging, and by the time evening approached, my Dad walked… more
Manager at the first start-up. Solid guy. Significant experience. I know that I can learn from him. No doubt. All the correct operational 1:1 hygiene is there. We meet every week like clockwork; we fill the time, and I often leave with a healthy sense of productivity. But sometimes… he talks. And wanders. He’s a… more
Dream a Bit. Nothing innovative was created by committee. You have to stumble on that odd idea at 3:15a and recognize that you’ve never seen it before. Maybe no one has seen it. Let it bump around your head a bit. Stare at it from a couple of different angles. Do whatever you do to… more
Vanilla. Someone decided. Good. No further questions. We can make progress now. Educated. You ask why they decided, and they can clearly explain their reasoning. Not everyone might appreciate the decision, but they will be given the opportunity to understand.1 Calculated. Not only can they explain the decision, but they have math! Wow, I’m super… more
I am of the opinion that when you start a new role, not a new job, a new role that you have not done before, it requires a minimum of three years to become good or competent at that role. This window of acclimation grows with the complexity of the role. I’d suggest that while… more
(You should read Part 1 first) The elephant in the room. You are wondering why I am putting so much of the burden of being promoted on you. You have a boss. Aren’t they responsible for doing all this work? Shouldn’t they understand job levels and the intricacies of the promotion process? Yes, they should.… more
My expectation early in my career was that promotions just showed up. You worked hard, and you figured out how to get along with your teammates. Every year or so, my boss would have a one-off conversation with me and alert me that I had a new role along with increased compensation. This hands-off cycle… more
If you want to teach a Californian kid about cold, have him fly out to New York in January. Have him pack poorly and then have him walk out of JFK airport at 3pm with aforementioned poor packing, and watch what happens. Wait until the sliding door opens. Wait for it. And watch. I did… more