Management

The Seven Meetings You Hate

Why Are We Here? Seems like a good set of people, but everyone is looking at each other, wondering what is happening. It’s nefarious; it’s just.. confusing and agenda-less. Why Am I Here? It seems like a good set of people, but I have no clue how I’m relevant to this meeting. I will sit… more

September 28, 2023 7 Comments

The Contagion

In the hallway, late on Thursday, someone tells a bit of information about your product that is 100% provably not true. You laugh, wink at the person, and say, “That’s goofy. What reasonable human would believe that?” And that conversation moves on. Two hours later, different locations, different humans, and different contexts. Same exact piece… more

June 28, 2023 5 Comments

Ask Questions, Repeat The Hard Parts, and Listen

One of my least favorite moments as a leader, specifically your leader, is when you ask me to make the decision. First, yes, I know it’s my job to make these decisions, especially the complicated and high-risk ones. Second, it’s true I’ve acquired ample experience over the last thirty years, and the chance I can… more

June 19, 2023 4 Comments

The Worry Police

The Worry Police worry. During their career, the Worry Police were rewarded amply for their worrying, so they believe it’s their move. It makes them feel important. Worrying. The Worry Police have real power; they are the police. This power was granted to them because sometimes, preparing for imminent disaster is the correct strategy. An… more

March 20, 2023 2 Comments

The Seven Dispositions of Task Management

I am DONE with this task. I finished. Good job. Victory. Next. I am STILL THINKING about this task. I might need more time to complete it or be thinking about an appropriate approach. Going to just leave it here for now, but I will make a choice regarding this task (and all tasks) by… more

January 9, 2023 4 Comments

Your Best Work

I’ve received some of the best advice from folks I’m trying to forget. It’s usually past mediocre managers. Average folks doing the job, but in an uninspired fashion, in over their heads, or just coasting for reasons I never understood. Every so often. They land an idea. Maybe I don’t hear it at the time… more

January 6, 2023 4 Comments

The Seven Circles of Meeting Hell

First Circle: THE SLOPPY AND THE UNPREPARED Meetings start late and run over. Attendees have not read the pre-supplied material, so we spend most of the time answering questions we had already answered elsewhere. Second Circle: THE DISTRACTED Meetings where attendees are not paying attention to the meeting. They sit there on their phones and… more

November 28, 2022 3 Comments

Better, Faster, and More

I’m rewriting The Business for the next book. This piece is almost 15 years old, much has changed in negotiating an offer letter, and I have more advice on how to analyze those offers. So much advice that I am idea paralyzed™ trying to rewrite this piece. So, this is just a section of the… more

October 30, 2022 2 Comments

The Coach and the Fixer

For this piece, I am going to simplify management a bit. Let us assume there are three different hats you wear as a manager. They are: the Leader, the Fixer, and the Coach. I will briefly explain each role and then explain how I’ve screwed up each. I’m going in reverse order because I’m building… more

September 26, 2022 4 Comments

By Design

First start-up. We’re between Layoff #2 and Layoff #3. There’s a new VP of Engineering running the show and while he’s been hired with the guidance to “turn the ship around,” the tech economy is a wreck and his first official act is throwing passengers overboard so we don’t sink. Now this will be the… more

June 17, 2022 4 Comments