They don’t want to hear it. They don’t. It is legit good feedback. It is substantive, and it is 100% true, but they do not want to hear it. How do you know this? You’ve provided the feedback several times. Three different variants of the critical feedback, and each time, the response is one of… more
Come winter in the Santa Cruz mountains, the rain runs down the hills. When the rains start, I throw on my rain gear, grab my shovel, and tromp around the property. My goal: make sure the run-off creeks and streams run unimpeded and in a better direction. At the beginning of the season, this is… more
Years ago at Borland. My first real gig. I was poached from an internship into a full-time QA gig. When I accepted the offer, they sent me a box of Borland schwag, t-shirts, notebooks, and pens. I was elated. No more hourly wages, I was full-time. Six months in, my manager sat me down at… more
I started this piece in late November. It’s a piece I usually write Christmas as a kick-off to the new year. The precise process by which this yearly piece arrives is a mystery. Probably the mental reset that comes with the New Year. So, what’s with the first draft showing up before Thanksgiving? As I… more
You have an internal storyteller, and they are always telling you a story. Today the story is, “Almost done with all of my bugs. There were ten at the beginning of the week, but now I have two. One of them is hard, but I’ll figure it out. The other, I’m sure, will be a… more
In our fifteenth episode, we go deep on feedback. We learn where Rands’ feedback religion came from, we walk through a couple of specific feedback scenarios, and we discuss why you should be investing in a feedback culture – right now. Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via… more
In our 12th episode, we start talking feedback. Using feedback on our podcast as a jumping off point, we consider the topics of giving proper attribution, the art of arguing about empty boxes, and the fact the Rands is a control freak. Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe… more
Ted’s feeling pretty good. He sits across from me in the conference room and says, “Program launch is solid. We’ve been working on the details for almost a month. We vetted the concept with all the affected teams and made tweaks, and now they’re fine. The only step left is sending the announcement to the… more
The majority of people-related disasters I’ve created originate with my choice to not say the hard thing. On my short list of critical leadership skills, the ability to “say the hard thing” is right after “delegate until it hurts.” I didn’t give feedback when behavior was off because the person was new and I told… more
Do you know what time of year it is? It’s not performance season. Given that I have no clue when you read this piece, how do I know it’s not performance season? For many of the companies I’ve worked at for the past three decades, performance season is three weeks once a year. More progressive… more
