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
An idea just comes to me. I’ve been writing for a long time, so the ideas come partially formed. Not written but formed into the beginnings of a familiar shape. It is critical in the next hour that I write this idea down somewhere accessible because it’s just an idea, and failure to capture it… more
I didn’t much like Wally from the first time I met him. We worked in the same circles, but not on the same projects. I was aware of his work, but not involved or dependent on it. My initial reaction to Wally, “Complains. Nitpicks. Doesn’t act.” I made this judgment in a moment. Months passed,… more
If you work for a company that builds primarily consumer software, there are, hopefully, three groups of humans who believe they are accountable for the product. They are: Engineering. They build the product. Design. No, they build the product. Product Management. No, really… they build the product. Do you see the issue? You have three… 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