Posts by Marcus Blankenship

The Beast roamed the office hallways; always seeing, always watching, always devouring. My first encounter with the Beast took place a few months after I joined the company. I didn’t recognize it immediately, due to my youth and inexperience. This was, after all, my first job as a programmer. One Tuesday I needed to leave…

This one’s longer than usual, so you can read it on-line here. Just joining in? Catch-up with: part one part two part three As we return to our story, I want to thank those who wrote in this week. You provided many new viewpoints and ideas of where to take the story. And now, back…

Welcome to the intermission of our story. (Part 1 of this story is here Part 2 is here.) Besides a bio-break, let’s pause and remember why we’re here. I’m here to help improve our technical management and leadership skills. You are here for many different reasons, and there are many of you now (over 5,300!).…

Computer, enter stage left… (Miss part 1?  Read it here.) When computers made their debut, the mathematicians were called in to handle these complex machines. But soon enough the mathematicians became bored and went back to doing whatever mathematicians do, leaving the computers to be dealt with by the electrical engineers. It didn’t take long…

Long, long ago in a place far, far away the Managers told people what to do. This seemed perfectly natural because the Managers were smarter and knew more than the Workers. Few Workers contested this, having been trained since infants by the “domestic managers” (aka ‘parents’), at school by the “classroom managers” (aka ‘Teachers’), and…

At my last job, Bob was the DBA, SysAdmin and SAN Manager. Bob had been there forever, mostly kept to himself, and knew how most everything worked. He’d worked for many different bosses, outlasting them all. One day about 14 years ago, I asked Bob, “What would we do if you ever quit, Bob?” “It…

Back in the day, when I gathered my team for a meeting, it was because I had something to tell them. A new project, direction, technology, or idea I’d conceived behind closed doors that I wanted to announce. As we discussed it as a group, my idea would change. Morph into something better, or possibly…

A few months ago I started www.TechLeadTalk.com. It’s a free forum where tech leaders can swap ideas and help each other with real problems. We’re taking it one step farther to turn it into a Community of Practice. One of our moderators, Peter, wrote up a summary that explains it nicely. Check it out, and…

The day people join your team, they show up on time, dressed appropriately, and ready to work. Think of this as the OUTER JOIN – the outward sign of their joining. We record this as their “start date.” The OUTER JOIN is a great start, but it can’t stop there. You must strive for the…

What if we set out to create a place that software engineers want to work? Where might we begin? We might begin with constructing the most beautiful building and providing unlimited, top of the line equipment. We might begin with a problem previously thought impossible to solve. We might begin with an idea so important it…

Thus far we’ve discussed getting your footing with yourself and taking the first step with your team. Now it’s time to get your team together. Though you’ll be building individual relationships with each person, you need to see how the group interacts. We don’t act the same in a group as we do in 1:1…

(Today I’m taking a quick break from the Four Keys series. It will resume tomorrow.) Most of my life I’ve been confused by others actions and reactions. If you’ve ever heard yourself muttering “What the heck were they thinking?” you might have experienced the same confusion. When I feel confused, too often, I label the…

When taking over a new team, the second key is building is the individual, unique relationships with each developer. Thus, it’s time to get to know each one of them individually, and as quickly as possible. One-on-one meetings are helpful here, but how you frame them says a great deal about the kind of leader…

Last week I told you there were 4 key relationships to attend to when you’re taking over a new team. You can read the first post here: Key One: The relationship with yourself In my excitement I forgot to mention an important element of the first key. You’ve got to stop managing, and start leading.…

Earlier this week Pat asked, “What are the priorities for a new development manager.” I side-stepped the question but will return to it over the next few days. (You can read my first answer here.) First, let me define how I’ll be using the word “new.” I will not be talking about someone who’s taking the…