Home runs or times at bat?
Picture this: My first real coding job out of college, my first big project. “Create a Direct Bill / Credit Memo entry system in the ERP. Model it after the Order Entry system.” Six weeks into the project, on a Tuesday at 11:13 a.m. I type a command to remove all the temp files that […]
That time I fell off a cliff
15 years ago I fell off a cliff on the Oregon coast. I was walking too close to an edge covered in brush. My wife and three small kids were standing about 20 feet away, safely behind the railing, as I said those famous last words: “Stay there; I just want a better view for […]
Unicorns shmunicorns
I’m studying for mid-terms, getting ready for eight days of vacation, working with a designer on a new book cover, and feeling a bit stretched. When I searched for a book cover designer, I thought: “All I need to do is hire the right book designer and then book sales will take off.” Even as […]
What I saw when I turned my head to the left
I need to lose weight, so I try to walk every day. Some of you might recall that I went to Europe 18 months ago, and I’ve gained 20 pounds since then. Ugh! To try and reverse this trend, I walk for 45-60m each day. And I always walk the same familiar route each day. I don’t […]
Humble provocateur
The Satir Change Model, created by Virginia Satir, depicts personal and organizational change as five stages: Late Status Quo Resistance Chaos Integration New Status Quo The move from Late Status Quo to Resistance is caused by a foreign element, which provokes the status quo. Gets people talking. Gets them thinking. Maybe even makes them angry. It’s […]
Saying "Sayonara."
When I left my last job, I didn’t leave well, and that has caused me angst and regret. When you do leave well you exit gracefully, without burning bridges, without getting the legal department involved, and leaving the door open to return someday. But if you don’t leave well, then things get messy. In my case… […]
She's just not that into you :(
“Dude, she totally ghosted me,” Ryan said. “What does that mean?” I asked. “That’s when a gal just stops responding to your texts or calls. You have no idea why. You wonder ‘Is her phone dead? Is she dead?’ Then you get super insecure about yourself. ‘What did I say? What did I do? Why aren’t […]
scuffing the shoes
Saying “No” is hard for me because I worry how the other person will react. They might become aggressive, or they might retract. Either way, it feels wrong. To be honest, it makes my stomach ache just thinking about saying “No,” especially to my boss or client. But saying “No” is an important part of your manager […]
Yours, mine and ours.
Olivier wrote me last week: I’d be interested in tips on how to bring positivity in a team that is exhausted and stressed out. This got me thinking that some of you might not be working in “ideal” circumstances. You might not be able to apply what I teach because you don’t control the process. Or […]
Joyful technical leadership
Your technical skills may be eroding, you might miss the thrill of coding, but you feel better than ever. How? You learned that wholehearted leadership is an act of creation. When we stop coding, we feel a sense of loss. I missed creating something awesome; something I was proud of. When you lead with your whole […]
What is "high-quality LMX"?
Ever had a bad boss? Maybe you didn’t trust him, or she didn’t like you? Perhaps you spent more time trying to keep your job than doing your job. Maybe you also felt that other people were treated better than you, or your boss didn’t give you a fair chance to succeed. If this sounds […]
Eat dessert first
Yesterday I told you about Oliver’s incredible moment in his 1:1 meeting. He noticed what was happening, then stopped and dug in deeper. This resulted in a deeper connection than had happened in past 1:1 meetings. As you might expect, this happened at the end of the conversation. Saving the best for last Oliver’s story […]
Notice when something amazing happens in your 1:1s
Oliver told me, “My 1:1 meeting with Sean surprised me this week. It was a bit deeper, more personal. Out of the blue, he mentioned he was bored with the machine learning tutorials and wanted to get his hands dirty with it. I thought he didn’t like the subject, but I’d misread him. His honesty […]
Ruining your 1:1 meetings with 'optimizations'
Matt asked me, “Is there any way to optimize my 1:1 meetings? They take so much time from my week that I am often rescheduling and chasing them across my week. I see new software systems which claim to help with planning them, tracking them, accountability, etc. Do you recommend this kind of optimization?” Yes, […]
Why millennials hate your open door policy
It’s Tuesday, and your team is quietly working away. Chris was stuck on a bug. Selena was feeling discouraged about learning Clojure. Zach was bored writing another report. Dan was confused about a requirement. Matt was juggling customer calls with coding. Carrie was trying to figure out what to work on next. Jason was worried […]