Quantum Onboarding
“Wholeness is what is real, and that fragmentation is the response of this whole to man’s action, guided by illusory perception, which is shaped by fragmentary thought.” – David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicit order Renowned Quantum Physicist David Bohm wrote of the interconnectedness of everything. That fragments are not part of the natural order, […]
”What is everyone working on?”
When you’ve got a team of smart people, it’s easy for everyone to go in different directions. That’s the power of brilliant engineers, but it’s also a challenge for tech leaders. Combine smart people with remote locations, spread across many timezones, collaborating through different systems, and you’ve got a recipe for manager stress. That’s why […]
The Importance of Proper Feedback
Episode 16 Do people really crave feedback? That’s the assumption a lot of managers make, so in this episode we’ll talk about what feedback really means and how you can give it in a meaningful, productive manner. Show Notes What is the history of feedback? Your output becomes their input The limits of […]
Systems always seek their real goal
The system will seek its goal above all else, even if it’s not actually what you want. Even if it’s not what anyone wants. If you want to improve education, and set a goal of 20% more dollars spent per student, then the education system will spend 20% more dollars per student. But that does […]
Stepping in without Stepping in it
When things go wrong, you might have to step in. I did this most often when failure was going to be a BigProblem. And things often improved. The project got back on track, the client didn’t fire us, or we hit the big deadline. As you might expect, this made me feel pretty darn good. […]
Lessons Learned on the Path to Managing with Amy Phillips and Aaron Randall
Episode 15 In this episode, we’re talking to Amy Phillips and Aaron Randall (CTO of Songkick) about the path from programmer to manager. How did they get there, what did they learn, and what can you learn from their experiences? Show Notes What lessons were learned in the early phases of their careers? […]
The surprising effect of traffic and bathrooms
“Sorry I’m late, traffic was nuts,” Sean said as he ducked into your team meeting. Irritated, you look up and nod, continuing with the department update. “Sheesh, he so unmotivated, he doesn’t even care.” you think. Finishing the meeting, you stop for a bio-break on the way to your bosses all-hands meeting, and find it’s […]
”I really like what you did there.”
SPONSOR – Today’s the last day for the lowest price on the O’Reilly Velocity Conference and Software Architecture Conference this November in Berlin. Use code MB20 to save an additional 20%. ================= When I was eighteen, my Dad and I drove five hours from Medford to Portland, to see his brother, who was dying of […]
Authentic Feedback
Episode 14 We’ve all experienced feedback that was unhelpful — but why was it that way? Supervisors want to motivate us and bring out our best, but perhaps they don’t always think about the feedback they’re giving. Is it really helpful? Is it addressing the real problem? What’s the context? In this episode, we’ll look […]
Our newest sponsor comes bearing gifts
I’m pleased to introduce our newest sponsor, O’Reilly Media. You know them for publishing the very highest quality technical books, with recent favorites like The Managers Path. (They are also the publisher of my upcoming book, Leading Programmers, so I might be a wee biased.) They’re the original publisher for, and by, software developers. They […]
Status update and reading list – July 2019
I’m reading a few books right now, so I thought I’d share in case you were looking for new ideas. The Fearless Organization – Amy Edmondson – A primer on Psychological Safety, why you need it, and how to get it. The Fifth Discipline and the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook– Peter Senge. How to create an […]
There’s Always More Information
Episode 13 Breaking a problem down can help you see it more clearly, and attack the issues wrapped up in that problem more effectively. Sometimes we tackle problems that are large or connected to other issues, and it can be helpful to take a step back, consider other perspectives, get more information, and try breaking […]
Games Socrates played
My boss, Rob, always to asked “Socratic” questions when I came to him with a question. And, frankly, I hated it. I dreaded going into Rob’s office. One day, after spending 20 minutes with him trying to answer his Socratic questions, I burst out, “Look, just tell me the answer! I know you know, so […]
Motivation is NaN (Not a Number)
Episode 12 What motivates your programmers? In this episode, Marcus looks at the various factors that impact motivation, and why one of his engineers just wasn’t grooving on a project. Chances are you’ve got teammates who feel the same way. Guess what? It’s not that they’re lacking in motivation, it’s that they’re no longer motivated […]
I guess Ananya’s situation looked familiar.
Last Saturday I sent out a situation and asked if it looked familiar, and what you might do about it. I got quite a few responses, and summarize them here. Original post: Does this sound familiar? Here’s what you wrote: Edith write: After Ananya asks you “which class?”, you should have asked what she thought. […]