A while back, we were planning some mobile app development with one of our clients for several months. We would essentially be porting two web applications to native mobile apps. We discussed what functionality is useful to people in the mobile setting, security, what device and network to use, etc. Exciting stuff, and a scenario […]
How To Fail At Technical Leadership
Most people in technical leadership got there because they demonstrated excellence doing technical things. Unfortunately, technical leadership is a completely different job. It can certainly be learned, but some lessons are typically learned the hard way. Here are some ways to make that transition badly: Don’t provide structure You were their teammate. Now you’re their […]
If You’re Sending Me a Resume…
Resume Reality Check: What 26 Applications Taught Me About Standing Out I’m old enough to have a professional life pre-Internet. One of the wonders I didn’t see coming is how quickly good, free, detailed, often illustrated advice on how to do ANYTHING would be available online. Resume writing advice is particularly abundant—67.8 million hits on […]
The Connected Engineer
One of the hats I wear at SEP is Recruiting Director – I’m responsible for the engineering talent we bring in. I was recently asked how recruiting has changed over time, things we’re looking for now that we didn’t before. The core criteria (must have’s, if you will) haven’t changed for us: Smart, Fit, and […]
Better Feedback Through One-on-Ones: Moving Beyond Traditional Performance Reviews
Better Feedback Through One-on-Ones: Moving Beyond Traditional Performance Reviews Last year, we eliminated our traditional annual review system and replaced it with sensible component parts—career guidance, skill assessments, and ongoing feedback mechanisms. It would take several posts to explain the full reasoning and mechanics, so just trust me when I say it was a Good […]
3Q Book Review: The Trusted Advisor
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Robert Galford, and Charles Green What’s the point? A friend of my boss recommended this book as “the bible of the professional service firm.” I have to admit it’s the first time I thought of my company that way. After reading it, I heartily agree. The book talks […]
3Q Book Review: The Logic of Failure
The Logic of Failure by Dietrich Dorner What’s the point? The premise of the book is that humans are notoriously bad at thinking through complex systems. We can’t plan or predict well and we don’t manage them well once we’re entangled in them. He presents a number of studies (real life and experiments) to explore […]
3Q Book Review: Linchpin
I really hate opening a blog post and seeing that it’s five pages long, 7 point font, dense text. Even if the author is awesome, it’s asking me to make a relatively big commitment. I’ll try not to be part of the problem … from now on, I’m going to do any book reviews in […]
Story Mapping – Getting Started
Making Discovery Work: Getting Client Buy-In and Building Your Skills In our recent training, Jeff Patton presented a structured discovery process centered around story mapping and personas, neatly packaged into about a week of time. Some people in the training worried that their clients wouldn’t be willing to commit to this level of involvement. Let’s […]
