“Micromanagement is symptomatic of a lack of trust. The remedy for this ailment is to hire experts and then trust their judgment. In a startup, you can drastically reduce momentum by applying micromanagement, or you can boost momentum by giving trust. It’s pretty amazing what can happen when a group of talented people who trust each other get together and decide to make something awesome.”
Tom Preston, Github lessons learned 2008
Tag: leadership
A single product champion is capable of only so much crazy
Product Engineering, Messier in Practice
- Got a brilliant concept which early feedback reveals as a huge market opportunity? [check]
- Have the sharpest minds and the most adept hands in the industry ready to execute a polished design and beta? [check]
- Turn the crank and toil away to a product success story right? [keep dreaming]
Fluid Schedules are for humans, Iterative Model Driven Development
“The key to project planning is to embrace the obvious fact that people don’t know, what they don’t know.”
Why doesn’t software feel like the rising sun?
On my way into work this morning I waited for the transition between traffic signals just before the sun rose in the distance. Anxiety over a large project delivery was wrestling for my attention with anticipation of my usual pre-work stroll on this perfect spring morning.
Stop bleeding on the edge of technology
A boundless and growing variety of tools comes as little surprise to active developers. It’s not uncommon for me to discover a few new frameworks a day, and read about several popular library updates each week. The same holds true for authors, artists, musicians, and other creatives. No matter what profession we select, there’s an enormous increase in the availability and variety of tools at our disposal.
When to go out of book
Risk Reduction from Day 1
Regardless of your specific team role, there is a familiar pattern to breaking ground on a new program. Each time you create or join a fresh project it’s common to go through a ramp up phase which may last minutes or a few weeks depending on project maturity, complexity, and schedule.
Crunch Time, Time Management Crash Course
The same situation presents itself to Calculus students before the monster final, data scientists before giving the company saving presentation, and yes even Olympic Curlers1. Crunch time is characterized by high stress, little time, limited opportunity and it demands the highest possible performance. It’s times like these that folks find themselves in situations that sound impossible, yet it’s precisely these moments where we can learn the most effective time and information management skills. (more…)
What it’s Not is just as important as what it Is
The Fall of Icarus
Autonomy, Dictate Your Own Boundaries
The moment an individual relinquishes control of their potential, they give up their self direction. A classic case is the employee who seeks to please their manager, but quiets their own input, enthusiasm, and strongest affinity. But this is a grave error, these are the most valuable assets anyone can bring to their life’s labor.