Happy Friday!I'm going to share my thoughts on a book I read a while ago called Profit First."Whoa, you read books? How many pictures do they have?"Well, they're business books, so a few.I can't recall how I bumped into this book, but it was either m...

Happy Friday!I've worked with a lot of folks in different roles over the years, and I want to spend this email writing about project managers.And, I'm going to try and keep my usual snarkiness in check.I said "try."While most that I've worked with di...

I try to focus my writing on presenting a situation or problem and a way to move forward from it. In this article, I'm going to only focus on the problematic beliefs I encounter in organizations and individuals. The entire point of this little articl...

I am a big believer in system thinking. This can be pretty simply defined as believing that people are doing the best that they can, and that the system they are required to operate in is what dictates the results. Another way of looking at it is rea...

Today, Esther Derby wrote on Twitter: Mystery of the week: why do #mgrs hire ppl for thinking ability, then get upset when same ppl question mgmt dictates? I have my suspicions, but first I want to describe how I've come to think about this problem...

I am working with someone who has a different working style than myself. I find it interesting to watch them work. They often ask how they they can be more effective in their communication. I gave some advice that I was also given about how I communi...

So a lot of us are at home and adjusting while there is also much uncertainty in what the future holds. There’s a small idea that I want to offer as we get through these changes right now and in your career. Working From Home For everyone working fro...

The alarm goes off in the morning, and as usual, I begin my day by putting on my clothes. Now, I’ve been putting on my clothes for a long time, and I like to do things efficiently, so I put my clothes on in the following order: Shoes Socks Underwear...

There exists a trait common to most developers and development groups that causes lots of delays and costly mistakes. That trait is when you believe you can figure it out if you have more time. Junior developers get stuck on problems that a more seni...

Fancy title, but it is a simple idea. Here’s a publication from NASA on the topic as it relates to the Challenger disaster. In a nutshell, the concept might be explained by a pothole. Imagine a pothole in your parking lot. It has been there for years...

On Friday, I led two back-to-back workshops about building resumes that lead to getting interviews, nearly 100% of the time. One of the things I was most worried about teaching people was how to write their experience in a way that shows value. Somet...

Scrum Masters are farmers whose seeds are employees and whose crops are people. Let me give a quick explanation of this. Think about any time you have called customer service or support. I think, that psychologically you begin this interaction by loo...

Happy Friday,I'm about to get a lot of snow, and we live in an area that doesn't get a lot of snow. So, of course, my mind goes to something like wanting to talk about a lesser-known interest of mine: Tiki drinks.The Mai Tai is probably the most famo...

Happy Friday!Well, things have been busy, but that is self-inflicted. One of those weird moments where I have something I'm really excited to work on, and so I'm running straight for it.Digital GardensThis is a really interesting idea that I bumped i...

Happy Friday!A new subscriber asked what I think the top 3 leadership skills to develop are in 2026. I think that is a perfectly good question. Since they are an engineering leader I'll nudge my answers in that direction.FacilitationI've gone on abou...