Tag: leadership

How to convince people you’re not there to automate them out of a job

2018-12-07

When your job is automation, people sometimes think you're trying to put them out of a job. Here are some of the ways I fight that perception.

AWS re:Invent 2018 - The Vendor POV

2018-12-03

I attended AWS re:Invent 2018 as a vendor and it exposed me to a whole new perspective on the conference. Read all about it!

The Infamous Free Slurpee Story - a Tale of Integrity

2018-07-11

A story about Slurpees containing a lesson about integrity. Sure, it's an unlikely combination but you have to admit, Slurpees are pretty tasty.

Beware the Interview Feedback Policy

2017-07-06

Many companies are instituting policies against interview feedback. You should ask if such a policy exists the next time you interview for a position.

Differentiate Yourself - Two Quick Lessons From a Bad Electrician

2017-05-01

An experience I had with an electrician taught me two important lessons about how to differentiate myself professionally from my peers.

What PowerShell Summit Showed Me

2015-04-25

PowerShell Summit was a blast. I learned some great new skills and connected with a ton of folks who are as passionate about technology as I am. But even though PowerShell Summit is a conference about Windows PowerShell, attending it opened my eyes to some other important lessons that apply to everyone in IT.

What I Learned from the Pink Mohawk

2013-06-08

Never Let the Boss be Surprised

2013-06-03

The Ambulance Down in the Valley

2013-05-27

A while back, I was discussing some of the nonsensical actions that people take in the software industry with my parents during a visit. my mom told me to look up a poem called The Ambulance Down in the Valley. I wrote it down and forgot about it for months because I was in the middle of the last semester of my Master’s degree. I finally got a chance to look it up, and it really is a beautiful illustration of the strange way we look to solve problems sometimes.

Omgpop, Zynga, and the One Who Got Away

2012-03-27

As many casual gamers already know, the company Omgpop, makers of the mobile sensation Draw Something, was acquired by Zynga, makers of Farmville, Words with Friends, and many other popular social and/or casual games. This morning I saw an artible on Gamasutra about the one Omgpop employee that didn’t sign on to continue working under Zynga.

Worst Practices: Anti-Social Networking

2012-02-26

Pro Tip: If you have a company Twitter account, use it for more than blasting out self-serving advertisements. You are wasting the perfect opportunity to connect with your customers, improve their experience, and address their complaints and concerns!

What Motivates Us

2010-06-26

I found this video from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA for short) to be very insightful.

Sinking the Titanic

2009-07-06

Imagine, for a moment, that you are Poseidon, god of the oceans. The RMS Titanic is sailing in your waters, and you don’t like that. You decide that you want to sink the Titanic and make an example of her for other sailors of the world, so you order your minions to construct a giant iceberg that will crack her hull and sink her.