[I held onto a draft of this post for some time, as I felt it was never the right time to publish it. But today, although the details seem to … Continue reading Taking responsibility amid uncertainty
Category: General management
Testing intangible character traits
A short time ago I was helping a CEO recruit a CTO for his company. One important requirement was that the two of them should have a relatively easy working … Continue reading Testing intangible character traits
Not all opportunities follow from the numbers
Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of measuring things and I talk a lot about making goals measurable. But I hope that doesn’t mean I’m a slave … Continue reading Not all opportunities follow from the numbers
A clearly-stated bias for action
In the course of some conversation, a friend pointed me to a page by Amazon explaining their internal cultural principles. While I have some dislike of Amazon as a whole … Continue reading A clearly-stated bias for action
Some thoughts on project code names
A short time ago a friend brought up the subject of project code names. On the one hand, he thought they might be useful for team bonding (“We’re project Dolphin!”). … Continue reading Some thoughts on project code names
Input goals and output goals
The other week someone introduced me to the idea of “input goals” and “output goals”, by Oz Chen. Oz writes about “personal development and content strategy”, so his purpose in … Continue reading Input goals and output goals
Pulling the good out from the bad
I’ve managed many teams over the years, and it’s hard to think of a worse feeling when one of the stars of your team tells you they’re going to leave … Continue reading Pulling the good out from the bad
