Smart Plate is yet another company building technological solutions to a problem that technology can’t solve. The menu at McDonald’s has the calorie count and yet we still have a country full of obese people. It’s not knowledge of food composition that’s the problem. Eating well is about motivation, not a lack of technology and not a lack of knowledge.…
Category: Meaningful Management
DevOps is Dead
Checkout my interview with .NET Rocks!
Two minds are not better than one
Two minds are not better than one. Checkout my article Pair Programming is no Panacea
Avoid the excuses, just say no
When you feel yourself mired in crafting the prefect excuse, stop. This is a distraction. People will likely see through your excuse anyways. Avoid dishonesty, but not because it’s the “right” thing to do. Morality is irrelevant. When you are dishonest, you might not get caught, but you are automatically caught by yourself. Dishonesty chisels away at your image of…
Of course luck is a factor
Success is often a function of luck. But don’t forget it also requires playing the game. You can be like this guy and whine about how it’s not fair that people are successful. Or, you can take a look around you, find the odds that are in your favor, and roll the dice until you win.
Skills aren’t that important when interviewing
Skills–including supposed skill from educational background–should be the last thing considered in an interview. Unfortunately it’s often the only consideration. It’s more important to hire people that show a passion for learning than it is to find someone who already knows everything you think you need them to know.
Loss is not inevitable
In life there are countless times where something happens and we feel threatened as a result. This can lead us to rash reactions that aren’t productive for anyone, ourselves included. For example, a company I partner with is changing their strategic focus. This will have an impact on me because I’m a partner. I could see this as a threat…
Why saying no is hard
Learn how to handle rejection yourself. If you can’t take rejection well, you’ll tend to exaggerate how the other person will react to your rejection. When’s the last time someone said no to you? Do you keep a tally of people that say no to you? Chances are you don’t know the last time someone said no. Same goes for…
Why gut reaction works and doesn’t
Listen to your gut. Sage advice. People often succeed by acting intuitive. But that doesn’t mean that intuition is always “right.” Who said that intuition is always well calibrated? Most of the time intuition is based on wrong feelings, perceptions, beliefs and inclinations. For example, if you’re walking down the street and someone bumps into you, you might feel immediately…
Get over rejecting others
Have some perspective, there are seven billion people on this planet, if your “No” upsets a few of them, there are still at least six billion to pick from.