Stories
The Mantra That Will Get Me Through My Last 4 Days
By J. Timothy King on November 17, 2006
Today I discovered a mantra that I hope will get me through my last four days in this place. And I wrote it on my dry-erase board. If you recall, I quit my job and struck out on my own. But I still have a few more days before my last. Four days, to be […]
Posted in Leaving Normal, Professionalism, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | 7 Responses
Yes, I’ve Left Normal
By J. Timothy King on November 10, 2006
I gave my notice this week, and I’m now officially self-employed (almost). My first reaction was, “How cool is this? I’m rockin’ now!” My second reaction was, “Oh s***! What have I just done?!”
Posted in Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pam Slim, Roswell | 10 Responses
I Just Realized How Miserable I Am
By J. Timothy King on September 29, 2006
Recently, Alexander Kjerulf, the Chief Happiness Officer, asked, “What makes you happy or unhappy at work?” I pulled part of my answer from an old post from my LiveJournal, “Things to Make My Life Perfect.” This list of things I actually wrote in response to a writing prompt for the (now defunct) Alchera Project. At […]
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | 1 Response
Wage Slave or Crazy Entrepreneur?
By J. Timothy King on August 4, 2006
Eric Allam of 52 Reviews posted an interesting comment on my post “Top Ten Reasons to Remain a Wage Slave,” which is a spoof off of a couple of Steve Pavlina’s “list of 10” posts. Eric linked to a post on his blog, “BusinessPundit lays out 10 misconceptions of entrepreneurship, reveals his hypocrisy,” in which […]
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged Steve Pavlina | 2 Responses
Why Geeks Should Care About Fashion
By J. Timothy King on August 1, 2006
As a thirty-something male software engineer, one of the best things about looking for a new job is that I get to go shopping for interview clothes. And that’s what I did this weekend. If you’ve not appreciated the joy of shopping for interview clothes, you’re missing out. And if you think that this joy […]
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Job-seeking, Personal Improvement, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged creativity, fashion | 1 Response
How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 2)
By J. Timothy King on July 21, 2006
How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 2) (Part 1 was posted yesterday.) After four months of teamicide, Peopleware-style, I was ready to die. And when HR or my manager asked me, I told them the truth.
Posted in Personal Improvement, Software Development, Stories, True Stories | Tagged Alistair Cockburn, Crystal Clear, Peopleware, Tim Lister, Tom DeMarco | 1 Response
How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 1)
By J. Timothy King on July 20, 2006
Two years ago, I was enthusiastic, energized, and about to plunge into depression. I was enthusiastic and energized because I had started a new job two months before, and I was in a position where I could make choices, and I knew I could make the right choices. I was stretching myself beyond what I […]
Posted in Personal Improvement, Software Development, Stories, True Stories | Tagged Alistair Cockburn, Crystal Clear, Peopleware, Tim Lister, Tom DeMarco | 5 Responses
Refactoring the Monster
By J. Timothy King on July 1, 2006
This is a story about my first software management success. It’s also a story about my first software management failure. It was a success, because the work got completed, and without any nasty surprises. It was a failure, because I could have made the team more efficient, and I didn’t. Both of these are good […]
Posted in Leadership, Management, Software Development, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged code, refactoring, software engineering | 4 Responses
Moving Chairs, and Why It’s Cool
By J. Timothy King on May 26, 2006
Many people think leadership is about being in charge and making a legacy and doing great things and everyone loving you because you changed their lives. But it’s not. Mostly, it’s about moving chairs and other little victories that no one notices. Leadership is like Ronny Cammareri’s love, from Moonstruck:
Posted in Leadership, Management, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | 2 Responses
My Performance Sucks, and I’m Proud of It!
By J. Timothy King on May 19, 2006
Seriously, this week I had my annual performance review, and my manager pointed out several weak areas, and I have no plans to address these weak areas. In fact, as a professional, my answer to this performance review could even end up getting me fired.
Posted in Leaving Normal, Management, Professionalism, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged performance reviews | 6 Responses