Browse: Page 54
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 had done before, and I wanted to prove myself. Within two more months, that would change.
Continue reading “How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 1)”
Posted in Personal Improvement, Software Development, Stories, True Stories | Tagged Alistair Cockburn, Crystal Clear, Peopleware, Tim Lister, Tom DeMarco |
By J. Timothy King on July 16, 2006
As part of Steve Pavlina’s Million Dollar Experiment, participants claim to have manifested over 1.5 million dollars, just by wishing for it. Are they just fooling themselves? Or is there something different they’re doing? Is there something different that successful people do that the rest avoid? I think there is, and I knew what it was. And if I had just been thinking in those terms two weeks ago, things would have gone better for me.
Continue reading “The Secret to Breaking Out of the Box”
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal Improvement | Tagged Steve Pavlina |
By J. Timothy King on July 11, 2006
Why do programmers hate writing unit tests? Why do they hate even more writing unit tests before coding? You don’t have to answer. I’ve already heard the excuses. These are rhetorical questions. I have a theory, however, what the real reasons are.
Continue reading “Twelve Benefits of Writing Unit Tests First”
Posted in Software Development | Tagged testing, unit tests |
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 things.
Continue reading “Refactoring the Monster”
Posted in Leadership, Management, Software Development, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged code, refactoring, software engineering |
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:
Continue reading “Moving Chairs, and Why It’s Cool”
Posted in Leadership, Management, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories |
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.
Continue reading “My Performance Sucks, and I’m Proud of It!”
Posted in Leaving Normal, Management, Professionalism, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged performance reviews |
By J. Timothy King on May 17, 2006
It’s like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. You can’t see an electron, but you can measure it, to an extent. You can measure where the electron is or how fast it’s going, but not both. Because the act of measuring momentum throws off the position, and the act of measuring position throws off the momentum. (I know this is an oversimplification, but it will serve for the nonce.)
Thought-work is like that. Continue reading “The Thought-Work Uncertainty Principle”
Posted in Professionalism |
By J. Timothy King on May 10, 2006
Reflective Improvement is number 2 of Alistair Cockburns 7 properties of successful teams. Of these 7, Alistair says the top 3 are core properties for success. Reflective Improvement is so important, because it gives such a big bang for the buck.
Continue reading “Thirty Days to Better Software”
Posted in Software Development |
By J. Timothy King on May 5, 2006
Somewhere between 9 employees and 50, the job becomes a burden. The best company I ever worked for was around 20 or 30 people. (It varied over the years.) After it ended, I said I wanted a break, a normal job for a stable employer. Be careful what you wish for; you might actually get it. But more on that in a moment.
Continue reading “Why Small Is Better Than Big”
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged innovation, Peopleware |
By J. Timothy King on May 4, 2006
We usually think of professionals as being people who don’t make mistakes. Amateurs make mistakes, because they treat the work as a hobby, rather than as a profession. But ironically, professionals probably make more mistakes than amateurs do, and that’s how it should be, though different mistakes.
Continue reading “Professionals Should Make Mistakes”
Posted in Professionalism |