Pages tagged rands:

Rands In Repose: A Disclosure
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/01/25/a_disclosure.html

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Whether you get to choose or not, there are aspects of management that you need to understand.
There will be drama. And there be those precious seconds when there is no one in your office wanting… something.
All about management in software dev companies...
Rands In Repose: A Twitter Decision
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/02/09/a_twitter_decision.html
In starting a significant project, an engineer knows the first three big design decisions you make are vastly more important than the second three. The nature of these decisions varies from project to project. They may be choices about look and feel, rules about architecture, or trade offs regarding feature set. Whatever these decisions are, they set a tone that defines the success of the project. When I look at Twitter, I see three early essential decisions about how Twitter allows you to craft a community. I believe much of Twitter’s continued success is due to definition and execution of these decisions. Interestingly, some obvious candidates for the Top 3, like “Scales like crazy”, “Will generate money”, and “Needs to be searchable” weren’t initially there.
For me, a tweet is still a note I tie to a balloon, which I let go and think, “Who is going to read that one?” Sometimes I look and see where it ended up, sometimes I don’t.
For me, Twitter remains a place for casual information. For me, a tweet is still a note I tie to a balloon, which I let go and think, “Who is going to read that one?” Sometimes I look and see where it ended up, sometimes I don’t.
What makes Twitter great, why, and how.
Rands In Repose: The Art of the Tweet
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/03/02/the_art_of_the_tweet.html
In writing an article, I know I’m done when I delete. The process leading to done is chaotic; it’s days, weeks, or months of aggregating writing where I collect and organize paragraphs and sentences. Over time, content creation becomes content shaping as I organize the thoughts into a pleasing coherence.
How to write a good tweet that puts a bit of you into it.
Say More with Less
the sense of tweeting
Rands In Repose: The Pond
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/04/15/the_pond.html
Working remotely long-term
Avoiding failure involves asking four questions before they leave: 1. Do they have the personality? 2. Do they have the right job? 3. Does the culture support it? 4. Do you have a remote friction detection and resolution policy?
But I’m still freaked because my first thought when anyone asks to work remote is, “This fine person is a year away from either quitting or being fired.” Why? Because they’re asking to leave the Pond.
Rands In Repose: A Deep Breath
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/06/01/a_deep_breath.html
"When you see an impending crisis, your body has a distinct natural reaction. In your consideration of the crisis, you take a long, deep breath. You often don’t notice this, but if I was sitting next to you, I would hear sigh. A sigh is associated with despair. We’re screwed. Sigh. My interpretation is different; this long, deep breath is one of preparation. Let’s break it down: Breathe in. Gathering your strength. Oh shit, how am I going to deal with this? Hold it. Hold it. Ok, breathe out. Ok, not sure what the plan is, but let’s roll. "
Management by crisis is exhilarating, but it values velocity over completeness; it sacrifices creativity for the illusion of progress.
Rands writes another brilliant article about how to manage humans. If you are managing a team, or part of a team, take 20 minutes and read this one from top to bottom.
A brief essay on how to get things back on track when they've gone off the rails. I find this sort of wisdom very attractive. Makes me want to do things.
"An obsessive meeting schedule is an investment in the boring, but by defining a specific place for the boring to exist, you’re allowing every other moment to have creative potential. You’re encouraging the random and random is how you’re going to win."
"I admit it. I love it when the sky is falling. There is no more delicious a state of being than the imminent threat of disaster. During these times, I’ve done great work. I’ve taken teams from “We’re fucked” to “We made it”. Yeah, we had to cancel Christmas that one time and there was that other time I didn’t leave the building for three days straight, but it was worth it because there’s no more exhilarating place to hang than the edge of chaos. We’re wired to escape danger."
Rands In Repose: The Words You Wear
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/07/13/the_words_you_wear.html
many good points in this post , steal it for the script!!!
"In business, words are like fashion. You try a word on because important people around you are saying it and getting results, but you may not actually know what it means. Every group in the company has their own unique set of words and every group uses these words to verbally define who they are, what they know, and what they own. These words, these phrases, have value when everyone is in agreement as to what they mean, but used outside of your part of the organization, their value decreases, especially the closer you get to engineering."
This is you think you’re saying, but this is what we’re hearing. Corporate Crap.
Heads-up — “You’re screwed.”
Rands In Repose: Keynote Kung-fu Two
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/04/26/keynote_kungfu_two.html
Workflow for creating presentations
wisdom
You’ve taken some hits. Being taken apart by the execs because they could smell you weren’t prepared. The slide deck you loved that the audience ignored. That guy… snoring. In the front row. However, you’ve also hit it out of the park. The unexpected standing ovation. That seven-slide deck that turned into an hour of ad-libbed brilliance. The moment you know you’ve deeply connected with your audience. Admit it, you’ve got some presentation-fu.
Rands In Repose: Gaming the System
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/12/13/gaming_the_system.html
The ever-knowledgable Rands waxing intellectual on nerds and their games. A great read.
a must-read, as usual.
How games appeal to the nerd mind.
Rands In Repose: FriendDA
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2008/10/19/friendda.html
NDA vs. FrienDA - Just stumbled upon this fun idea by @rands / http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2008/10/19/friendda.html [from http://twitter.com/tadej/statuses/988978156]
But I want Phil to know that what I want to chat about is more than our average conversation. I want slightly more than a smidge of ceremony before I spill the beans about my bright idea and I call this ceremony the FriendDA. The FriendDA is a non-binding, warm blanket agreement that offers absolutely no legal protection. I’d suggest if the idea of legal protection is even crossing your mind that the FriendDA is totally inappropriate for your current needs.
Rands In Repose: How to Write a Book
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2010/06/28/how_to_write_a_book.html
A great essay on writing, especially large projects.
"There’s a painful threshold when you’re roughly two-thirds of the way through the book where you need an extra shove. My advice is to not write an article about this experience, but rather print out the whole damned book. That’s right. Every single page. If you haven’t already invested in a home laser printer, now is the time. You’re almost an author, dammit. Seeing all of your work spread out on the floor of your office is cathartic."
Rands In Repose: How to Write a Book
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2010/06/28/how_to_write_a_book.html
A great essay on writing, especially large projects.