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A Software Engineer’s Guide to Giving Feedback that Actually Matters
Originally posted on Shopify Engineering. A friend of mine used to get into heated debates all the time. This was before Twitter—well before. Now when you talk to him you would never be able to tell. I asked him to share with me his secret for how he was able to overcome that urge. He…
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On “Rockstar” Developers
Some teams have “rockstar” developers who only work on “spikes.” A spike is a story where a developer is assigned the task of figuring out how to accomplish something. The outcome of a spike is a prototype, or roadmap for reaching a prototype. Included in the task might be to evaluate different methods of accomplishing…
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Implementing Agile – Part III – Slicing Stories
This is the piece of the puzzle I couldn’t figure out by myself. I needed to see it in action, implemented well, to understand what I was missing. I’ve seen a lot of stories sliced wrong, and some sliced well. Slicing stories properly can be the difference between a high performance team, and one floundering.…
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Implementing Agile – Part II – WIP
The first big “Agile” change I implemented was standup. Without it you can’t even begin to know what’s going on in your team, let alone help accomplish all it needs. But all standup is, is a daily window into what everyone is doing. That helps you know what’s going on, on a day-to-day bases. But…
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Implementing Agile – Part I – Standup
Early on as a manager, I came across Agile methodologies, but wasn’t able to get training in it, so I had to figure out how to implement it myself. After reading countless books and immersing myself in whatever I could find online, I was able to implement several key elements. But I still was missing…
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Make Yourself Dispensable
Originally published on forbes.com. “If you want to keep your job, you have to make yourself indispensable.” I’m sure you’ve heard that before. Here’s the truth – you will never get great work done if you are indispensable. If your tech company relies upon you so much that if you were hit by a bus the…
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Play To Your Strengths (The Leader’s Serenity Prayer)
Originally published on forbes.com. The role of stretching is often overlooked in the process of growth. When you’re strength training and you lift weights, it stresses your muscles, which triggers the growth process. But if you neglect to stretch afterward, your muscles shorten and become tight, which leads to them becoming weaker, not stronger, and…
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Open Source: To Use Or Not To Use (And How To Choose)
Originally published on forbes.com. You’d like to use open source software, but you’re not sure what criteria you should use when deciding whether to rely on it for a specific project or not. I have a long, complicated history with open source software. I use open source libraries every day in my work, and I’ve…
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On Assholes and Leaders
The asshole doesn’t see that he is one — that is the true nature of being an asshole. Ultimately being one is truly just a manifestation of selfishness. If you don’t care how your actions affect the people around you, the people around you will see you as an asshole. If the actions of everyone…
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Thoughts about “Who” and Hiring
Finished reading “Who” this week. I found it an interesting approach to hiring. I’d read it if I were looking for a job as well to prepare for interviews, though it’s not designed for that. Takeaways: Take hiring seriously, this should be obvious but it’s easy to let it get lost in all the other…
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Jack Reichert 