One area I work on with engineers and new managers is how to "manage up". Before we dig into managing up, it's worth covering "managing down" as this will help us compare and contrast these two functions. Managing down is traditionally what we think of when we describe managing a…
As you advance in your career you'll find you are increasingly "in demand", both internally and externally. If left unchecked this work will consume your entire week; it's important to prioritize accordingly. The Eisenhower Matrix is a system by which you can bucket different kinds of work so that you…
When I started my first Software Engineering job, a combination of technical insecurity (I didn't have a Computer Science degree) and a naive understanding of professional development (this was my first real job) led me to believe that my career advancement would be pretty straight forward: Accrue as much programming…
Those following along know that my wife and I relocated from Portland, to San Francisco, then to Denver. Well, we recently moved BACK to San Francisco after realizing we're West Coast folks at heart. The first time we moved to SF, it took me 5-6 weeks to receive two job…
No one likes to fail. We feel embarrassed, angry, frustrated, self conscious, and vulnerable. But I’ve recently begun to feel comfortable with failure and started embracing it. I want to share some of my feelings about failure. Vanity None of us want to look incompetent. And you have…