Tag Archives: life
You Gotta Do What Makes You Happy
Where I discuss the importance of pursuing personal happiness in work, what it means to be happy, and why you should help people be happy. Leaders check in with their team, because unhappy people are less productive. Perseverance is vital for growth, but leaders need to listen and help solve issues with compassion. Continue reading
What To Do When Things Go Wrong
People don’t remember what you did when things were going well. People remember what you do when things go wrong. This post explores that idea, and how to make sure you think clearly about the BEST thing to do, and then DO IT. Continue reading
Don’t Be Afraid
In which I discuss how fear is an overweight counterbalance in the risk equation, and how to check yourself whenever you feel afraid. There are a lot of benefits to not being afraid. Continue reading
How To Ask For Help
When you ask for help, the right way to do it is to say: (1) This is what I’ve done; (2) This is what I plan to do next; (3) Am I on the right track? This article discusses the hows and whys of this pattern. Continue reading
New Hires: Gophers vs. My Hair’s On Fire
In which I discuss another spectrum of behaviors, specifically as it pertains to how people approach and solve problems, how they do it wrong, and how good leaders coach them to be better. Continue reading
Fixers vs. Enablers
In which I discuss the difference between “fixers,” who intervene at any sign of trouble, to “enablers,” who encourage and enable their teams to solve the problems themselves. Both extremes are bad, but understanding where you are, and where your boss is, on this spectrum helps manage expectations. Continue reading
Amazon’s RTO SNAFU
Where I discuss Amazon’s RTO (return-to-office) mandate, and their inability to communicate any data-driven or evidence-based decision making. Continue reading
Leaving Amazon
The first post I made on LinkedIn was my goodbye post, announcing that I was leaving Amazon, with a few comments as to why. I was surprised when it got nearly 250,000 impressions, over 1,500 reactions, and 150 comments. It’s … Continue reading
Increasing the Scope
As mentioned in the about page, I’m not only an amateur / hobbyist astronomer with a high-tech telescope, I’m also a software professional. I graduated with a computer science degree back in the mid-90’s, and pretty quickly got into management. … Continue reading
