Scaling the Wall
March 6, 2011
2 Comments
It’s romantic to view the world as a wall, scaled heroically by pure self-esteem. But in complex endeavors you’re certain to fall, without the support of a team.
Category: Team Building
Drinking on the Job and Other Vices
January 1, 2010
4 Comments
Hobbes observed that life under the rule of the mob is “nasty, brutish, and short”. Similarly, life in a startup modeling itself after a society such as the “Lord of the Flies” is wretched and hardly short enough.
It’s Good Enough for Me
September 18, 2009
2 Comments
I seized the opportunity to respond in kind with a rival French maxim. I quoted Voltaire: “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien” (the best is the enemy of the good). My companion was startled and said he didn’t understand what I meant.
The Death March
April 20, 2009
2 Comments
To those unfamiliar with the term, a death march is not a walk through Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. Rather, it is a reference to a development project where requirements exceed the realistic deliverables by at least 50 percent.
Playing Telephone
February 16, 2009
1 Comment
Playing telephone can be fun, but it’s not if you are trying to accurately convert business requirements to a software solution in a timely and cost efficient manner.
What’s with the Chicken?
November 28, 2008
1 Comment
The ceremony in which the team lead finally admits that he can’t deliver the features on time climaxes in a primeval ritual that rivals ancient Aztec human sacrifices, albeit somewhat more painful.
The Überteam
November 24, 2008
2 Comments
A high performance team’s esprit de corps is derived from a strong sense of individual belonging, common culture and shared vision.
Building and managing strong development teams goes beyond simply managing developers to quarterly objectives and delivering functional products.