Archive of posts with category 'leadership'
The duct-tape and strings approach to software is unfairly maligned
The “duct-tape and strings” approach to building software prioritizes functionality and rapid iteration. That comes at the cost of design perfection and technical debt. It stresses the heck out of proponents of careful planning. But it’s a valid approach to real-world pressures and can lead to successful results.
Srini Pillay's Tinker Dabble Try: The Power of an Unfocused Mind, a book review
Planned “unfocused” activities can enhance your cognitive toolkit. So says Dr Srini Pillay In “Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: The Power of an Unfocused Mind”. In the book Dr. Pillay challenges the idea that laser-sharp focus is the key to success.
How to prioritize profit while supporting innovation
It’s easy to be seduced by the latest ‘innovation’ fads. But it’s important to focus on aligning innovation with core business goals and customer needs. Doing so will protect teams from the innovation trap and achieve long-term success. A lot of this essay is inspired by Christen’s book ‘The Innovation...
Creating and leading high-trust engineering teams for success
If you’re starting a team, you want it to be a strong, cohesive group. One that trust all its members. I call such teams ‘high-trust’ teams. In this piece, I expand on what such a team might behave, and how you could go about creating one. A strong team with...
A blogger's plea (and a proposal) to Google: bring back Blogger!
This essay proposes a plan for revitalization of Google Blogger. I argue for a premium subscription model, trendy features powered by Gemini AI , and a focus on actual user needs, not perceived ones. This is a high-level summary of a much detailed documentation I’m working on.
Book review of David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Author David Epstein argues that individuals who embrace diverse experiences and develop a broader range of skills outperform specialists in complex and unpredictable environments. The conclusion flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that values early specialization and deliberate practice in a single domain. Epstein’s central thesis in his...
Book Review: Learning to Learn and the Navigation of Moods by Gloria P. Flores
One can create a mindset highly open and receptive to learning quickly by managing one’s moods. That’s what learning researcher and psychologist Gloria Flores argues in her book Learning to Learn. She argues that only by modifying the less-productive (for learning) moods towards more productive ones, does learning get easier....
