<ShamelessPlug> If you’re looking to get your development team AI-ready, my hands-on instructor-led training in the principles and practices that enable teams to rapidly, reliably and s…
A client once responded to one of my questions by saying, "Oh Greg, I am too busy living to think about life!” His off-the-cuff comment named a trap al ...
Hi, it’s Takuya. Last week I had my birthday and turned 41 (November 19th). When I was younger, I could never really picture what life in my 40s would look like. It’s this vague age where you don’t have a clear image of how you’re supposed to live, right? Even if I try to look back at my dad at this age, he was always at work during the day, so he’s not much of a reference. I make a living as an indie developer, and thanks to what I built up through my 20s and 30s, I can live the way I do...
A new anonymous essay published every day in December in the countdown to Christmas.
Today I am turning 40 years old. Which, while not exactly great, is better than the alternative, so kudos to me for still being alive! 🎉 I am a pretty lucky person. I was born in one of the best, richest countries of the world. I feel safe, I have a good job, I am pretty healthy and I have a lovely family. But, for the past couple of months leading up to this milestone, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on life and failing to fall asleep due to the existential dread of having already used up half...
I've always thrived on high workload, making things happen fast, multiple projects I believe in. That's when I'm at my best. But there's a pattern: the calmer work is, the calmer I am at home. The more stressed work is, the more irritable I am at home. It's a seesaw. My family is always on the losing end. I have endless professional bandwidth for revenue-generating problems and zero emotional bandwidth for the people I love. Apparently it's called "high sensation seeking" - linked to dopamine. Work under pressure gives me a hit. Playing blocks with my toddler doesn't. I need...
I have the good fortune to have a job right now, but many of my friends are out of work. Most have been searching for a while. Some are encountering a problem that has my full sympathy, something I’ve experienced myself at various times. I’m not sure I can solve it, but maybe I can help put words to what some are going through.
CalmCode - coaching voor IT'ers | Vind rust in je werk | Coaching voor rust, ontspanning en stressreductie in IT
Why we might need something like tenure for many more people, to cultivate more thinkers in a doer's world
11 months in The Side Hustle From Hell
February 3, 2025
Amazing as it may seem after all these years, there are still junior developers in the world. A few weeks ago at work we had a talk where senior developers (including me) were invited to spend around five minutes each talking about our personal software development philosophies....
It’s been over a year since one of the most significant turning points in my life, and it’s time to reflect on that.
Tech companies care about projects, not tickets
Keep your meetings smooth and your priorities on track!
In this Company of One summary, we'll explain why growth isn't always good, and how to enjoy the benefits of a large organization without the burdens of one.
In Engineering, quarterly OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) can feel like a duplication of product planning. Basically, they say “Ship the Roadmap.” What new information are they comm…
Vercel Security Checkpoint
I set out to find a simple definition that would help managers frame the fundamental things they expect from software engineers.
Dear new developer, When I was starting out, I thought that software development was all about code. After all, that was the main thing I was working on. Well, maybe not the main thing, as I needed…
Please complete the security check to access NetworkSolutions.com
UPDATE: I’ve added a short section on the topic of sponsorship. I think that there’s a lot of institutional knowledge in our field, especially
Using personality clues strategically to stress test potential hires
The page you are attempting to access is not found.
When interviewing, particularly for technical positions, many people over value their technical preparation, and don't consider the importance of personality and leadership preparation.
Don’t exercise to be thin. Exercise to be strong. The best place for ideas is alone and on the move. Start or end every day with writing about your life. Take what’s in your head and type it out, even if you don’t feel like you are thinking anything of note. There’s always something buried underneath the to do list in your head, something you didn’t realise you felt, that when written down, will make everything clearer.
A behavioral design think tank, we apply decision science, digital innovation & lean methodologies to pressing problems in policy, business & social justice
After 25 years of my career I came to understand that one particular type of programmers is the source of many problems in our industry. Here is the story of a project that was nearly destroyed by two such programmers. One of them was leading frontend development, the other – backend. While the rest of the team was slacking off because business requirements were in the works, these two chaps were working hard.
If courses teach you’ll be building more greenfield projects than not, I’d be hesitant to consider it a well-rounded education in software development.
New managers often want to get everything right from the get-go. But, ironically, that would be their first mistake. Why? Because that's the total opposite of authenticity.
The Startup CTO's Handbook, a book covering leadership, management and technical topics for leaders of software engineering teams - ZachGoldberg/Startup-CTO-Handbook
Yesterday we had a super fun meetup here at Intercom in Dublin. We split up into small discussion groups and talked about things related to managing teams and being a senior individual contributor…
How to be effective in the theatre of work
If you collected lists of techniques for doing great work in a lot of different fields, what would the intersection look like? I decided to find out by making it.
How small tech companies are using remote work to compete with the big guys.
We’ve talked about How To Be A PM That Engineers Don’t Hate, now let’s talk about it in the other direction.
Or: why I don't like greenfield projects
Back in college, they told me that I would start my career writing code, but eventually, I would move to a position where I would ask others to code my designs. To celebrate that this turned out to be completely false, here are some assorted reflections as a 40-year-old programmer that looks back: • Compared to my younger versions, I f...
A practical guide to self-confidence, personal growth, teamwork, learning, communication, and delivering results—the soft skills that every programmer needs to thrive in their job and be ready for a senior role.