Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

Sorry Frank Lloyd Wright fanboys and fangirls, but this post isn’t about Prairie style architecture. It’s actually about opinionated versus unopinionated software systems. The mercurial Frank Lloyd Wright serves as a convenient metaphor to illustrate the opinionated side. Not only did he design and build houses, but Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the furniture, light fixtures, built-ins, fabrics, and colors within the house – the whole enchilada. For the most… Read More »Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

The Dirtiest Secret of Agile

Ask just about any technical team nowadays and they’ll claim they’re using some flavor of Agile practices in lieu of the debunked Waterfall method. For all the corniness of poker playing and daily standups where people actually stand up, it’s hard to argue against the eminently sensible Agile Manifesto. Still, the technical landscape is dotted with software releases that don’t cut the mustard, from quality problems to software that fails… Read More »The Dirtiest Secret of Agile

Part 3: 10xPrinciples on Nurturing the Nature: An Employer’s Guide to Evincing 10x Performance

The first post of this three part series, Defining the Principles of 10x, establishes that 10x performers are awesome problem solvers. Those with 10x potential already possess significant natural gifts and an employer can help these employees to realize their potentials – by nurturing their natures. The second post in this series explores how to find latent 10x potential in employees. This final post in the trilogy addresses the question,… Read More »Part 3: 10xPrinciples on Nurturing the Nature: An Employer’s Guide to Evincing 10x Performance

Part 2: 10xPrinciples on Identifying Latent 10x Talent

The first part of this series, Defining the Principles of 10x, establishes that 10x performers are awesome problem solvers. Typically, these uncommonly productive employees are senior-level because this performance requires a degree of judiciousness and skill that comes from experience. Although one may be tempted to build a team composed entirely of senior-level 10x performers, they’re hard to hire and they’re expensive. Furthermore, it’s healthier for an organization to have… Read More »Part 2: 10xPrinciples on Identifying Latent 10x Talent

Part 1: 10xPrinciples on the Principles of 10x

When a position description requests a “rock star developer,” one might wonder two things: 1) When will this tired, last century phrase go away, and 2) Who really wants Eddie Van Halen coding a website? Along the same lines, those in engineering circles have long sought “10x programmers,” who are ten times as productive as their ordinary counterparts. Do such unicorns exist or is this some engineering mythology that needs… Read More »Part 1: 10xPrinciples on the Principles of 10x

10xPrinciples Approach to Containing and Eliminating Fires

Startups are motivated by youthful energy, fueled by adrenaline, and supplemented by caffeine. The frenetic pace of a startup cannot be sustained forever. If a company remains a startup too long, it will either burn through its cash or the original team will become too long in the tooth to muster the same enthusiasm that powered its early victories. Or both. Companies that successfully navigate the transition from a startup… Read More »10xPrinciples Approach to Containing and Eliminating Fires

The 10xPrinciples Approach to the Incentive Compensation Conundrum

Managers and employees alike have long had an uneasy relationship with Incentive Compensation (IC). The custom of “remembering the workers” began at the end of the 19th century, with employers giving employees candy, turkeys, or watches for the year-end holidays. The F.J. Woolworth company was the first to institute cash bonuses of $5 for each year of service. Investment banks picked up on the idea and ushered in massive Wall… Read More »The 10xPrinciples Approach to the Incentive Compensation Conundrum