Exploring this quick way to understand what you do and don’t know and how priorities stack based on that information — Got a big ol’ list of projects, but not sure how to prioritize them? Similar to the four quadrants template for goal creation, RICE scoring can give you a quick gut check on which projects to do first. Get the template here: RICE Scoring Example [Make a Copy] Is this…

The key thing in any interview process is that it is not a crockpot. You cannot set it and forget it — No two interviewing pipelines are the same, but with this straightforward template, you can at least have a jumping-off point Keep in mind, the questions within each of these chunks will be the key factor to making your interviewing process successful. …

(Includes a free spreadsheet template.) — I’ll preface this post with a note that you need to have a good idea of the roles and responsibilities of each level of position at your company in order for this to be effective. Quick link to the template we’ll be using: Competency Quadrant Example Spreadsheet [MAKE A COPY] …

In your day-to-day, how good is good enough? Spoiler alert and cop-out answer, it depends. The answer is different per person, per situation, and per company. Some examples of what I mean. For documentation, 40% is good enough to get it in someone’s hands for review/early feedback For change management…

Extremely important piece to remember. It's better to act and fail, than to aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, and fire. All that time spent aiming could have been time spent learning. Thanks for the thoughts Tobias!

Unfortunately it feels like if Important Person is already doing what they're doing at your desk they won't be pleased unless they get a date. You mention is in the next section, but trust is really the only way a utopia like this exists. The leaders must trust the managers and product managers, that layer must trust the engineers. Once those lines of trust are established and transparent, open communication is flowing, arbitrary deadlines disappear.

🎼 How do you solve a problem like Ma-meeeeeetiiiiings? Many have thought about it, many have come up with certain strategies to combat the dreaded M-word, but few have figured out how to completely squash them. I’m putting the finishing touches on my live webinar for O’Reilly titled “Protecting Your…

I’m curious, what are your thoughts on compliment sandwiches? I was chatting with someone yesterday on preferred ways to deliver and receive critical feedback. It seems like any time critical feedback comes up, compliment sandwiches work into the conversation. For those that aren’t sure what a compliment sandwich is, it’s…

Far too often these questions are passed up. Humans are extremely complex systems and there are more than just work factors to affect their desires and motivations. The employee on Day 1 is not the same employee on Day 1,000, and to treat them as such is crazy. Excellent points Matthew!