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10x Engineer – The Root Cause

What is the root cause of a 10x engineer? Are “10x Engineers” mythical creatures that exist only in our imagination or are they real? Read More

New Hires

New hires present the best opportunityto put employees on their path to achieve their greatest potential. There are three very impactful people in determining the joy, success and fulfillment an employee finds in their job… Read More

Radical Candor, Meaningful Conversations

Radical Candor is an overlooked asset in creating high-performance teams when that candor is built upon a foundation of trust. I’ve discovered that evoking transformation can often require radical candor. However, when properly applied, the transformation can resemble a metamorphosis. Read More

Lean Out “Down” / Lean in “Up”

The WEF estimates that it will take the U.S. another 208 years to reach gender equality. So, women and minorities may need to lean in for some time. As leaders though, we should lean out to create space so others may lean in. Read More

The Dark Side of Agile

Along with the virtues of Agile Software Development also can come some destructive downsides that can erode trust and effectiveness within your company culture. I recently attended a 3-day Scrum certification class where the founder of the particular methodology was the instructor. He insisted that managers not participate in standup meetings, planning meetings, grooming sessions,… Read More

Different Stokes for Different Folks

My high school history teacher Mr. Hupert always used to say “different strokes fo different folks” in explaining how under different circumstances in different times with different people, different forms of government were effective. So, too, I discovered, it is with effective software development methodologies. When I joined IMVU, we were continuously deploying to our… Read More

Lean Staffing – It’s about the People

The notion of Lean Staffing is best paired with the concept of The Lean Startup. In his insightful book The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Eric Ries speaks of his startup lessons learned at IMVU and from many other companies he came to know afterwards including Intuit.… Read More

The Room Where it Happens

As leaders, much of the magic happens in the one-on-one conversations either in the privacy of a physical of virtual room (think Skype or Zoom) or on a walk-about as a more neutral setting and where you also benefit from the energy of being in Motion. These conversations should sometimes be as non-threatening as a… Read More

Embrace the Challenge

After riding the dot com wave as VP, Engineering for the fastest growing software company on NASDAQ, I decided to embrace the challenge to give back by getting my teaching credentials at San Jose State. I walked by this statue commemorating Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ brave protest at the 1968 Olympics on my way… Read More

Heart Rate Meditation

There are advantages for mind, body and soul to being calm oneself to be more present and aware. Much of the guidance on meditation starts with focusing on the breath. I found it to be more effective to practice Heart Rate Meditation by focusing via direct feedback. Also, a key to consciously changing your heart… Read More

Building Collaborative Groups with Broken Squares

In his book The Culture Code – The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, Daniel Coyle refers to a competition at Stanford where business students in university squared off against kindergartners. The four-person teams had to beat the clock and build a tower using uncooked spaghetti, tape and string with a marshmallow on top. You would… Read More

Role Models

Inspiration, curiosity and drive for someone with a growth mindset can be sparked or fed by role models. Here are just a few of the many role models that inspired me If we consider the possibility that the potential lies within each of us to be a Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Malala… Read More