I don't typically go looking for inspiration in vinyl stickers, but this one ... *ahem* I got stuck on. Good things come from responding to anxiety with creativity.

What was the best lesson you learned from a teacher, that you have carried with you into your career? Seriously... share your story with me on LinkedIn . I'm looking for inspiration. Tuesdays are good for that (while Mondays are for good for spaghetti). The best lesson I learned was from Prof. Brown in my first year of college. Before assigning us our first essay of the semester, he went on a long rant about how high school failed us by making us think a good essay is a long essay. He elaborated about how, in the many public and private positions he held, brevity was critical. If we wanted to be persuasive, the critical first step would be to ensure we were being brief. He gave us a controversial topic we had to outline in 1,000 words or less. Every word over would get a 1% deduction. For our next essay he reiterated the importance of brevity but also challenged us even more: We had to pick a side, and persuade. 750 words. 2% deduction for every additional word. Final essay. The to...

My daughter ran across the term "Growth Potential" the other day and asked me what it meant. She's long ago come to learn that asking daddy a question usually results in a much longer conversation often with colorful analogies, and the occasional Venn diagram. Whether you call it Growth Potential, a Growth Mindset, or just "Potential" - even for adults, it can feel ambiguous when you wonder how it can be demonstrated and measured.  When I think back to the people I'd interviewed, hired, managed, there were 2 common traits that among those with "growth potential". More importantly it wasn't just about potential - they went on to grow. Those folks managed to find the perfect balance between Confidence and Humility. Let's start with Confidence: A lack of confidence leads to self-doubt, it delegates decisions, it avoids risk (and really - everything begins to look like a risk.) Too much confidence is a label we often apply retroactively when hi...

How often should you be updating your resume? Frequently. Regardless of whether you're looking. In fact, update it especially when you're not looking. Not because you need to be looking. Not because you should never not be looking. Not because the market changes rapidly. Not for any reason other than because it serves as a great reminder of who you are, where you are in your career, why you do what you do, how you have grown, where you are growing next. Your resume is your perspective. Update it. Every 3 months. Every 3 months and, in between, whenever something significant happens. Whenever your perspective changes. Even slightly. If in 3 months you haven't changed - if you can't update a single sentence, replace a single word with a better one, then challenge yourself by asking why. Why has your perspective not changed? 3 months is a long time to grow, even if in small ways. And the power of a refreshed resume can be huge. It should remind you of your valu...

The not-so-interesting-man-in-the-world says... If you've been following taylor desseyn and I, you'll remember we used to have more regular live streams where we review resumes and do mock-interviews in a live stream, offering our honest feedback. Excited to share we're back at it again tomorrow! Hope you can join us! 📆 Friday, January 31st ⌚ 2PM EST Sign up here

After watching the Barbie movie on a flight and being brought to tears (honest question: does anyone else get more emotional on flights?) I remembered how I always felt Barbie's dad, George, is my celebrity-look-alike. Maybe I'll get cast as him if there's a sequel? Not sure if I'm Kenough - but I am Georgequate.

Whether it's your resume, LinkedIn profile, annual review we often face the simple question: how much credit should we get for our team/group/org/company achieving something. Maybe it was a huge revenue win, a massive cost savings, a substantial improvement to some KPIs, an industry award. Simple answer: you should take (some) credit. At the very least, more than none. I say this because too often we're more comfortable diminishing our contributions than we are with the feeling that we've received undue credit. But regardless of your role, if you were there to see it happen, you contributed (sometimes in less tangible ways) towards the achievement. And - more importantly - you likely witnessed some of the work that went into it, the decisions that were made, the impact felt before, during and after. And that makes you and your experience valuable. And if for some reason you were completely out of the loop - you should get right away to asking others about it. It...

"If it weren't for the last minute, I'd get nothing done." Those are words I live by, though they're not my own. They were written years ago by my amazing (now gone) oldest brother. When I think back on my best projects, products, presentations they've all been the result of the last minute. It's not to say I'm a procrastinator, disorganized, or don't plan. I just know that, without that last minute, I'd never reach done (or as some people call it " done-done ".) Lin-Manuel Miranda once described his own creative process - intentionally taking time away from what he's working on, giving himself time to daydream, to do anything but the thing he's supposed to be doing. It's part of the process. It gives the idea room to breathe, to germinate and grow and become something it never could be if it were constrained by your constant attention. None of this is to say planning, preparation and pre-work are a waste of time. You need...

My little lovely turns 10 today ... Reposting something I wrote almost a decade ago in honor of her. Slight spoiler: Yes. There have been more. Ma ny, many more. The love of adventuring was instilled in me at a very young age: walking through thunderstorms and down pours with my brothers, sneaking through office buildings with my Dad (and even getting kicked out by a security officer!) This carried on through highschool (with my best pal Andy) and later in college with co-adventurers Alex & Kieran. Yesterday, I went for a walk with my daughter (she was strapped to me, facing outwards, in the Baby Bjorn.) It was a bright, hot and sunny evening. As we rounded the neighborhood block what started as a puffy cloud became an ominous gray rain cloud. Being already past the point of no return, I knew I had to double time it before it started raining. (This was partly my decision, but mostly a decision my wife had made on my behalf and had called to inform me of.) As I neared the final bend...

I was thinking about a lot of the connection requests I get. All too often it's an impersonal message asking for something - a referral, to be a reference. As a principle, I only do this for people I know well and who have a good track record. But this made me think... how do I go about building my network? With that, here are 5 tips on how to build a better network. 1. Start early, before needing to make an ask, by engaging in their posts. 2. Make it about them, not your ask. 3. Create a conversation that is specific about them and their insights. 4. Feed their ego in specific and authentic ways. 5. Give them something of yours they can react to: share code, projects, whatever it may be and ask for their advice. Then, after enough time has passed and you've built a good reputation, make your ask. This takes time... hence, repeating #1: Start early. I'll also add ... My little "networking menu" is more of a guide than a guarantee. Those times are also best case sc...

For some years now, instead of going with an annual resolution, I've instead adopted a new aphorism to shape and refine my perspective . With 2025 around the corner, and mid-way through my 40th year on this planet (I won't share how long I've been on other planets), something that resonated with me was how we "live the life of old plans." While life is filled with unplanned and unpredictable events, old plans still take a shape. Maybe the sharp edges that once defined the plan have softened, maybe the shape is more of an approximation, but the plan is still there. When I reflect on the plan I had as a kid to where I am today, I am so grateful to be fortunate enough to live the life of the old plan (blurred edges and all) but three points in particular stick out: Patience : We live the life of OLD (as in "age") plans - a reminder that plans don't bring immediate results. We live in an increasingly impatient world, and I'm very guilty of being impa...

  On my first day of coding,  My PR was returned to me... My program's leaking memory. On my second day of coding, My PR was returned to me... I've two ints overflowing, and my program's leaking memory. On my third day of coding, My PR was returned to me... I've three new exceptions, two ints overflowing, and my program's leaking memory. On my fourth day of coding,  My PR was returned to me... I've four calls deprecating, three new exceptions, two ints overflowing, and my program's leaking memory. On my fifth day of coding, My LinkedIn sent to me... Five Senior Roles! four "Lead" titles, three "Architects", two "Managers", and they all offer way more money. On my sixth day of coding, I have no coding responsibility. Had six major meetings, five One-on-Ones, four Strategy Sessions, three Brainstorms, two Escalations, and I rejected a PR 'cause it'll leak memory.

There should be a Hoarders spinoff show called "Digital Hoarders," showcasing people who hoard their digital content - whether it's maxing out their Gmail, overrunning their desktops with old files, chaotic Downloads folders, excessive browser tabs, apps on their phones they seldom use, or even phone contacts including that one random guy named Mike Shapinko they met back in college at a house party that they've never spoken to again. Things that, if it were in the physical world, they'd have gotten rid of long ago - but because it's digital, they'll hoard forever. (Admittedly, I'm guilty of a few of these. I'll text you one day Mike Shapinko. One day.)

Epiphany: More and more we're talking about building adequate knowledge bases for improved AI. Those same strategies can be repurposed to help us build other people's intelligence about us . Whether we're building our resume, career, network, reputation - it's all about creating a "knowledge base". McKinsey published a guide to aide businesses in their AI transformation. It's a great rubric for self-evaluation. McKinsey advises companies to evaluate their business data and ensure: They are aware of their data sources, They are aware of what's in the data set (and what isn't), where it came from, how it evolved and how it links to other data, The data must be available to those who need it, The data suits their AI goals, and is high quality and varied, Lastly that the data is handled appropriately, meeting security, compliance and privacy requirements. Using that approach, businesses can build a strong knowledge base to fuel their AI. But we can us...

I've been reading posts about Agile being dead for years now. Those arguments seem to be picking up and my best guess as to why: It gets you clicks by manufacturing controversy. The main arguments I continuously run into with these articles all stem from fundamental misunderstandings of what Agile is. It's just as misinformed as the (incorrect) notion that Agile killed Waterfall. These misconceptions stem from too many projects that are AINO/WINO (Agile/Waterfall In-Name-Only), resulting in bad experiences. I've heard a common refrain from teams over the years: "We're hybrid agile," or "We're scrum-like" or "We've come up with our own agile approach..." These are red flag indications that the team does not have a clear understanding of the Agile principles or the Agile manifesto. You may as well declare "Hammers are dead" if you hit your thumb too many times. In fact, the "Agile is Dead" posts are equivalent to ...

The summer/fall season of our local recreation soccer league has to a close, and I'm pretty thrilled with how well we did this season. We're not supposed to keep score, but the team of 5 & 6-year-olds I coached was  nearly undefeated, with just one game slipping away from us. I've been doing this for 6 years now, and each season has been a blast, but something was different about this season. 5 & 6-year-olds are still learning the basic rules of the game. They're still adjusting to the shock that, after a "lifetime" of being taught to share their toys, they will be given a ball and told to keep it from others. They're also easily distracted - by planes, migrating geese, dandelions, dogs. They're also, depending on any number of factors, reluctant to play. Yet, somehow, by the time we took the field to play our first game, my team looked like veteran pros. So much so, I grew self-conscious about just how   good  they had become. There was such ...

Like most kids, my 6-year-old loves to draw. But, unlike what I've seen in other kids, my son likes to draw the same thing repeatedly, trying to improve upon it with each pass. He'll intently watch time-lapsed sketching videos by real artists who have recorded their process - and then he'll try it out for himself. The result is he'll produce drawings that are pretty advanced for his age. But he's still young, so his motor skills are still catching up with what he wants to get down on paper. And that leads to easily getting frustrated - something every parent finds themselves coaching their kids through. It reminded me of something I once heard: When you're talented at something, you can spot the imperfections that other are faster to write-off. While most people will praise the work, you are left feeling it could be better and obsessively pursue perfection. Knowing when to stop and getting to "Good enough" is an important skill otherwise you risk ...

They say an important part of any fitness regimen is your diet. With this in mind, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that "Driving Chocolates" are not "a thing" and just something I invented as a feeble way to dignify my habit of stashing chocolates in the glovebox so I can have something to snack on when I'm on the road. That being said "Pocket Chocolates" are still very much a thing - and fun fact: you can have pocket chocolates while driving. 

Sitting near someone who doesn't realize their laptop is no longer connected to their bluetooth headphones, and they're now blasting music out loud. But I'm not mad. hashtag#IfItsTooLoudYoureTooOld Given they're ~15 years younger than me, I'm being introduced to some good stuff that the algorithms don't bother serving me since I've aged into a new demographic. Already adding a few songs to my rotation.  Now - the question is, do I make him dislike his stuff by giving it my Old-Person™ approval and saying "This stuff is great!" or do I validate his sense of unique generational identity by giving him the ol' stern "Tsk tsk tsk" ?

  I ran a Spartan obstacle course. If you missed my  last post about climbing a rope, only to realize I hadn't planned on being successful, now you'll know why I spent my summer climbing ropes. Of the 21 obstacles, the rope climb was the only one I'd intentionally trained for. The rest, I figured, I would just try my best and see what happened. Given this was my first obstacle course, I wanted to get a general baseline so I could train against myself in the future. I wasn't holding my breath (other than when I plunged into the giant mud bath) about my performance. Reflecting, I'm glad I took this approach because it let me problem-solve on the fly. Each obstacle was something I had to figure out - I could try to power through the hard way, or see if there was a more efficient way. Had I properly trained, I would have been familiar with the obstacles and probably applied solutions I'd have learned the solution from others. There's definitely value in trainin...

Moon-Watcher’s turn came. Without knowing why, he picked up a small stone and threw it clumsily. It missed by several feet. “Try again,” said the command. He found another pebble. His aim improved. By the fourth attempt, he was only inches away. A feeling of indescribable pleasure flooded his mind. [Adapted from 2001: A Space Odyssey]

"Set goals." They say. "Set S.M.A.R.T.   goals." They insist. And, yeah - goals are great. I'm not knocking them. But goals are also not the end-all-be-all. Far from it. I'll even go so far as to say: If you only  focus on goals ("goal-oriented" in resume-speak) you'll find yourself in trouble, quickly. Yet, oddly, I only really hear people talk about the importance of goal setting and nothing more. They stop short. Set goals. That's it. It's a wonder why I've never seen anyone talk about what's far more important: what comes after you succeed. You see, one day, you will achieve your goal. After chipping away at it, day by day, you'll check the final proverbial checkbox on the proverbial checklist and have nothing more to check... proverbially. And then you'll suddenly face an existentially dreadful question: Now what? This was a recent experience of my own. And, I'll be vulnerable enough to share: it...

Taken on a Connectix QuickCam  One summer, 23 years ago, I was sitting in my bedroom, at my computer wondering how to fill the time. It was my summer vacation from high school. I was about to start my senior year in 12th grade. With the windows open, I filled the summer air with a vast library I'd built of MP3s using, of course, WinAmp. With both parents working, no one was home. It was too hot to go outside, and for one reason or another, I wasn't out with friends. On those typical summer days, I'd usually work on a variety of coding projects. Video games, websites, applications. But on that lazy summer day, nothing really captivated my attention. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the tedium, but I decided it was time to look for a new WinAmp theme. And, as I scoured the theme library, I came across a skin that did something completely new. Instead of the typical volume slide that all other skins had, this skin had a volume knob. A rotating knob like a real stereo. How w...

Success is an ambiguous word, with just as many intangibly squishy synonyms like "delivering value," "having an impact," and "great results." And when it comes to celebrating our team's successes, highlighting the value we bring in our annual reviews, writing an impactful resume, or sharing the results of our work, the ambiguity of these terms do us no favors in helping us determine what we should capture. And so we write about the wrong things. To avoid this pitfall, I always remind myself to focus on Outcome and not Output . Output is the work we produce: The emails we send, meetings we schedule, PowerPoints we build, lines of code we write, or things we fixed. Output isn't bad or good. It's just a means to an end (the Outcome). Outcome is what happens because of your output (and sometimes despite it). You may have led 5 projects, managed 50 people, wrote 500 lines of code, fixed 5,000 bugs - and all of those are meaningless ( yes, even fi...

  Here's to the kids of the 90s who didn't lay back in a field watching the clouds above slowly form shapes... ...but to those kids who hunched forward in cheap swivel computer chair, watching images slowly download in Netscape Navigator, and wondering what they'd eventually form.