Life In Software Engineering, Careers in Tech, Leadership, Engineering Culture.
Reading Time: 2 minutesYou can define “grit” as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, and it has been shown to be a better indicator of future earnings and happiness than IQ and talent 1. It is a combination of resilience, passion, determination, and focus. It pushes people to keep up discipline, optimism, and…
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Reading Time: 2 minutesNot all software developers are interested in being promoted to higher levels in the ranks of an organization. Climbing the career ladder can be a risky and scary move. If you are not ready for it, you might land in a position that you are not qualified to take. Unless you…
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Reading Time: 1 minuteYou don’t have to relegate doodling to paper only; coffee cups are good doodling surfaces too. A few examples:
Reading Time: 3 minutesBeing a learner is a choice you already made When you joined the software industry, you made a deliberate or accidental decision to be a learner. Change, progress, and innovation are the goals of technology; not many fields change as quickly and relentlessly. As of 2016, there were about 21…
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Reading Time: 3 minutesThis entry is part 8 of 8 in the series principlesIntelligence is not enough A high IQ does not automatically translate to good ideas. It helps, but it’s not sufficient. Smart people generate large volumes of ideas; some are good, but most are terrible. Successful people do not rely only…
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Reading Time: 2 minutesMuddy words You are not alone if you heard someone giving a speech containing words that, at close inspection, sum up to nothing. You are also not alone if you interviewed someone who answered questions with vocal noise that filled the air without giving any meaningful answer. I have a…
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Reading Time: 1 minuteThis week’s doodle is from a plane ride from Seattle to Las Vegas, back in 2014.
Reading Time: 4 minutesMaking a baby by typing code A man approaches you holding a baby. He looks at the bundle with loving eyes before turning his gaze to you. “What do you think?”, he says, “He is my baby! I bathed him, dressed him and brushed his hair. I just finished, barely…
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Reading Time: 3 minutesThis entry is part 7 of 8 in the series principlesI hate when a fine Friday morning turns into an unscheduled damage control drill. It was around January or February last year; it was cold outside but turned hot inside. I know it was a Friday because it ruined my…
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Reading Time: 3 minutesThe blazing forge of innovation is lit in most obscure places. If you could see it, you’d notice it as a bright glow shining in the minds and hearts of inconspicuous software engineers hiding in their cubicles. Innovation never sleeps; she is a muse, singing a powerful song that keeps innovators awake at night.