Agile
How to Be Forever Employable (via Agile Amped)
- TL;DL — the guest is promoting his new book which tells you how to build your brand as a consultant.
- As a leader how do you enable the kind of culture that allows teams to work in an Agile fashion — Lean startup, design thinking, human centered design in an iterative and successful way?
- We no longer have software factories. We have systems of continuous delivery that need tuning over time. This allows us to build a continuous conversation with the customers we serve.
- DevOps is already here, but the leaders aren’t. Shipping output is binary, so it’s easy to measure. If it’s easy to measure, it’s easy to manage. Now we have a spectrum. We’ve also been training managers in an industrial mindset. This is unsustainable now. It’s tough for managers to get out of the business of telling teams what to build.
- We need to focus on outcomes, not outputs.
- His mid-life concern: becoming old, expensive, and unemployable. The higher up you go, the fewer opportunities there are. Most people are told to keep climbing the ladder. He worked on content, network, and social proof to make work come to him. (How very American to focus on your brand.)
Analytics
A Simple Tactic That Could Help Reduce Bias in AI (via Harvard Business Review)
Don’t give the algorithm any suggestions so that you let it discover true relationships rather than suspected ones. The article likens this to a blind taste test.
Coaching
Are You Ready to Be Coached? (via Harvard Business Review)
- Tolerance for discomfort
- Openness to experimentation
- Ability to look beyond the rational
- Willingness to take responsibility
- Capacity for forgiveness
- Self-discipline
- Ability to ask for support
Communication
Yes, Virtual Presenting Is Weird (via Harvard Business Review)
When doing virtual presentations, it’s difficult to read the room. Without feedback we often make problems worse (e.g., more monotone, rambling, increased anxiety). Use the chat more frequently to check in with people. Use conversational tones (e.g., “Did you see the difference in what I showed you?”) even when you can’t chat.
Culture
Talking About Mental Health with Your Employees — Without Overstepping (via Harvard Business Review)
This post has several suggestions on how to start conversations with people that could use some support. The goal isn’t to be their therapist, but to be an active listener and fostering a safe environment for people to bring their whole selves to work. Empathize with your audience on what their experience is like.
Leadership
Anyone Can Learn to Be a Better Leader (via Harvard Business Review)
“Occupying a leadership position is not the same thing as leading. To lead, you must be able to connect, motivate, and inspire a sense of ownership of shared objectives.” This article has a framework for helping you create the change you want to bring about. I agreed with the notion that off-the-shelf assessments and tools can help, but they are not a substitute for leadership.
Managing yourself
How to Brace Yourself for Disappointment (via Harvard Business Review)
“How do you prepare yourself for what might be a large, perhaps even life-changing, disappointment? Is it better to think it through ahead of time? Or do you just end up wasting energy and causing yourself anxiety when you can’t know the outcome yet anyway? The first thing you need to do is ask if worrying really helps. If your anxiety motivates you to take action that can affect the outcome, then it might be useful. Worry can also compel you to gather resources – such as social support – to help you stay resilient if the worst-case scenario comes to fruition. But you should balance any agonizing with some sense of hope, as long as you aren’t overconfident that things will go your way. Definitely don’t wallow in misery. You can’t prepay your pain. And if you have trouble quelling unhelpful, negative emotions, try distracting yourself with something fun or meditative.”
Feeling Overwhelmed? Here’s How to Get Through the Workday. (via Harvard Business Review)
- Focus on a familiar activity — feel accomplished with some muscle-memory tasks
- Tackle an unfamiliar task you’ve been avoiding — there’s novelty, plus you can say you’ve made progress
- Do half your usual work — set more reasonable expectations of your performance when under emotional duress
- Connect with others — share what’s on your mind with those you trust
- Drop your fear of negative emotions — we’re not robots, and sometimes negative emotions can be drivers for change
Software development
A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms – Part 2
Topics included ordered arrays, linear vs. binary search, Big O notation, and classes of algorithms.