Category Archives: management

Indifference to process leads to Mozilla contributor departing

Tyler Downer announced he was no longer contributing to Mozilla because the Mozilla bug triaging process was being sacrificed on the altar of “rapid release”. Tyler likes the idea of the Rapid Release, but rather the tools to handle bug … Continue reading

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When to change careers (for Fred Wilson)

Fred Wilson is wondering when to quit being a VC: I was thinking about going out on top. So few manage to do it. Shaq is warming the bench in Boston. Brett Favre should have called it quits after he … Continue reading

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How to change jobs and careers

A while ago I wrote this post about the elusive hunt for “rockstars” In it I had this table which showed things from the employers perspective: Good at doing Bad at doing Like to do “Rockstar” Sweet spot“future rockstars” Hate … Continue reading

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How to do “status meetings” right (aka avoiding “Death-by-Status”)

A truism in the start-ups v. “big” company battle is that start-ups have a big advantage because they don’t have to waste time in internal communication. Status meetings are quick and focused; not long-drawn out off-site affairs. However, many startups … Continue reading

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Handling a destructive Board Member

Steve Blank has a post about a problem an entrepreneur is having with a bad board member: I had coffee last week with one of my ex students. 30 months ago he raised a Series A venture round from two … Continue reading

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Glengarry Glen Ross reward structure or do you reward fire inspectors?

(In response to: What to do with hero’s? ) Do you have a Glengarry Glen Ross reward system: First Prize is an Cadillac El Dorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired. In my … Continue reading

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reward systems

(In response to: “Should pay be tied directly to productivity?”) There are many people I know that enjoy being teachers. They found some cool new technology toy, language, library, concept or idea and they love to share it with others. … Continue reading

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User-Generated Content? Do not use BurstNET

A hosting provider, BurstNet, shut down a wordpress hosting service, Blogetery.com, last week. This is an example of egregious abuse of power by BurstNET against Blogetery.com. Blogetery.com hosts 70,000 wordpress blogs. Apparently, a few of those blogs had “an al-Qaeda … Continue reading

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If you don’t vote, your opinion doesn’t matter. And sometimes you shouldn’t vote

(This post is related to management I promise! ) Robert Cruickshank over at the California HSR Blog whines about Palo Alto’s “undemocratic” democratic process: In short, it is becoming increasingly clear that Palo Alto’s planning and citizen engagement process is … Continue reading

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why people bother to interview here – if you can’t teach (Part 2)

Part 1 was a technical question that I ask because so many “strong” developers cannot answer that technical Java question. Part 2, is more about the valuable soft skill of teaching. One of my standard questions that candidates constantly struggle … Continue reading

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