Watching Shark Tank tonight and the first presentation was by Mango Mango Preserves and it highlighted an interesting contrast in business trends today and how to capitalize on opportunities. <Spoiler Alert> Even though every one of the sharks was raving about the product samples they tried, with two of them going for second and third servings, none of them made a deal to invest in the company.
Read more →
In my current position as Software Engineering Manager I have been through a lot of ups and downs with staffing, ranging from laying-off everyone who was on my team as we went through the great economic downturn in 2007-2008, to numerous rounds of interviewing and hiring contractors, full-time employees, and converting some contractors to employee status.
Read more →
In Part 1, I started talking about using Red-Gate’s newest version of SQL Source Control and how I really like it as a viable method to source control your database development.
Read more →
If I didn’t know better, I would think that K. Brian Kelley (blog | twitter) has been listening in on conversations with my boss.
In his recent blog post Successful Teams: Knowing When to Step Out of Your Role, Brian describes quite clearly a philosophy that my boss has been trying to get across to everyone in the department.
Read more →
Woodrow Wilson was once asked how long it would take him to prepare for a 10 minute speech. He replied "Two weeks". He was then asked how long it would take for a 1 hour speech.
Read more →
I have certainly been reading blogs a whole lot more than writing them the last several weeks, and it’s about time I got back to writing. I have been collecting several topics and references for blog posts…some of which will probably just never get written as the timeliness of the topics fade over time.
Read more →
One of my most popular blog entries of all time is my Contracting Tips: Fixed Bid vs. T&M post from January, 2004. This post consistently shows up in my referrers list, usually coming from a search engine.
Read more →
There are two types of people in the world: Those that divide groups of people into two types, and those that don't...
Lately, I've been thinking about two types of developers (or coders).
Read more →
Being in the tech industry, it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of technical blogs. There are approximately a gazillion technical blogs, and a whole gob of those are really good.
Read more →
I went to the Women in Technology lunch yesterday. Yes, some of you will be quick to realize that I am not a woman, but the lunch is not exclusive to women.
Read more →
One of my favorite authors on the subject of Leadership is Dr. John C. Maxwell. Occasionally, he talks about how most people have To-Do lists, but more importantly, he recommends that leaders develop a NOT-To-Do list.
Read more →
Now that I have had the "pleasure" of filtering through numerous resumes looking to hire someone, my thoughts on certifications has evolved a little... Or it's probably more accurate to say that they have been solidified.
Read more →
I know, we're already a few weeks into the new year, but I have been so busy with work and life stuff that I haven't been out here in a while, and it sounded like a good start.
Read more →
A few months ago I was conducting interviews for a Production DBA position that we were creating, and an interesting thing happened...I ran into a candidate who was much like me a few years earlier.
Read more →
I'm sure I've written this before, but while I'm on the topic of interviewing, it bears repeating...
Do NOT confuse 1 year of experience repeated 5 times with 5 years of experience.
Read more →
In my previous post about interview flubs, Jon dinged me in the comments for posting something that is too obvious. As he put it, "who DOESN'T know these?". Well, Jon, apparently a lot of people don't.
Read more →
For those of you who are already independent contractors, or thinking about taking the plunge and being your own boss, some good ideas and good humor awaits you at the Escape From Cubicle Nation blog.
Read more →
While I am putting together a few of my own tips based on my recent experience of interviewing candidates for developer positions, here are some tips from eWeek on 10 Avoidable Interview Flubs.
Read more →
Found this post titled Geek Marketing 101 at Make Marketing History by way of Guy Kawasaki's Blog. Of the little I have read so far, the Make Marketing History blog looks promising for no-nonsense business/marketing tips.
Read more →
As an independent contractor, I spent plenty of time as the candidate looking for work. Each time, I learned a little bit more about how to do it better, but I sure could have used some tips, especially in the early years.
Read more →