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Chasing rabbits
If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. You can’t run in two directions at once, and you have no way of controlling where the rabbits are going to run next. You can maybe influence the rabbits by setting up boundaries; you can maybe predict the rabbits by knowing the terrain, but you can never…
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The Lexus Response
In 1989 Toyota launched a brand new series of luxury cars designed to compete with the likes of Mercedes Benz and BMW. After 9 years and over a billion dollars in investment, the first Lexus vehicle, the LS 400, was launched. Three months later, two owners contacted Lexus to complain about an overheated brake light.…
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Quality is boring
I’ve had an iPad for a few months now, but only recently I started using it to read eBooks. Although for me an electronic device will never replace the texture of paper and the smell of the freshly pressed ink, using the iPad to read books is a delightful experience. I enjoyed it from the…
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The focus manifesto
Do you ever feel like you’re rushing from one thing to the next, without really doing any one thing properly? Are you running from one social appointment to the next without taking the time and attention to enjoy each one? Is your desk like a constant fireworks show of new emails, instant messages, phone calls,…
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Personalisation is not overrated
I came across this very old article about personalisation of websites from 1998: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981004.html The article discusses the fad of website personalisation that was sweeping the web back in the late 90’s. Back then, many websites were making the first efforts to personalise the web by giving complex personalisation options to users, through which the website…
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The right to satisfaction
If you’re not happy at work, I think you have two choices. You can either: take an active role in making things better, or leave. Everyone has the right to improve their own situation. If you see problems or difficulties at work, you can raise your voice and help find constructive solutions. But if you’re…
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A half product is better than a half-arsed product
Most software projects have a deadline of some kind, and only the very lucky few don’t have a budget. In this landscape that leaves two things you can compromise on: features, or quality. The temptation is always there to try for as many features as you can. Rush to cram them in. Squeeze, push. Race…
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The danger of cc and reply-all
I got an email the other day, adressed to me with a mailing list of all the other Product Managers from our site in cc, that started with the words: “Actually, that’s completely wrong.” It was referring to my previous mail to a small group where I had made a comment about the readiness of…
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Recurring impediments
Last week I wrote about impediments, and making sure you go through them every day at the daily scrum standup. As I was discussing blockers with my team over the past week I noticed (again) that most of these impediments are recurring… they seem to crop up nearly every sprint. Scrum teaches us about the…
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Change the unchangeable
In an environment where so many people avoid decisions, shy away from responsibility and avoid asking hard questions, the people who do this well stand out. Shake a few trees. Take a risk and raise a tough issue. What’s really stopping you? What are you afraid of? Politics? Don’t want to make an enemy? The…