Organizations
The Amazon Working Backward Process for Engineering
The working backwards process is the key mechanism Amazon uses to ensure that the right projects are funded. This same process should be used by engineering teams for their work.
Latest
Late Career
But It's Not Fair! How to Deal With Irritating Situations.
Numerous things in life aren't fair. However, complaining about it won't fix things. Let's focus on fixing things.
Personal Dave Posts
Insert Clickbait Title Here – Lessons After 1.5 years of Newsletter Authorship
Social media is silly and valuable. Newsletters can make money if you're patient.
Late Career
Proactive vs. Reactive: Understanding the Mechanisms Behind Effective Leadership
Reacting to situations means that the situation leads you. Act like a leader and use mechanisms to drive change.
Organizations
How to Increase the Agility of Your Organization, Improve Quality, and Reduce Costs
Slowing down deployments to add QA is viewed as trading off improved quality for slower speed. I'm going to convince you that it also lowers quality.
Organizations
Why Twitter had 7500 Employees, and Startups Crush Big Companies.
Long-term vs one-time cost of product engineering is a core reason why companies grind to a halt over time.
Career Growth
A Guide to Creating Your Personal Brand, and Why It Matters
Your personal brand is how others see you. It can be created accidentally, or you can be purpose-driven in making your own brand.
Organizations
A Guide to Writing Status Reports - I'm Not Joking, I Totally Wrote an Article About That
Writing status reports has a bad reputation. Learn how they can be valuable, and a great tool for your toolbox.
Organizations
Decisions at Scale. The Ownership Model and Organizational Structure at Amazon.
Amazon's leadership model focuses on ownership and bias for action. Why does this help with decision-making?
Managing Up
You're Not Lazy, But Your Manager Thinks You Are - A Guide to Changing How People Perceive You
Perception is reality. You can rail against the unfairness of how others perceive you, or you can work to change that perception.
People Managers
Is Becoming a People Manager Right for You? A Guide to the Positive Aspects of Being "The Boss."
Moving into management is a huge career step. Is it the right step for you?
People Managers
Thinking of Becoming a Manager? You Might Regret It.
There are numerous reasons you might not want to move into management. I walk through a few things to consider.