A Few Hundred Thousand Words Later, Here Are Some Quotes
Some of my favorite ideas, distilled into a few quotes.
Latest
Why Performance Management Works the Way It Does - Stack Ranking, PIPs, Ratings, and a FAQ
Most employees only learn about how performance management works at their company when it's too late. Here's what happens behind the scenes.
The Behaviors That Turn Engineers Into Senior Engineers
The gap between mid-level and senior engineers usually isn’t technical skill. It’s behavior, judgment, communication, and the ability to make everyone around them better.
If You’re Never Wrong at Work, You’re Probably Not Leading
The people who create the most value are usually the ones willing to make uncomfortable decisions before the right answer is apparent.
The Ten Commandments of Maintaining Legacy Code
Writing new software is fun but a minor part of the software engineering job. Let's talk about the real meat of the job. Legacy code.
22 Somewhat Random Bits of (Mostly Tech Career) Advice From Dave
Not in any order, or theme, just 22 thoughts from Dave.
Three Mistakes That Changed How I Lead (More Than Any Training Ever Did)
You can sit through training for years. One mistake you care about will teach you more in a day.
My Experience at an Amazon Recruiting Trip
From scheduling chaos to final offers, a firsthand account of high-volume hiring at Amazon.
The Cheese Pizza Problem: Consensus Is Killing Your Best Decisions
When everyone has a voice, the outcome gets safer, slower, and more boring. This is exactly the opposite of what great companies need.
Diversity Metrics Are Easy to Fix. Real Diversity Means Hiring People You Disagree With.
Diversity isn't about checking the box on hiring people who look different. It's about having true differences of opinions on teams.
Relying on Your Manager Isn’t a Career Plan
The steps to take to grow your skills and career without your manager helping.
The AI Gold Rush Looks a Lot Like the Dot-Com Bubble. Let's Remember 1999.
A walk down memory lane from 1999, and what that might tell us about today's boom.
Newsletter
Finishing Your Tasks Doesn’t Mean You’re Doing Your Job
Helping gets tasks done. That's nice. Ownership removes problems entirely, and that’s the only way teams and leaders can scale.
Early Career
If You're Busy All Day, Your Approach to Work is Probably Wrong.
Creating an impact doesn't always make you feel accomplished, and feeling accomplished doesn't necessarily mean you're creating an impact. This is about the dopamine trap of getting things done.
Late Career
Anyone Can Have a Big Idea. Thinking Big is About Charting a Path.
The concept of Thinking Big is not about having big ideas. It's about charting a path to accomplish great and challenging things.
Organizations
Big Companies Don’t Get Slower Because They Become Stupid
Designing processes and software to scale is expensive but necessary. I'll walk through why scaling by definition (basically always) leads to a loss of agility.
Managing Up
A Simple Framework for Giving (and Receiving) Feedback at Work
Upward feedback is a gift from an employee to a manager. How to politely give the gift of feedback to anyone, but particularly your manager.
Personal Dave Posts
I Wrote a 90,000-Word Novel With AI in 2 Days. You Probably Shouldn’t.
AI is great for some things. Not all things. Join me as I take on this experiment.
Interviewing
A Complete Guide to the Amazon Bar Raiser Interview Process
All interview processes are imperfect. But I think the Amazon Bar Raiser program is a brilliant differentiator.
Interviewing
Interview Mistake: Trash Talking Co-Workers
Complaining about co-workers is an immature and dangerous temptation.
Newsletter
9 Hard Lessons You Learn as a Director at Amazon
What unexpected things happen when your scope increases, almost everything is ambiguous, and results (not effort) are all that matter.
Late Career
Keep Calm and Carry On - Calm Beats Chaos Every Time
Staying calm in a crisis is a necessary component of leadership.
Organizations
Why do the Amazon Leadership Principles Work? How Do They Change Behaviors?
The Amazon Leadership Principles are awesome in driving behaviors within Amazon. Why don't other companies manage this type of behavior influence?
Organizations
You’re Not “Letting People Go”—You're Firing Them
Getting past the euphemisms - this is what “performance management” looks like from the manager chair.