Early Career
Introvert to Director — Leading in Your Unique Way
My path to Director would have surprised a younger Dave. I had a particular view of what being a leader was, and I felt my personality didn't match. I was wrong.
Newsletter
Managing Up
Managing Up — Stories and Guidelines for Working with Senior Leaders
You could rephrase 'managing up' as how to work with important people so that they want to work with you more, not less. This is a key skill for career growth for obvious reasons.
Organizations
A Personal Story of a Mistake, and My Evolving View of Diversity and Inclusion
It has taken years for me to realize that not being overtly biased is not the pinnacle of inclusion, and hiring as many women engineers as possible is not the pinnacle of diversity.
Interviewing
Unlocking Return Offers: 8 Key Internship Behaviors for Success
An internship is one of the easiest and best ways to get a full-time position after college. Here is some advice on how to take advantage of this remarkable opportunity.
Career Growth
You're Poisoning Yourself in that Toxic Work Environment
I believe in working through challenges, communicating clearly with those we don't get along with, and taking control of our careers. And yet, some situations can't be fixed.
Personal Dave Posts
My Amazon Interview Loop — A Tech Director Remembers His Own Development Manager Interview
Let's flash back to 2007, when I was interviewing for the second job in my career. It was my Amazon interview.
Managing Up
Have You Been Ignoring Implicit Feedback, Letting Your Career Pay the Price?
Implicit feedback is the subtle feedback you likely receive regularly. Don't let it escalate to explicit feedback. I spend time translating subtle feedback to what it really means.
Newsletter
A Complete Guide to Interviewing Candidates — From Competencies to Questions to Debriefs
Interviewing can be complex, and stressful. Here's a guide to doing it well.
People Managers
A Day in the Life of an Amazon Tech Director Poaching a Senior Engineer
Recruiting from internal Amazon teams is a proven way to gain experienced members for your team. If you're careful, and convincing.
People Managers
A Day in the Life of a Senior Manager at Amazon Creating the World's Worst Operations Meeting
I decided that we needed an ops meeting. Unfortunately, my attempt didn't go as planned.
Newsletter
Happy Holidays! And Spending Your Life Wisely
A brief interlude during the holidays.
Mid Career
You Don't Have to be a Manager to be a Leader Because Leadership != Management
Leadership is a way of relating to others. Management is an organizational construct. Many leaders are not managers, and (unfortunately) some managers are not leaders.