people

I recently made a pass through historic downtown Altoona and I noticed how many buildings appeared to be empty. It actually occurred to me that my definition of infrastructure has shifted radically from the conventional infrastructure companies have adopted. The "office" is hardly a requirement for a majority of jobs. I have now worked for two virtual companies for almost three years. Aside from the occasional happy hour, there is very little that I miss out on working virtually. Video conferencing software has been amazing (you can share your screen and co-work on items if needed). Slack has

I'm not one to really dig my heels into politics. I find it divisive and I recently had a clear example as to why. Earlier, I heard my doorbell ring. It was a Bill Shuster promoter walking door to door in my neighborhood. I have already grown tired of his campaign, seeing television commercials with scathing attacks on Democrats, his extreme views on health care, and the flashing images of Sarah Palin and other off-the-wall conservatives he self aligns with. I was handed a pamphlet of information and needed to look no further than the cover to set me off. Our fights are Bill's fights

The Agile framework is all the rage. It aims to solve limitations introduced by waterfall. The framework is driven by value and priority, not fixed scope and heavy upfront planning. But, Agile and its Scrum variant is just a set of theories not intended to fully prescribe practice. There are many challenges that observing strict Agile/Scrum can present in practice, especially for agencies attempting to adopt it outside of a product development process. Background I believe the theory behind Agile and Scrum is sound. Where waterfall advocates for rigid planning first and foremost, Agile/Scrum

Hands down, a huge pet peeve of mine is a lack of reliability. Let me be clear, this is by no means to say that I am impatient. I often provide people countless opportunities to be reliable. But, I've learned over time that the more patient I am with something, the higher my expectations get. I've found it critical to try to express my expectations as soon as I recognize them or to provide just-in-time feedback when they are not met. I've learned to own my expectations and that I cannot be critical if I have not made them clear. Too often, I've held too much confidence that issues will work

BackgroundI recently changed companies and am going through the process of onboarding. One of the big draws to the new company was an emphasis on people and culture. The whole balance between a for-profit business and a focus on employee needs, in my experience, can be in conflict. I have been learning more about how these goals are achieved. In some onboarding documentation, there has been a reference to "The Agile Manifesto". A swift Google search, let me to this page. The core values are defined as follows:Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over

This morning I read this article. It's a short phrase that stood out: simple beauty of life. This reiterates a common thread from many others with severe illness or little time left. Notably former CMU Professor Randy Pausch, who died of cancer, who left a lasting impression with his last lecture. Mitch Albom wrote a popular book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, about a life's reflection and purpose. Admittedly, I spend too much time thinking about this. We witness others discover their life meaning through their challenges. Do we lack that focus and vision until we're faced with grave

This evening, my daughter and I were playing doctor. I laid on the floor and she gave me a checkup. She looked at my ears. "Better". She checked my heartbeat. She nodded her head. And, lastly, she checked my temperature. Her response was perfect and I hope I never forget it: "My temperature is happy". An Unhappy TemperatureIt's been a while since I have blogged. My temperature was far from happy. I spent the better part of eight months working on a challenging project. My spirit was crushed after dedicating myself to its success. Loose lips sink ships and blogging about my experiences as they

Generally speaking, I try to be very laid back. I do get stressed out (and continue to try to work on that). However, there is one major pet peeve of mine that I believe is worth sharing. Being present. This day and age, life is full of distractions. Society seems to have totally forgotten to slow down, relax, and appreciate one another. We seem to prioritize texting, Facebook, email, and work over our personal connections. We take on too much and rarely set good boundaries. This doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. And, I am certainly guilty of it. This trend just seems to continue

No one is irreplaceable, and that is a fact. Teams often find ways to overcome the loss of staff, even creatively. Some losses hurt more than others. One key factor is institutional knowledge. This is one area that often makes employees feel irreplaceable, but should be avoided at all costs by a business. The goodWhat grows institutional knowledge? Ambition. Employees invest into their companies by digging their heels in, often learning and growing to be the best employee they can be. It's natural: ambitious people evolve over time - they are not stagnant. And, businesses often encourage this

I am a big fan of learning moments. In business, some learning moments come at a cost. Some mistakes are easier to forgive than others. I still believe in exercising as much patience as possible to allow people to learn. PatienceThis is easier said than done. Someone makes a mistake (or multiple). Steps need taken to correct course, mentor, and allow the mistake to serve as a positive step for the future. I can't say how many times my bosses or peers have afforded me such opportunities to grow. They demonstrated clear actionable steps, told me what needed to be done to correct the action, and