My first big client was a major retailer who had grown tired of paying a huge ($400k / year) maintenance bill for SAP software they were barely using. They asked me to build a much simpler application that was designed to meet a simple, strict set of requirements. Our first iteration of the app was […]
Professionally and personally we’ve all had periods of time where we are uninspired, unmotivated and just downright “meh”. Sometimes it’s just a natural process of the ebbs and flows of life. Other times it’s a series of unfortunate events or even worse if it’s your own damn fault for making bad decisions. Everyone handles these […]
Easily one of the most difficult things I had to learn as a developer is this: Estimating my time accurately There are key questions to ask, unforseen issues that arise, and fickle client requirements and changes. About 4 years ago I changed the way I build my proposals and estimates for projects. I no longer sell hours. […]
“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” or “How I learned to stop dithering and make a decision” I have probably mentioned it before, but the best career advice I’ve ever gotten came from a mentor of mine who told me: “You are very persistent, but you […]
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Why do so many pro athletes experience what they call “The Sophomore Slump”? In case you aren’t familiar with it, The Sophomore Slump is the idea is that a rookie comes in to the league has a great first season, exceeding anyone’s expectations and when the next […]
Fellow guitar players will surely read the title of this post and say “what the hell does a weird guitar chord have to do with this nerd blog?” Well, I was trying to find an alternate voicing for the F#ms sus4 because the rest of the thing I was working on was way up the […]
Admittedly, I’m no Harvard MBA and my own understanding of the business world is quite literally my own, but I’ve made it a point to listen closely to some pretty amazing people I know when they drop nuggets of wisdom. One of those was uttered by a good friend who had been the Cheif Marketing […]
Every once in a while I find myself getting a little burned-out on the day-to-day “stuff” of running a business, keeping my clients happy and coding like a madman. It usually manifests itself in the following way: I look for reasons NOT to do the mundane stuff that is waiting, tapping its watch (like my […]
With Independence Day right around the corner, I thought I’d yammer a bit on freedom and my genuine appreciation of it as it relates to my work. I promised myself I would do this without inserting my political views, so if this feels a tad restrained, that’s why. Please forgive me. Many amazing ideas are […]
It’s an age-old IT question: Build vs. Buy. Two distinct choices when solving a problem with software. Most good software comes about as a result of existing software only doing 80% of what somebody needs it to do. Solve 80% of the problem you set out to solve and you’re probably in good shape. That number goes […]