I was reading this article a while back about StackOverflow’s decline in traffic over the past two years and what contributed to it. The best part was the last line, where it discussed “the Fork” – where hopefully StackOverflow isn’t dying, but it’s in the midst of a Fork to figure out what it is to do next. I feel that analogy can be applied to many in software right now.  I was having a…

Teams shift based on external factors – opportunities and threats. One makes them, urges them to take on more, excited for what is next. One pushes them to hide, close ranks, become insular, and worry about what may come. Every shift is an opportunity and a threat, depending on who you are and what your narrative is. The question becomes, what your team sees as a threat and what you need to do to shift…

When you cycle, you often times go into a high gear to exert less power. Then, when the hills come, you drop a gear to reduce resistance. For each person, when they go up/down a gear, the level of resistance and when they change a gear is different. But regardless, they do it for the same reason – to maintain momentum.

Want to know what industries are in need of help? Look for the gaps. What are people complaining about? What do they wish they had? What are the problems they are trying to solve? What solutions require a flair of creativity? Those are the gaps, and they are the opportunities for growth and development. They are not easy to fill or address, but they are always 100% worth it.

The first 15 pages are the test. They might not be your speed – perhaps too fast, too chaotic, too slow – perhaps that’s the narrative of the story taking place, and they want you to feel that. But they are a test. If you can get through the first 15, the next 15 might be better, or maybe you’ll have enough knowledge to know that they aren’t as bad. Then, when you’re 150 pages…