I remember when we had to do this in grade school, when the teacher would ask us to mark our own work. Some would give themselves an A+. Others would be too hard on themselves, almost failing themselves. And some would give enough to say – “yeah, good start, but you have more to do.” The ones that didn’t give themselves an A+ are the ones that learned from an early age, it’s not the…
We tell our kids to do their best all the time. So when did we stop doing ours? Do your best, and if your best isn’t up to par, look at what someone else’s best is and use that as your yardstick. We have enough slop floating around, and more growing by the minute. Doing your best isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing journey.
Many years ago, we had a sign for who broke the last build. It was the earliest days of accountability, code reviews, and unit tests. Did you break it? Fix it. Did you break it? Your code must be running well. It was the earliest form of accountability in software development. As we progressed into the hype of the startup world, it also became a badge of honour that you were pushing the envelope, trying…
The worst thing you can do these days is ask for the answer. Not having asked ChatGPT. Not having followed up with Claude. Not reading one or two of the denizens of blogs out there on the subject you’re looking for. If you’re not coming to the table with the formulation of an answer, an idea of what could or could not be, or even a suggestion on what’s next. You’re not looking for the…
The best way to figure out how things work is to take it apart and see. Now, if it’s a $10,000 engine, you might want to start with a lawnmower (apply common sense). But the best way to see how code runs, to see how art is created, to see what it takes to finish a book… Has always been to take it apart and do it.