Articles for category: Initiative

August 17, 2018

Greg Thomas

Nothing is Ready

There is a strong probability that things will not be ready for you at that new contract, job, internship, event, etc. And they will ask you to wait. Don’t. Before starting, have a plan that assumes the worst, that nothing is available, that all you have is a notebook, and start from there. And don’t think you’re doing this to show everyone how good you are or how keen you are. You’re not. You’re doing this because you’re not going to lose a day doing nothing when you could have been creating something.

August 14, 2018

Greg Thomas

Walking Away At what you are Good At

Over the past few months, I’ve been observing someone who is leaving something they are really good at. Scary good. And all I can think of is – how amazing will they be at whatever they do next and what level of confidence do they have to not feel pressured to keep going at this thing that they excel at. I don’t know if I could do that, I don’t know if I ever have or ever will. But if you can do that and are worried about what comes next – don’t be – you’re going to be just

August 8, 2018

Greg Thomas

Start with the Happy Scenario

The Happy Scenario gets a bad rap because it’s easy, it does the bare minimum and the customer doesn’t really want it. Who would want to buy it? No one… and that’s the point. The Happy Scenario isn’t for the customer, it’s for the developer who’s trying to get that new library up and running, it’s for the QA tester who’s trying to validate their first automation test case or maybe it’s for the Product Manager who’s trying to validate their first use case to get buy-in to move forward with the project? It’s for you. It’s for you to get

August 3, 2018

Greg Thomas

Adventures are Better Than Vacations

Every year, we wait for the mythical months of summer to come around so we can finally have our vacation. False. The weather might be better (and the only one who can really say whether it is, is you) but you can take a vacation at any time. Turning off your phone – that’s a vacation. Taking a drive to the middle of nowhere and eating your lunch in solitude – that’s a vacation. Flying somewhere for the weekend where the weather meets your lofty standards – that’s a vacation. But better than any vacation, is an Adventure (and we

August 2, 2018

Greg Thomas

Stop with the Buzzwords

Starting a new position is… what’s the word… intimidating. Especially if it’s a position you fought for, worked hard to get, put in all that extra work to get there. You earned it. So don’t waste it on your first few weeks throwing out every buzzword or trope the industry has ever heard to prove to people that you know what you’re talking about. They know what you’re talking about, that’s why they hired you, now they want to see you do it. And if you’re in a position where the only way to show you deserve to be in