Blog

June 23, 2017

Greg Thomas

The Team Failed

And what a great moment it was. What great flames of fury sprouted from the utter disaster that was your team’s crash landing when they tried to reach too high. Spectacular – this story will be told for years. It will be told for years because it will be the preamble to the greatest accomplishment your team will ever accomplish. Every team fails now and again, but the ones that are spectacular, that are borne from pure blood, sweat, effort, tears and commitment to the goal and each other – these are the failures that will manifest into the team’s

June 22, 2017

Greg Thomas

Don’t Measure Yourself by Others Standards

If someone tells you that you are really, really, really, really bad at something and you should not be doing it, you have a choice to make. Listen to them, measure your worth against them and spend the rest of your life worrying about what they are going to say. Move on and keep being “bad” at whatever it is you’re doing.  Actually don’t simply be bad, be horrible, stink the joint up, make mistakes here, there and everywhere. But give it your all and keep giving it your all until you are bad no more and you are good

June 21, 2017

Greg Thomas

Dropping People when the Job’s Not Done

The last sprint to the end of the project is always an exciting time for the team has worked so hard to get there. They have fought through all the trials and tribulations, the late nights, the early milestones (and the late ones). Through the good and the bad – they have stuck together, making it out as one cohesive team, stronger for what they have gone through.  When that final push comes, they are all jumping in to help to see it go out the door and the first user log on – not matter your role on the project,

June 20, 2017

Greg Thomas

The False Learning Trap

I hear this a lot – “I’ll learn it when I’m given a project that I can learn it on”. Translation – “I’m not going to invest my own time in figuring this out until you tell me I can invest my own time in doing this for you… and pay me for it.” Perhaps not what you were thinking at the time you said that, but you can’t argue with the logic. Would that really inspire confidence at an interview or team meeting if uttered as honestly as the above? Doubtful. Don’t fall into the False Learning Trap where

June 19, 2017

Greg Thomas

Demolition is Easy

We get to tear what was old down to the ground and rebuild it, from scratch, with our own ideas and stamp imprinted directly on it. It is an incredibly satisfying endeavour to demolish a piece of software that never worked or rip apart that kitchen floor that has looked horrible since the day you moved in. The euphoria of destruction makes all the pain melt away. But it’s only the beginning and the building back up is always that much harder, fraught with unknowns and discovery of what we never knew existed. We become discouraged and frustrated and yes