Podcast Episode 39 – Warren Buffett’s 25 and 5 Rule w/ bonus Amazon Underground Discussion

Today, I heard about Warren Buffett’s “Two List Strategy”, also known as the “25 and 5 Rule”. I don’t know if the story is apocryphal or real, but I think the lesson is just as valid. When I got to my picks of the week, the first one went the normal way. But then I started talking about Amazon Underground and apparently I hit a hot button with myself. I ended up talking about Amazon Underground for about as long as Warren Buffett’s strategy. We go where the muse goes 😉


Links Mentioned in this Show:
Warren Buffett’s Two List Strategy
David Smith’s Twitter
Do Not Let Your Users See Spinners
Amazon Underground

You can also subscribe to the podcast at any of these places:

Thanks to all the people who listen, and a special thanks to those who have rated me. I really appreciate it.

The episodes have been archived. Click Here to see the archive page.

Podcast Episode 36 – Developers vs PMs

Recently, I found two “open letters” on the Internet. Episode 36 has me examining their contents and pointing out where I find fault with each. The letter that started it all was from a PM and was aimed at telling developers how to do their job. The rebuttal, from a Developer to a PM, was written to explain how the PM was wrong and how they should do their job. There is actually plenty of wrongdoing in both letters and we’ll take a look at that with the aim of behaving better and having better attitudes in the workplace.


Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Letter from the PM to the Dev

The Letter from the Dev to the PM

Fired

You can also subscribe to the podcast at any of these places:

Thanks to all the people who listen, and a special thanks to those who have rated me. I really appreciate it.

The episodes have been archived. Click Here to see the archive page.

Podcast Episode 29 – Management, Leadership, and the True Role of a Follower

In Episode 29, I take some time to think about the roles of a leader and a manager and how those intersect and how they differ. I not only share from personal experiences of when I’ve had to lead and manage, but I also share some wisdom from my father on the subject. (He’s a lot smarter about it than I am). I also talk about the importance of followers and how following isn’t a dirty word.


Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Pete On Software Podcast on Mentoring
Dash

You can also subscribe to the podcast at any of these places:

Thanks to all the people who listen, and a special thanks to those who have rated me. I really appreciate it.

The episodes have been archived. Click Here to see the archive page.

Winners and Losers

I was listening to James Altucher’s interview with Shane Snow this morning and some of their discussion reminded me of something that Ron Carter (former podcast guest) is fond of saying. It is a quote that I try to remember and live by, so I thought that I’d share it here.

Winners take the blame when something goes wrong and give (or share) credit when things go right. Losers look to assign blame when things go wrong and hog the credit when things go right.

That’s applicable in so many areas of life. Think about the quarterback who goes before the press after a loss and says that he made the wrong read or that he has to play better when the real problem was that his receiver ran the wrong route or his offensive line was a sieve. However, on victory day that same quarterback is praising the offensive line’s protection and the play calling and the receivers’ exceptional skill.

That is the same model that we should seek to have. Don’t worry that you aren’t going to get your proper credit. If you did a great job, your teammates will know your role. And they won’t forget that you helped them shine, too. More than that, though, they’ll respect you for not throwing them under the bus when things go wrong.

This isn’t just about success and failure in a team environment. When a loser fails on solo endeavors, he’ll look to blame society, his equipment, the government, his family, his parents, whatever. Anything but turning the gaze inward and looking to see how the failure can be an opportunity to learn and grow and improve.

Winners take responsibility. Winners share credit. Winners learn from mistakes. Be a winner.

Podcast Episode 17 – Going Independent

In Episode 17, I talk about what it takes to go independent as a software developer. After taking a moment to give all of the provisos that I’m not an expert offering legal or financial advice, I spend this episode talking about what my journey has been like. How did I come up with a name? How did I find work? What about health insurance? What about rates? I cover all of that and more in this episode.

While this episode is certainly not exhaustive, I do try my best to talk about what I had to go through while becoming an independent developer. There are a lot of little things that I had to tackle that were unknown to me before I took the plunge. And the fear of that unknown kept me from moving forward for a long time. I hope that some of what I’ve shared in this episode will encourage anyone who is looking to start out on their own.

Links Mentioned in this Show:

SCORE

Dublin Entrepreneurial Center

Michael Eaton’s Deep Fried Bytes Episode Announcement

John Sonmez’s Course

John on .Net Rocks! and on The Polymorphic Podcast

You can also subscribe to the podcast at any of these places:

Thanks to all the people who listen, and a special thanks to those who have rated me. I really appreciate it.

The episodes have been archived. Click Here to see the archive page.