Entries from May 2007 ↓

This might sound too simple and stupid but I observe too many people do not utilize this simple practice.

Why children do ask questions and adults ask less questions when not in the know? May be because of fear of being thought a child? I used to have such fear. Not anymore. Asking simple questions and getting answers clarifies any complex situation and helps achieve more desired results.

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” - Nancy Willard

In our agile life there are so many changes and innovations and so little time to learn. When I need to learn something new I first try evaluating it how simple and stupid it is, wether I can utilize my current skill set. If it is then I give it a try, otherwise I look for similar thing that does not require too much investment to learn it.

Music helps me get into desired mood.

When I drive home after hard work day I listen to ambient, William Orbit is one of my favorites. When working I listen to smooth jazz, I like http://www.kwjz.com Internet radio. But when I need to get into assertive state of mind I listen to something like ACDC . Yesterday I took it to the extreme and have bought Prodigy’s disk . I was on my way to the meeting where I should be very assertive – so I decided to go tribal vibes. Prodigy has Voodoo People track that set me for the right mood. I was not aggressive during the meeting but very assertive demanding exactly what I need without any hint for back off. I think Prodigy helped and I got what I wanted.

If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. … I get most joy in life out of music.” -  Albert Einstein.

Failure is not such a bad thing if properly treated. I am personally motivated by failure. Until lately I was not.

But I understood that blaming myself or others for my failures is not productive and only burns my energy. I decided to learn from each failure - small and big. Every failure for me is great opportunity to learn and anticipate at least the next one and get prepared. At max, I can avoid.

The mindset for failure is not being pessimistic it is just model situations in “what-if” manner. This simple practice can reveal “unexpected” undesired situation in systematic way.

Do not be set for failure rather set your mind to anticipate the failure and prepare. In case of the failure do not flame yourself or others - learn from it and improve for the next time.

“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” - Walter Brunell

I am not HR specialist but sometimes I am asked to conduct professional interview. I use Joel On Software simple technique - The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing -  for this purpose which Joel summarizes as follows:

• Introduction
• Question about recent project candidate worked on
• Impossible Question
• C Function
• Are you satisfied?
• Design Question
• The Challenge
• Do you have any questions?

During the interview course I try to simulate different situations from my day-to-day practice with the customers and see how the candidate behaves and reacts. What I am looking is base knowledge of the subject, soft skills, and the ability to maneuver unexpected situations. I really appreciate when the candidate demonstrate depth and breadth knowledge but soft skills are very important. On other hand good behaviors cannot replace subject matter expert.

Above categories help me quickly identify both technical and soft skill of the candidate.

“You’re only as good as the people you hire.” - Ray Kroc