Becoming a Better Technical Leader

If you are interested in some tools to help you implement the ideas in this article and associated book by joining our mailing list. I once left a high paying job merely to escape from my direct boss. It was a good job and I was leading a team I loved, but none of that was worth working for this person. Others on the team joined me out the door over the next few months. That’s the impact of poor leadership and my experience is that the impact is heightened when leading technical teams. I enjoy leading teams of smart, capable people. I’ve also made plenty of mistakes that slowed team progress and project completion. My work and capability took a big leap forward when I read the book “Becoming a Technical Leader” by Gerald Weinberg. “Becoming a Technical Leader” is the rare type of book that has become more relevant over the years. Written over 30 years ago, its importance has only increased for a number of reasons. Here are two … First, the world and workplace is becoming more technical. There are, today, more people who spend their work lives in or managing technical jobs. More and more people need to learn the specific skills related to managing the technical worker, understanding that the distinction is important. In this book, Weinberg lays out a problem-solving approach that is both simple and effective. Second, as technical work has increased the “real” distance between leaders and reports has also increased. The advance of important and effective tools such as Slack, Jira, …

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What’s Important to You? Imagine You’re Dead

One of the key ideas tied to Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is that of first figuring out what is most important to you. Ideas like making sure your ladder of success is leaning against the right wall are core to being “effective” as Covey sees it. One of the exercises designed to explore that is imagining you are at your own funeral and seeing who is there and what you desire them to say about you. One of the tools in the 7 Habits Book Tools implementation package helps you do just that. Download it for free and spend a few minutes figuring out what you need to know to ensure you are making the right decisions and priorities for YOU … not your mom:)

Free 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Implementation Package Available

We just published a new Book Tools implementation package for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People … wooohooo! This package is designed to take the fine & timeless ideas in the book and make them work in your life. There is one page with an overview of the 7 Habits model and 8 tool template pages to help apply specific ideas and exercises from the book. We’ll describe the available tools over the next few posts and you can view all posts for 7 Habits here. For now, here’s a quick overview of the habits … Be Proactive: You are response-able and the master of your own fate. No matter your circumstances you are capable of making a choice to better your situation. Recognize and act on it. Begin With the End In Mind: Before tackling any major effort, spend some time planning and thinking about how you want it to look at the end. This effort is most critically applied to your very life. Who do you want to be and how do you want to be viewed? Spend some significant time thinking on these questions to ensure your less important efforts support your grandest pursuit. Put First Things First: Once you have established the purposeful direction of your life, make sure you spend the needed effort and time to those things that matter most and will help you accomplish your primary objectives. Don’t get caught in the “thick of thin things.” Think Win/Win: Seeking only your own interests does not serve others or yourself well. Instead, work …

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Podcast #6 – IT Consulting with Jon Auger

In this episode, we speak to Jon Auger about his experience in IT consulting. Listen all the way to the end for one of the more interesting answers to the question, “What one piece of advice would you give to somebody important to you?” It’s worth listening for, plus a number of other gems you’ll love!

Podcast #4 – Mortgage Business

In this episode, Tom Weeks chats with Jeff Morris about his experience in discovering a career and then a business in the mortgage industry. Also, the value of hard work and creating a work-life balance through building a business that allows for it.

Podcast #3 – CFO

Rick Lifferth is the CFO of Ivory Homes, a major home builder in the western United States. In this episode we talk to him about his journey to this job and what he thinks you should know about it.

Podcast #2 – Venture Capitalist

In this episode we talk to Dave Chidester of Rees Capital, an angel venture fund located in Salt Lake City, Utah. He talks about his path to what seems like a dream job and lessons he feels important for those looking to do the same.