Layering is not just good advice for surviving a San Francisco summer, but also a great way to communicate complex concepts to your target audiences. In the early days of the David Letterman show, they would take things up to the studio roof and … [Read more...] about Featherbedding
Untangling
Sometimes communicating can be complicated and torturous because you don’t realize you’re talking about two things at once. For example, you’re having an ongoing heated conversation with a colleague about whether you should do the sales dinner in … [Read more...] about Untangling
Inch along
Communicating complex concepts to people who may not want to hear them is tough. See last week’s post for great advice from Neil deGrasse Tyson on that. It can be just as hard to communicate complex material to people who do want to hear it. How … [Read more...] about Inch along
It’s complicated
People ask me all the time how to communicate complex issues to people they must persuade – like their bosses, juries, etc. It’s always challenging to communicate to an audience who has limited attention and perhaps less intellectual horsepower than … [Read more...] about It’s complicated
Learning to thrive in Byzantium
It’s the end of June, so this is the last post of Debugging Teams month on poseyblog! Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman’s great book has so much to offer engineers and other creators on the importance of communication and … [Read more...] about Learning to thrive in Byzantium
A leader, not a manager
June is Debugging Teams month on poseyblog! Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman have great advice for leaders in their wonderful book on the importance of communication and collaboration. They address the dangerous “anti-patterns” that can … [Read more...] about A leader, not a manager
Creating a culture
June is Debugging Teams month on poseyblog. In this great book written to help engineers and other creators build soft skills, Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman spend a lot of time on creating and maintaining a culture. Fitz and Ben say, … [Read more...] about Creating a culture
Mission statements really can drive efficiency
June is Debugging Teams month on poseyblog. Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman’s great book on the importance of communication and collaboration is a great read not just for engineers but for anyone who makes things with other people. Fitz … [Read more...] about Mission statements really can drive efficiency
Read Debugging Teams!
My new favorite book is Debugging Teams by Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman, two engineers who are deeply converted to the importance of communication and collaboration. Here’s their opening epigram, from Bill Coughran: “Engineering is easy. … [Read more...] about Read Debugging Teams!
Be a human.
You are a person who is motivated by strong core values. You are a person who’s so deeply interested in something that you’ve immersed yourself in it for years. You are a person who’s been through triumphs and mistakes like everyone else who’s alive. … [Read more...] about Be a human.
