At some point, we all become incompetent. There’s a reason the secretary doesn’t often get promoted to CEO. It’s the same reason why continually aiming for a promotion isn’t in your best interests. The Peter Principle tells us a lot about corporate hierarchy. It’s also the key to not being…

I received several reader emails yesterday. They were confused about my concept of a stealth developer. In some articles, I advocate creating value & boosting productivity as a developer. In yesterday’s article, I suggested that you do just enough to get by. Try to stay out of the spotlight. Aren’t…

Stay out of the spotlight, if you know what’s best for you. Showing off your achievements, working overtime, and being the center of attention are not how you succeed. That’s how you get more responsibility dumped on you. It’s where great careers turn to burnout. …

Your employer sees you as disposable. This is the state of big tech. Thousands of people are facing automated emails and sudden account deactivations. You may give many years of your life to a company. Build a great team, interesting products, even bring tons of value to the organization. But…

Many developers want productivity hacks. They… Make to-do lists Practice Pomodoro timers Build multi-monitor workstations But being more productive won’t necessarily make you a better developer. Nor will it get you closer to your goals. Being more “productive” is a construct. It’s not worth pursuing in isolation. What happens What happens if…

January has been scary! More than 50,000 workers have lost their jobs so far this month. And engineering is getting cut at nearly all of them. I said back in November that there would be dark days ahead. Even after posting massive profits in 2022, big companies have decided that…