I learned an important lesson that day; success in a large organization, whether it’s a university or IBM, is generally based on appearance, not reality. It is understanding the system and then working within it that really counts, not bowling scores or body bags.

In the world of high-tech start-ups, there is no system, there are no hard and fast rules, and all that counts is the end product.

The high-tech start-up bowling league would allow genetically-engineered bowlers, superconducting bowling balls, tactical nuclear weapons—anything to help your score or hurt the other guy’s.

Anything goes, and that’s what makes the start-up so much fun.

And now for the navel-gazing.

I have, in the past, observed unlicensed software being installed. Sometimes, because my own hands were acting on the copied CD. I’ve found it much easier to be in compliance recently because of MSDN access, but now I have kids. I want them to have a computer to use and to play on, and many of their games are Windows-only. Now I have to consider how to move forward.

I’ve purchased computers in the past with Windows installed on them, then blitzed it in order to install Linux. Now I feel like I should have a floating license for that Windows OS, but is that actually fair? I know it’s not legal according to the contracts, but what is really fair? And what do I do to show the kids that I really believe in doing what is right? I work in software development, for goodness sake… you’d think I wouldn’t be conflicted at all.

But all I have are questions right now… no answers.

(At least my Macs are legal, with no questionmarks!

Technorati Tags: Windows, Mac, Linux, ethics

Some favorite quotes…

Regarding CXOs who ask for and then ignore feedback:

But don’t pretend to listen if you aren’t going to take action.
Richardson says, “Don’t ignore our feedback if you ask for it. That’s
not empowering. It’s pretending to include us before yanking the carpet
out from under our feet.”

Regarding project issues:

Lack of communication, both formal and informal, is another early
warning sign. If the stakeholders, from team members to users, aren’t
talking to each other, you’ve got a problem.

and

“This is a really tricky cultural thing,” says Raj Kapur, executive vice president of the Center for Project Management,
a software project management consultancy and education firm in San
Ramon, Calif. “Everyone is allergic to bad news.” As a result, it’s all
too easy to develop a culture where bad news is slow to percolate
upward—which deprives management of vital, if unpleasant, information.
“You have to provide an environment where bad news is
accepted,” says Kapur. “That’s critical, and it’s not the job of the
team members. It’s the job of the leader.” And by extension, the CIO.

Deathmarches begin…

One early sign a project is slipping its schedule is teams working a
lot of overtime. This is a particularly important indicator because
assigning or encouraging overtime is the fastest fix the project
manager has, as well as the one that attracts the least attention.

Now, if fixing the issues were as easy as writing about them…

Technorati Tags: development, software, projects, problems

Technorati Tags: rpath, custom+os

Technorati Tags: pdf, java, validate

“I had basically made a prototype which worked fine for a couple of million users,” he says. “But we needed to really rebuild things if we were going to scale.” He says his board and investors “didn’t get Friendster and wouldn’t focus on something boring like fixing the technology.”

This is the danger of expansion without a firm handle on the tech side…

Now, to try it…