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June 6, 2015 by Chris Daily Leave a Comment

“Managing” Software Development – Not as easy as it looks.

I started a new adventure in January.  I started teaching a class at IUPUI devoted to Systems Analysis and Design.  Over the course of the last few months, I have sprinkled in Agile rants about self-organizing teams, iterative processes, and emergent design with the required object oriented design and UML topics.  Working with members of the class has refreshed my memory on how difficult “managing” software development must seem to the uninitiated..

Why does it seem so difficult?  Here is a brief list that were top of mind without thinking much about it:

  • Most folks don’t understand what it takes to develop great software.
  • Software developers have varying degrees of educational background, skills, and experience.
  • Software developers usually aren’t experts in the functionality of the product.
  • Software built for consumers is different than software built for a company’s own employees.
  • Software built for large companies is different than software for small companies.
  • There are usually at least three different software languages involved in a simple webpage.
  • Software developers abhor testing.
  • Software developers abhor meetings more than they hate testing their code.
  • Software developers tend to be loners, wanting to block out the world by putting on their headphones and getting into a zone.
  • Software developers only respect other software developers.
  • Software developers love donuts.  I do too, so this means I am going to battle my weight the rest of my life.
  • Most managers of software development got the job because they were good developers.

Given all the reasons above, why do I continue to work with software development teams?  There has to be easier jobs out there, right?  I love the job.  I get a rush watching a group of smart people create something.  I would almost describe it as an adrenaline rush.  Not the same adrenaline rush you get from jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute on your back.  The type of rush when you can’t hardly wait to start at the beginning of each day.  The adrenaline rush created when a group of disorganized, often warring, group of people start getting a huge amount of quality work done faster than they ever have before.  The best part for me is it doesn’t seem like work, and it seems pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

This is the first in a series of posts that will outline how I “manage” development teams.  These posts will ignore the traditional management rhetoric and focus on the some of the uniqueness of managing software development, as well as my approach.  Take a look and give me some feedback.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

Filed Under: Agile, Leadership, Software Development Tagged With: development, IMO, Leadership, management, Motivation, software business, software development

February 17, 2015 by Chris Daily Leave a Comment

Leadership versus manage

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. – Professor Warren G. Bennis

So, last week was a crazy week!  The events of last week caused me to start thinking about my legacy.  While I am certainly not ready to spend eternity in a box 6′ under ground, I have been thinking “What will I be remembered for?”  For me, it was ironic that the week started with Martin Luther King Day.  Irony hit me in the face with a 2X4 when I found the quote above by Professor Bennis while I was looking for a quote about leadership.

This isn’t the first time I have thought about my legacy (click here), and it probably won’t be the last.

The words leader and manager are used almost as synonyms by most people.  If you look around in your life, you’ll see both managers and leaders.  What’s the difference between a manager from a leader?  Is it education, genetics, or experience?  Can it be taught or can it be learned?  Why are some people essentially modern day pied pipers, while others can’t seem to get their shadow to follow them?  My opinion is leadership starts with INTENT.

As a leader, is my intent to further my career or to do the right thing for the company?  Is my intent to keep my job or do my job?

Doesn’t it seem obvious?  Think of the great leaders of history.  Dr. King, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela to name a few.  Their actions were guided by their intent to right a wrong, regardless of the cost to them personally.  King and Lincoln were ultimately assassinated for their intentions.  Gandhi and Mandela spent years in jail because of their intentions.  In the business world, most people are not typically faced with death or imprisonment as a result of our intentions.  Yet our intentions play an integral part to whether we are a leader or a manager.  The intent of the top leaders of companies can drive success or failure.  We follow leaders who have genuine intent that we agree with.

What do I mean by genuine intent?  Genuine intent is the intent that is communicated by one’s actions, not by what is communicated.  Think back to a time in your life, where you interacted with a leader.  What was their intent?  Who was got the most benefit?  The leader or those who followed?  Did you feel like the leader was actually somehow serving you?  In my experience, leaders are not even aware they are leaders or even why people follow their lead.

Think about why you follow a leader.  They are all around us.  It could be a minister, manager, peer, or teacher to name a few.  What is their intent?  What is your intent?

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

Filed Under: Branding Yourself, Business Musings, Getting Personal, IMO, Software Development Tagged With: growth, Leadership

January 13, 2015 by Chris Daily 1 Comment

Boss vs. Leader

I have been doing a lot of research lately on Servant Leadership.  As part of that research, I came across a quote by H. Gordon Selfridge that validated one of my biggest pet peeves.  Those of you who have worked with me know what it is:  being introduced as or being called BOSS (“B” word).

I always felt that the term had a negative connotation.  I always envisioned a heavy set guy with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, yelling at his employees.  I never wanted to be that type of leader.  I always wanted to be the kind of leader who teammates would respect.  To this day, I cringe every time I am called the “B” word.  Some of my teammates will use the “B” word intentionally to jab at me.  Now that I think about it, I hope they are just having fun.

Sorry, I am back out of the rabbit hole.  Hopefully, this post and the quote will cause you not to say the dreaded “B” word.   Here the quote:

“The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says ‘I’; The leader says ‘WE’. The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says, ‘GO’; the leader says lets, ‘GO!’ ” – H. Gordon Selfridge

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

Filed Under: Business Musings, IMO, Leadership Tagged With: Boss, growth, Leadership

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