There will be sand

You created a new application, started a new business, added on to an existing project, painted a room in your house, it doesn't matter what you have done either you or someone will find something you didn't think about or cover. A grain of sand, is that bug or feature that someone else finds. If you are a perfectionist then you may find it before someone else does and even if you patch or fix what you find someone else will still find a flaw in what you deliver. This is ok and should be expected in normal operations. Knowing that the grain of sand will exist means you can more easily adjust as needed to come to a solution that is acceptable. 

On the beach of life, sand will find its way into everything that you do. Having the ability to adjust and work with the sand you find shows how much you can grow in the future. 

Why will I work with you?

Many a recruiter will send me a note and say that I'm perfect for a job only to find out that my skills are the only thing that has been considered in the search process. I have a diverse background with several skill sets under my belt and I have a propensity to work with different tools depending on what the current position needs. What brings me to you is not the pool table, foosball table, drinks in the fridge, food trucks at the back door or a brand new Mac. I will ask about the people I'll be working with, the management that will be directing a project and other touchy feely type questions. The people, the management, the atmosphere is more important than the bits and bytes I'll be pushing around because if the people are good, the management is respectful and the atmosphere is open and accepting then the work, no matter the language, will be good work.

Toptal recently came to my attention as an opportunity worth pursuing. There was no offer of power bars in the fridge, best food trucks in town, Ms PacMan in the breakroom and all the sodas I can imagine in the fridge. What Toptal brings to the table is, good people and the opportunity to work with great companies doing great things. I can only assume what the management will be like as that normally takes a project or two to get a real feel for. What I can infer is that the management will have to be great in order to work effectively with such a smart and diverse group of people. As I've worked with international teams before I know that diversity breeds a strong gift of leadership that thrives on getting great people to be even better.

If I have the unique opportunity to work with such a diverse team I will know that the work I've done in the past will only be a great foundation for even better work going forward.

Chance Meetings

I start this with a learning experience. Always have a few business cards on hand, even if you think you won't need them. As someone who normally didn't carry cards around and as someone who is working to get their own business started, I missed an opportunity to hand out my cards to a few people last night at a local art show. I'm a polyglot software engineer that is working on a 3D printing business plan and didn't really expect to meet some folks at the event who would be interested in what I'm working on. So, even as an old boyscout, I wasn't fully prepared for the interest and the opportunity to exchange business cards with possible clients.

I will have a few cards with me no matter where I go now because a missed opportunity could mean a loss of business and that's a loss I do not want to miss out on again.

Getting the water out

I saw this image recently and it struck a cord with me. The basic idea is there and being a boat owner I could relate to the metaphor pretty easily. The person who wrote this down forgot to mention that no matter what you do, water will get into your boat.

When water gets into your boat there are some pretty easy ways to get it out, bilge pump, bucket, water gun, etc. When what happens around you gets in and it will, you need a way to get it out. Everyone is different here so figuring out what your bilge pump is will help you get the crap out when it does get in. Ask yourself what it is that you do that helps you feel better after doing it. Assuming you are not Dexter and have emotions, those things that allow you to feel better are those things that can help you bilge the crap that gets in.

Different people recharge differently so knowing yourself is the best way to determine how to get the crap out, get together with friends, read a book, do some gardening and other things is your personal bilge pump.

Code for Good

As a developer, software, you always want to write good code. What is even better is when you can write code for good. Sure, you can write code to solve a problem, speed up a process, improve a users chance of getting the best deal on a new TV or you can write code that helps people do good things in the world. I've been fortunate enough to work for two non-profits in my past that helped people in Colorado. When you write code for good, you better still write good code, it feels different than when you are writing code for a company that benefits that company.

The feeling of doing good is a strong one and in many cases you are willing to make personal sacrifices, monetary, to work for a group that is giving back to the world. Personally, if I could work for an organization that does good I don't really care what the base infrastructure is. It's more about the work and who it benefits than the tools used.

If you can, if you want to, see if you can code for good on your next project.

Are you too experienced?

Even in the software world there is a growing expectation you are an expert in a single area.

What if you are an expert software developer, regardless of the language? When a project lands on your plate you need to ask yourself if you plan on using the language the customer/employer wants you to use or the language you'd like to use. In many cases you are going to use the language that the rest of the team can support in the long run. Still, you'd like to use a lighter, faster, shinier new language to make sure you stay current. However, development skills have become more specialized in recent years and that is actually hurting our career field.

If you've been working with OS's, databases, languages, scripting tools, build tools, etc. etc. for a long time then you may be too experienced for the current crop of companies looking for good people. By too experienced I mean you have yet to specialize your skill sets and forget everything else you've learned. You are a polyglot engineer or a language agnostic developer and if asked you can spin up and be an expert in a given language in short order, pulling from years of experiences, your expertise can shift depending on the project at hand. If this is you, you may be too experienced and finding a good fit in today's world may be more difficult.

Please, if you are a PolyGlot Engineer, Language Agnostic Developer or just a well rounded software type person, don't change.

Rabbit Holes

If you have a lot of little projects going on at once you may drop down a rabbit hole on one and forget to come back up for air. Right now I should be at the grocery store getting fixing for dinner tonight but I went down a hole for one of my projects and am now a little behind. Rabbit holes are not a bad thing and you just need to set yourself a time limit if you drop down one. I give myself only 15 minutes to write this blog and then I have to move on. If you give your rabbit hole a time limit then you can still be productive for the day and feel good about one of your projects.

Time limit you say, yes, time limit yourself and you can get more done than you think. A lot of people tend to work better under a deadline and a time boundary will help you stay focused and productive. Keep notes of where you were on a project, limit yourself to a set time and you can focus more effectively on each project.

Times up.