Today I was answering questions for an article interview. The interviewer asked me what my day looked like. I'm fond of saying, "I do nothing," but she deserved a better answer, so I gave her my highlights from today.
8:30 – 10:30: Attended One Million Cups, downtown San Diego.
11:00 – 1:00: Attended Tech Coffee Meetup, where I snapped this photo, Solana Beach.
1:00 – 1:30: Stopped by the San Diego Electric Bike Company to buy a saddle bag, Solana Beach.
1:30 – 3:00: Answered interview questions at Third Space, Hillcrest.
3:00 – 5:00: Fixed Swift syntax bugs as a result of latest Xcode beta release changes, Golden Hill.
5:00 – 6:30: Attended EvoNexus Wing Wednesday Meetup, downtown San Diego.
6:30 – 8:00: Enjoyed an adult beverage at the Tipsy Crow, Gaslamp Quarter.
8:00 – 9:00: Stalked a fellow, former, Apple coworker on Foursquare to a restaurant, South Park.
9:00...: Kicked back with some homemade limoncello.
Update: Here's the published piece.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Job Interview: What to Wear?
Everyone knows you're suppose to wear a business suit to a job interview, right? It's not that you need to wear a suit, but you wear it to show you know what you're suppose to do.
However, things are different in high tech, aren't they? Yes and no – it depends on the company's core business. I've worked at places where each VP in IT wore a suit every day and I've also worked at places where we'd never hire someone who came in for a job interview wearing a suit. It's important to understand a company's culture.
So, if you don't have an inside connection to the company you're about to interview at then how do you figure it out? Simple, look at the company's website and see what senior management is wearing.
Remember: Dress for where you want to go.
However, things are different in high tech, aren't they? Yes and no – it depends on the company's core business. I've worked at places where each VP in IT wore a suit every day and I've also worked at places where we'd never hire someone who came in for a job interview wearing a suit. It's important to understand a company's culture.
So, if you don't have an inside connection to the company you're about to interview at then how do you figure it out? Simple, look at the company's website and see what senior management is wearing.
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| Do they dress casually like Apple and Google? |
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| Or more like Wyndham and Lockheed Martin? |
Leadership from the Top
Leaders set the tone for their company, so it's probably a safe bet to dress like they do. The key thing to look for is a tie. If they're wearing a tie then you should wear something similar.Remember: Dress for where you want to go.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Work Hard, Be Productive
I've worked in some fast pace environments, from the Marines to startups. The one thing I've noticed is there's some confusion between working hard, looking busy, getting excited and actually being productive and making money.
Many people are drawn to day trading because it's exciting. Big mistake. If you're looking for a rush then ride a roller coaster or go to Vegas. If you're going to war or building a startup then work smart and be productive. In the Marines, we used to say, "It's easy to be hard. It's hard to be smart."
The key to good leadership is to give your people enough direction by prioritizing tasks (with deadlines) and then let them go. The antithesis is to interrupt them. I once worked for a boss who was horrible at communicating in a timely fashion. Nearly all phone calls and meetings had no agenda or succinct purpose. Non-pressing deadlines were set and then changed without clear reason. Actually, the real reason is he was disorganized and he had poor time management skills. He never wrote down any of his tasks that I saw and he couldn't prioritize tasks or timelines. Ideas would pop in his head and he'd spit them out, regardless of the urgency. It was interruption after interruption.
If you think making money is directly proportional to how smart you are or hard you work then you need to think twice. I worked way harder in the Marine Corps than I did after I left Apple when I just sat back and watched the price of my Apple stock, originally purchased at less than $10/share, go to $500–$700/share. Guess where I made more money: USMC or AAPL?
So, before interrupting a colleague, ask yourself if your interruption is urgent and important enough to justify it or can it wait until the recipient is better prepared to receive the information? Another test, before interrupting, is to ask yourself what will happen if you wait to pass the info?
Need more tips? See Time Management in the 21st Century.
Many people are drawn to day trading because it's exciting. Big mistake. If you're looking for a rush then ride a roller coaster or go to Vegas. If you're going to war or building a startup then work smart and be productive. In the Marines, we used to say, "It's easy to be hard. It's hard to be smart."
The key to good leadership is to give your people enough direction by prioritizing tasks (with deadlines) and then let them go. The antithesis is to interrupt them. I once worked for a boss who was horrible at communicating in a timely fashion. Nearly all phone calls and meetings had no agenda or succinct purpose. Non-pressing deadlines were set and then changed without clear reason. Actually, the real reason is he was disorganized and he had poor time management skills. He never wrote down any of his tasks that I saw and he couldn't prioritize tasks or timelines. Ideas would pop in his head and he'd spit them out, regardless of the urgency. It was interruption after interruption.
Interruptions Be Gone
One thing to realize is that every call, text, IM and e-mail is an interruption. Each interruption is going to knock a person out of their productivity zone so it's important to weigh the interruption with the importance and urgency of the information being passed along. Many people constantly interrupt coworkers and subordinates because they're worried about forgetting their own assignments. Instead, they should simply write down everything they need to do (both what they need to do and what they need others to do) and then sync up with their coworkers during planned meetings rather than unplanned interruptions.If you think making money is directly proportional to how smart you are or hard you work then you need to think twice. I worked way harder in the Marine Corps than I did after I left Apple when I just sat back and watched the price of my Apple stock, originally purchased at less than $10/share, go to $500–$700/share. Guess where I made more money: USMC or AAPL?
So, before interrupting a colleague, ask yourself if your interruption is urgent and important enough to justify it or can it wait until the recipient is better prepared to receive the information? Another test, before interrupting, is to ask yourself what will happen if you wait to pass the info?
Need more tips? See Time Management in the 21st Century.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Pink Slipped on Pink Shirt Friday
Today was Pink Shirt Friday at work. I've known my boss/buddy for more than a dozen years and, about once a quarter, we coordinate wearing pink shirts to work on a given Friday. This week, we extended the invitation to all of the directors that work in the Product department.
The irony about today's Pink Shirt Friday is that pink slips were handed out and the entire Product department was dissolved. The layoffs - including me - were due to the fact that the Product department's original tasking had become obsolete. It's a shame because it seems like it was only yesterday when I wrote this piece.
In all actuality, it's very true that our departments's original tasking had become obsolete. Although I worked at Wyndham for only eight months, I noticed that the company had many processes and layers that could be streamlined. Slimming it down, by eliminating the Product department, will probably be a good thing. After all, lean processes are how we did it when I worked at Apple.
What Does the Product Department Do?
Generally, the Product department manages the product roadmap and it sits between Marketing and Engineering. But, it seems that our Marketing, Product, and IT departments ended up working so closely together that Marketing could deal directly with the engineers in many cases - especially once a project's requirements had been documented.
This video best describes the perception of the Product department.
Practically speaking, you can think of one duty of the Product department as a waiter/waitress who's filling a role between a restaurant customer and the kitchen.
It's About The People
The disappointing part is that I relocated from San Diego to the Greater NYC area for this job and it barley lasted eight months. But, I've been pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed working with my fellow managers, directors, and VPs who are very thorough, smart, and hard working people.
It's not often that you work with a team of people who stay on task, no matter what, until the job is done; especially during the late night conference calls, like this one, where you end up hearing the birds chirping as you watch the sunrise before the call is over.
In the end, with the Product department no longer needed, all of the directors were given notice, today. And, although I'd seen many rounds of layoffs at Apple, this was a first for me. Fortunately, the company seems to have gone above and beyond and treated us well.
The irony about today's Pink Shirt Friday is that pink slips were handed out and the entire Product department was dissolved. The layoffs - including me - were due to the fact that the Product department's original tasking had become obsolete. It's a shame because it seems like it was only yesterday when I wrote this piece.
In all actuality, it's very true that our departments's original tasking had become obsolete. Although I worked at Wyndham for only eight months, I noticed that the company had many processes and layers that could be streamlined. Slimming it down, by eliminating the Product department, will probably be a good thing. After all, lean processes are how we did it when I worked at Apple.
What Does the Product Department Do?
Generally, the Product department manages the product roadmap and it sits between Marketing and Engineering. But, it seems that our Marketing, Product, and IT departments ended up working so closely together that Marketing could deal directly with the engineers in many cases - especially once a project's requirements had been documented.
This video best describes the perception of the Product department.
Practically speaking, you can think of one duty of the Product department as a waiter/waitress who's filling a role between a restaurant customer and the kitchen.
It's About The People
In my short time at the company, I was part of a few key product launches that received a fair amount of attention including the Room Key joint venture and the mobile websites and apps launches.
The disappointing part is that I relocated from San Diego to the Greater NYC area for this job and it barley lasted eight months. But, I've been pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed working with my fellow managers, directors, and VPs who are very thorough, smart, and hard working people.
It's not often that you work with a team of people who stay on task, no matter what, until the job is done; especially during the late night conference calls, like this one, where you end up hearing the birds chirping as you watch the sunrise before the call is over.In the end, with the Product department no longer needed, all of the directors were given notice, today. And, although I'd seen many rounds of layoffs at Apple, this was a first for me. Fortunately, the company seems to have gone above and beyond and treated us well.
Oh, there's one other thing that I will certainly miss: Free Ice Cream Fridays.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Working For The Man
I have moved from Carlsbad, CA to Parsippany, NJ. In June, my former mentor from Apple, Stas, who is now a VP at Wyndham, in New Jersey, called me from out of the blue and offered me a job working for him. The opportunity to work with Stas, again, was enticing enough to accept the job.
The company flew me out to interview for a senior product manager position. The interviews went very well and they decided to upgrade the job requisition to director. It took a few weeks to get the new position approved by HR – but when the official offer came through it was a no-brainer.
My wife flew out to New Jersey a couple weeks ago to find a place for us to live. Not only did she find a fine home, but she managed to get some great furniture from our friends and family in New Jersey.
The company flew me out to interview for a senior product manager position. The interviews went very well and they decided to upgrade the job requisition to director. It took a few weeks to get the new position approved by HR – but when the official offer came through it was a no-brainer.
My wife flew out to New Jersey a couple weeks ago to find a place for us to live. Not only did she find a fine home, but she managed to get some great furniture from our friends and family in New Jersey.
Private Pilot Instrument Rating
Laura flew out by herself because I had a summer goal that I wanted to achieve: earn my pilot instrument rating. Last year, I was bitten by the aviation bug and I received my private pilot's certificate (license). In February, I bought a Cessna-182 Skylane. One of my big concerns, when flying around Southern California, was getting stuck somewhere because clouds or fog moved in. As a private pilot, I can only fly under visual flight rules which means no flying through the clouds.
Cessna was due to release a new, web based, instrument rating course in June, which I had been eagerly awaiting. Unfortunately, the course, which is very formal, was delayed until the very end of August. After looking at the course, I realized that I simply didn't have enough time to get through it. Rather, since the training was self paced, I realized that I wouldn't have the self-discipline to stick with it to reach my goal before the end of summer.
I took a look at my other options for completing my instrument rating and came across a ten day course. The ten day course, offered by Pilot Instrument Courses (PIC), is a fairly intense course which sends a flight instructor to you with a simulator. The simulator can be used for ten or twenty hours of training and the rest of the required flight hours are done in the airplane.
I signed up for the ten day PIC training and the company sent out an instructor about a week later. While ten days may seem like a very short time, we probably squeezed in 80 hours of training over that time. My instructor, who set up the simulator on my dining room table, would come over around 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. and we'd train until about 5:00 p.m. (we'd fly the sim in the mornings and my plane in the afternoons). He'd then go back to his hotel and I'd study and fly the simulator in the evenings.
The training worked out better than I expected. The only distraction I had, once the training began, was that San Diego lost power at the end of the first day of training. Over the next couple days, I'd have to trouble shoot two Adjix servers that went down due to the power outage.
Laura flew out by herself because I had a summer goal that I wanted to achieve: earn my pilot instrument rating. Last year, I was bitten by the aviation bug and I received my private pilot's certificate (license). In February, I bought a Cessna-182 Skylane. One of my big concerns, when flying around Southern California, was getting stuck somewhere because clouds or fog moved in. As a private pilot, I can only fly under visual flight rules which means no flying through the clouds.
Cessna was due to release a new, web based, instrument rating course in June, which I had been eagerly awaiting. Unfortunately, the course, which is very formal, was delayed until the very end of August. After looking at the course, I realized that I simply didn't have enough time to get through it. Rather, since the training was self paced, I realized that I wouldn't have the self-discipline to stick with it to reach my goal before the end of summer.
I took a look at my other options for completing my instrument rating and came across a ten day course. The ten day course, offered by Pilot Instrument Courses (PIC), is a fairly intense course which sends a flight instructor to you with a simulator. The simulator can be used for ten or twenty hours of training and the rest of the required flight hours are done in the airplane.
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| Instrument flight training on my dining room table. |
The training worked out better than I expected. The only distraction I had, once the training began, was that San Diego lost power at the end of the first day of training. Over the next couple days, I'd have to trouble shoot two Adjix servers that went down due to the power outage.
As a side note, if you're ever looking for a place to eat when the power is out then I'd recommend going to the hospital. It's the one place that always has power and a cafeteria. It worked out very well for my instructor and me.
Check Ride
Last Saturday, after completing the training along with passing the written and oral test, I had my practical test (check ride) up in Riverside, CA. The skies were incredible busy. Right off the bat, we were put into a holding pattern by air traffic control (ATC) for 10 to 15 minutes at 7,000 feet with another plane below us at 6,000' and a third one in holding at 4,500 feet.
Everything went well during the check ride except for my precision approach which required keeping the plane on a specific glide path while landing. While making my approach an ATC supervisor came on the radio and directed all aircraft to maintain radio silence while they vectored a Southwest Airlines plane that was finding its way through congested traffic. Unfortunately, I let this distract me and I wasn't able to maintain my precision approach within practical test standards. So, I was denied my instrument rating on Saturday.
While this was highly disappointing, I went back up with my instructor Saturday evening to practice my precision approaches again. I then scheduled another retest for 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
Fortunately, I only had to demonstrate the precision approach, on Sunday, for the retest and it went well. I was issued my instrument rating. Now I can fly through clouds!
Last Saturday, after completing the training along with passing the written and oral test, I had my practical test (check ride) up in Riverside, CA. The skies were incredible busy. Right off the bat, we were put into a holding pattern by air traffic control (ATC) for 10 to 15 minutes at 7,000 feet with another plane below us at 6,000' and a third one in holding at 4,500 feet.
Everything went well during the check ride except for my precision approach which required keeping the plane on a specific glide path while landing. While making my approach an ATC supervisor came on the radio and directed all aircraft to maintain radio silence while they vectored a Southwest Airlines plane that was finding its way through congested traffic. Unfortunately, I let this distract me and I wasn't able to maintain my precision approach within practical test standards. So, I was denied my instrument rating on Saturday.
While this was highly disappointing, I went back up with my instructor Saturday evening to practice my precision approaches again. I then scheduled another retest for 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
Fortunately, I only had to demonstrate the precision approach, on Sunday, for the retest and it went well. I was issued my instrument rating. Now I can fly through clouds!
Ferrying My Plane Coast To Coast
My next challenge was to fly my plane to New Jersey. Although my plane could fly for more than six hours on a full tank, you're really limited by how long you can go between bio-breaks. Also, I didn't want to make this flight alone since I had only received my instrument rating the previous day. As luck would have it, I had a buddy, Gus, who is a former commercial pilot and former flight instructor, so he went with me.
We left this past Monday afternoon and planned out three hour legs. We did one leg on Monday and stayed in Payson, AZ. On Tuesday, we flew two legs and spent the night in Anthony, KS. Anthony is a tiny town about 60 miles from Wichita. My plane was the only one at the airport. Landing at the Anthony Airport (KANY) was like going back to 1945.
In Anthony, KS, the FAA directory (A/FD) said to call 911 in order to get fuel. At the airport, they listed a seven digit phone number for police dispatch. When I called, the dispatcher sent out a police officer to unlock the fuel pump. I pumped the gas and gave him a check made out to the the City of Anthony. They said that they send out an officer about three times per month to refuel aircraft. Very remote yet friendly town. They even had a courtesy car, that we used, at the airport. It was the only car there – when I opened the door the keys were on the floor. The police office told us that we were free to use the courtesy car – no paperwork involved.
My next challenge was to fly my plane to New Jersey. Although my plane could fly for more than six hours on a full tank, you're really limited by how long you can go between bio-breaks. Also, I didn't want to make this flight alone since I had only received my instrument rating the previous day. As luck would have it, I had a buddy, Gus, who is a former commercial pilot and former flight instructor, so he went with me.We left this past Monday afternoon and planned out three hour legs. We did one leg on Monday and stayed in Payson, AZ. On Tuesday, we flew two legs and spent the night in Anthony, KS. Anthony is a tiny town about 60 miles from Wichita. My plane was the only one at the airport. Landing at the Anthony Airport (KANY) was like going back to 1945.
In Anthony, KS, the FAA directory (A/FD) said to call 911 in order to get fuel. At the airport, they listed a seven digit phone number for police dispatch. When I called, the dispatcher sent out a police officer to unlock the fuel pump. I pumped the gas and gave him a check made out to the the City of Anthony. They said that they send out an officer about three times per month to refuel aircraft. Very remote yet friendly town. They even had a courtesy car, that we used, at the airport. It was the only car there – when I opened the door the keys were on the floor. The police office told us that we were free to use the courtesy car – no paperwork involved.
Spontaneous Stopover
The next night we stopped just north of Cincinnati. Gus, my mentor/copilot, did the route planning since he had experience ferrying small planes back and forth across the U.S. When he said that we would be making our next stop around Cincinnati, I told him that we had to land at Butler County Airport since it was just a few miles from my college buddy, Andy, and his family – Andy's son is my wife's and my godson.
Andy's wife took the kids to the airport and she told me that they were ready to explode with excitement when they saw our plane on final approach, land, and taxi to our tie down spot. We were fairly tired when we landed at Butler, so it was great to stay at their house and get a home cooked meal.
After leaving Cincinnati, we made one final stop at Scranton, PA, before reaching our destination: Morristown Municipal Airport. Some rain had moved into the Tristate area, and there was quite a bit of traffic. The speed at which the air traffic controller spoke was blazing fast as he vectored us in a few circles while waiting for the traffic congestion to clear up.
The next night we stopped just north of Cincinnati. Gus, my mentor/copilot, did the route planning since he had experience ferrying small planes back and forth across the U.S. When he said that we would be making our next stop around Cincinnati, I told him that we had to land at Butler County Airport since it was just a few miles from my college buddy, Andy, and his family – Andy's son is my wife's and my godson.
Andy's wife took the kids to the airport and she told me that they were ready to explode with excitement when they saw our plane on final approach, land, and taxi to our tie down spot. We were fairly tired when we landed at Butler, so it was great to stay at their house and get a home cooked meal.After leaving Cincinnati, we made one final stop at Scranton, PA, before reaching our destination: Morristown Municipal Airport. Some rain had moved into the Tristate area, and there was quite a bit of traffic. The speed at which the air traffic controller spoke was blazing fast as he vectored us in a few circles while waiting for the traffic congestion to clear up.
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| A new home in New Jersey. |
My New Home
We landed at Morristown, I signed the paperwork for my hangar lease, and was reunited with my wife. Laura and I had spent many months apart, when I was deployed overseas with the Marines, but this time, with all that had happened in a short fortnight, it seemed like we had been apart for 10 weeks.
We'll be living in a hotel for the next three weeks until our house is ready, but, so far everything is going as planned. I'm amazed at how it's all come together. Sooner or later, we'll go back to California; but, in the mean time, New Jersey is our home.
We landed at Morristown, I signed the paperwork for my hangar lease, and was reunited with my wife. Laura and I had spent many months apart, when I was deployed overseas with the Marines, but this time, with all that had happened in a short fortnight, it seemed like we had been apart for 10 weeks.
We'll be living in a hotel for the next three weeks until our house is ready, but, so far everything is going as planned. I'm amazed at how it's all come together. Sooner or later, we'll go back to California; but, in the mean time, New Jersey is our home.
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