Succeed as a lab rat — Over 8 years in the software business, in both leading and non-leading positions, have taught me an important lesson: To be successful, you need to become a lab rat. There are three types of people in the workplace. I’ll call them the barking chihuahua, the hurt pug, and the lab…

Recommendations from a seasoned technical writer — Most user manuals written by expert technical writers are highly functional documents. They effectively guide you in using your product safely and cure your insomnia with boredom at the same time. Then, a few manuals reveal their author as the legitimate heir of Charlie Chaplin: Overflowing with creativity and humor…

How to create a respectful and rewarding environment — It took me eight years to stop hating Scrum and enjoy it. During these eight years, I witnessed stressed-out developers, overwhelmed product owners, and aggressive scrum masters. At the end of last year, my company wanted to introduce SAFe, which meant that all development teams needed to work in an…

Always pay your tip on time — Beaches were never our cup of tea, so when my wife and I got married, we ruled out a classic honeymoon trip immediately. Instead, we joined a group of funny pensioners on a bus trip through the United Arabic Emirates and Oman. The trip started very pleasantly: When we exited…

… or is it just my sanity? — Left vs. right. Misogyny vs. Misandry. West vs. East. At which point in time did we lose the middle ground? I feel like lately, we only deal in absolutes. The pandemic and the raging war in Ukraine gave birth to worldwide insecurity, compromising our most human trait — empathy. Maybe…

A convenient tool to manipulate the masses — Love is ambivalent. It turns us into angels or abominations. Love is a powerful feeling. It can drive us to actions we never considered possible. It allows us to sacrifice ourselves to protect our children. …

I am tired of fighting — I was born with a severely damaged liver. Chances of survival in the shithole hospital in the depths of Russia were slim, but I pulled through. One year later, I got problems with my intestines, which caused me to turn blue and screech with pain. …

Advice from somebody who sat on both ends of the table — Job interviews are exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, they are an extraordinary chance. On the other hand, they are an extraordinary chance. You know the feeling: Two days before the interview, you feel confident. But with every hour the clock kills, your guts tense up. 30 minutes before…

First, understand the problem. Then resolve it — Ben is a developer who takes great pride in his knowledge. He has been in the company long enough to know all the best practices, reusable software modules, and frameworks. His confidence in his technical skills grew with countless challenges — none of which he failed to clear. One day…