“The Soul of an Internet Machine” is a podcast show that explores the intersection of business and technology and the internet.
Childhood echoes in my today’s movements and actions. This lyrical piece explores the forest of my youth and the history of my long-ago home. Written about Lincoln Massachusetts, tucked between Lexington and Concord, once and still surrounded by literary, political, and scientific giants. I seek treasures, find awe, and rustle oak fallen oak leaves.
It is just work. Sometimes all of the work smarter, better tools, teamwork boils down to focusing on the job and doing it. Nike says it well: Just do it! A team-building phrase that does carry sympathy and understanding and the tenderness of acknowledging, that work what we get paid to do. It is just …
“What could possibly go wrong?”
Around here, if there is one plan there are three plans. We’ve got to have the primary plan, then the backup plan then the other plan for when it all goes entirely wrong. PST – a reminder to start with a primary plan, a secondary plan, and a tertiary plan. Embracing failure may improve our lives, our work, and our teams.
Great teams, great teamwork requires planning, effort, and a handful of cute phrases. A team of software developers likely don’t need to hold an axe. “How to Hold an Axe” represents the importance of the suite of tools we do use daily. Excellence is deliberate. Join us as we explore team work and tool management…
Ever think about the seconds immediately after buying something online? You get an email. You may have been added to a mailing list. In the seconds buying our product, there are 14 steps, 4 vendors, and thousands of lines of instructions. All invisible, all immediate. When it works, money flows into a bank account. When it goes badly, sweat drips, anxiety soars, and bosses pace. Follow the haps and mishaps of a software development team starting a new venture with a new product on the Soul of an Internet Machine.
The sales team from IBM, DEC, Data General, and Xerox were noted for their arrogance and uniformity during the prior century. In 2019, I heard echoes of that sort of arrogance from Okta – a firm specializing in user authentication and identity management – the tools one needs to simplify logging into internet-based software. Listen in on a sales call, and step through a catastrophic failure with our team.
