Some days I just amaze myself. I can be tired, even exhausted, and not very focused on work. Still I can go into a work meeting, make a few comments and add a ton of value. And I can do this again and again and again until I really don't need to pay much attention because I am adding value just by the...

Today I was recognized on another website that focuses specifically on Engineering Management. I'm happy to be listed as one of the top 25 Engineering Management blogs of 2012. Check it out here: www.engineering-management.net/top-engineering-management-blogs-2012 . I really enjoy writing my blog entries...

Many engineering teams look at change as a bad thing, something that will disrupt their work. And granted, changing for the wrong reasons, or making changes for the right reasons but too many of them too quickly, can be disruptive and affect productivity. But you should also be careful about being too...

Do you know the best way to succeed in your career? To stand out in the crowd? To prove your capabilities? Well sure, that’s by showing results, a ton of results! You work long hours and stay focused on getting your deliverables done. Right? Well, have you considered the possibility that showing...

Picture this visual. You are standing in a field on a foggy day and a rope is dropped in front of you from the sky. You can't see where it is coming from but you hear someone ask you if you want to experience the unknown, be challenged more than ever before, move forward in life while being responsible...

Sometimes as a manager, I not only want to coach people on how to get things done at work, I'd love to be able to help them change the way they think. Early in my career, an engineering coworker used to say that it's all about "behavior modification" but I truly never understood what he meant at the...

On October 17th, I celebrate my 17th anniversary at Microsoft. If someone told me on my first day at work that I would be here for 17 years, I wouldn't have believed them. Besides marriage and family, there's not a lot else that has consistently been in my life for that long. I have new hobbies, live...

I was recently asked about the ramifications of giving feedback about your boss. See, at Microsoft, we've become much more serious about gathering feedback and now make peer feedback part of the review process. And we continue to gather manager feedback as always. But giving feedback can be tricky and...

Recently, I had the opportunity to be interviewed about what I like about Microsoft (and specifically Microsoft IT), what I look for in testers that I hire, and why I write my blog. I personally like to understand why others decide to blog and if their intentions for blogging are being met. If you are...

Whether you are a manager or an engineer, everyone needs to have some competency in presenting their ideas. Presentation skills are critical in influencing others, articulating complex ideas, and addressing large groups of people. Even if you spend your days confined to your office writing code or finding...

If you read my blog, learn something new from it, or think in the same way as I do, why not see how my thinking gets put into action by becoming a member of my team. I am hiring SDETs (developers with a focus on QA) and this is an opportunity you don't want to miss. Are you up for the challenge? Just...

You are new to testing. You are sitting in front of your computer staring at the software you need to test. What do you do? Let's look at testing from a very basic level and maybe this will help you make progress. If you don't "get it" at this level, you should consider if being a tester is the right...

As a manager, hiring good people is a necessary skill to build a highly-functional team and continue to be seen as a credible manager. Recruiting can be difficult depending on the time of year or the position you are trying to fill. As the hiring manager, you own the whole recruiting process and final...

Since Windows7 released today, I think it is a good time to reflect back on my experience in the Windows Client team and working on the different versions of Windows. Vista and Windows7 were done much differently. When Vista shipped and we were making big changes to how we were going to manage the next...

15 years ago today was my first day at Microsoft. In the last 15 years, a lot has changed. Here is the way things were 15 years ago: There was no IE. There was no Outlook. There was no concept of mobile or digital media. There was no Office, just separate apps like Word, Excel, Powerpoint. There...