people management
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Better Done Than Perfect: Tempering Standards for Software Projects Developing software is a complex undertaking and one that’s typically deadline driven. It’s impossible to test every conceivable scenario or even to conceive of every conceivable scenario. The result is that mistakes surface. The challenge is to find the balance between speed and quality. |
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Embrace the Cubicle: Open-Plan Offices Make You Less Productive Studies suggest that workers in open-plan offices actually tend to be less productive, unhappier, and even unhealthier than people who work confined to their own personal spaces. Even if you hate your cubicle, it turns out it probably gives you fewer distractions, less stress, and reduced sick days. |
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Learning to Tolerate Working for a Bossy BossNot every boss is bossy. But some are. And it’s no fun working for one. If your bossy boss piles on an unreasonable workload, shouts down suggestions, makes all decisions unilaterally, and issues orders and directives with no hint of caring about employees, Naomi Karten has some tips for you. |
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Teamwork and Creativity: Making Them Work TogetherTo work effectively to meet commitments in a self-organizing, cross-functional team, you need to be creative. The relationship between teamwork and creativity is complicated, and by understanding it you can be more effective as a team. | 
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Acknowledging Work Effort Can Increase Productivity and MotivationSteve Berczuk writes on the importance of acknowledgement in making people feel good about work. Simply acknowledging someone’s effort can lead to increased engagement and motivation—and result in more productivity. |
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How to Fire an Employee RespectfullyIf you’ve ever been laid off, downsized, dismissed, let go, or any of the other fifty or more euphemisms for “fired,” you know how gut-wrenching it can be. And doing the firing is not without its own trauma. Naomi Karten gives some advice on how to fire an employee as respectfully as possible. |
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The Office: Recipe for Crafting a Creative Culture Not every office is going to be the perfect environment for everyone, but there are certain factors that encourage people to feel inspired and respected. Are you creating a healthy environment for your teams? It's really not as difficult as you might think. |
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Create a Vendor Contract While Keeping AgileWorking with vendors can pose challenges to an agile team, especially when it comes to contracting practices. How do you deal with contract relationships when trying to follow a philosophy that values collaboration over negotiation? Kent McDonald gives some suggestions for creating agile contracts. | 
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