How can you make a decision when you don’t have the facts? In truth, it happens every day. The answer is that you just make a guess. Often, the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) is the one people adopt. Here is a noteworthy quote: If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we…
A manager once described his team to me as Adders, Dividers and Multipliers. I also heard a similar theory on NPR’s Fresh Air. Specifically about baseball players, but it applies to any team. Adders These people do their jobs. You add them to a team and they pull their weight. They are solid players, but…
The Human Resources department (in most cases) is not the Office Energy department. Typically, no one is in charge of this crucial aspect of a company. When someone is visiting your office for an interview, they are noticing things such as: Office layout Types of computers/screens on the desks Ceilings/Lighting Energy/Collaboration People Density Chairs If…
Well, my sabbatical is over and it’s time to get back to work. My kids are in the same boat, getting ready for a new school year. It has been a great summer. Here are some of the highlights: Hawaii Trip Lots of Tennis (2-4 times a week) Wrote about 20% of the UX book…
I actually hate patents. I think they undermine the creativity and progress of technology and startups. There is a great radio program on how software patents are awful and have lost all modern meaning they once held. (Produced by This American Life in 2011) However, when I was told that there was a bonus involved, I…
The magic triangle is used for any decision making model. See Figure below. The words are sometimes slightly different, but the meaning is the same. There is only 1 rule: In any decision, you may ONLY pick two points on the triangle. The third is deficient. If you choose Scope, it means that you have…
It’s not the most common technique, but I fully endorse the idea of employee on-boarding by spending time on phone support. I think 3 weeks is probably the right amount of time. Certainly 3 days is too short and 3 months is too long. The reason this is a good technique is that it forces…
Here are a couple of categories that will help you get recognition, raises, promotions, monetary rewards and all your dreams come true. Technical Skill For whatever you do, there are specific technical aspects to it. There is craft in every job. If you know your craft better, if you are more technically skilled, it will contribute…
Nothing ruins Halloween like rain. Trick or treating becomes a major hassle. It’s just a downer. We need the rain in California, but still, couldn’t it have started tomorrow? Who is running this thing? It’s also bummer when you dress up and 95% of your company doesn’t participate. Like it’s some sort of ridiculous thing. Halloween…
In the corporate body, there are pressure points. These pressure points can yield disproportionate gain (or pain) throughout the enterprise. Corporate Acupuncture is the art of finding those pressure points and applying some UX love to generate big results. Sometimes, the pressure points are due to individuals. A great individual contributor can be leveraged on…
I have four new designers on my team. That’s alot of people to get up to speed on the product, process and people. Rather than teaching them myself, I assigned my most experienced designer to be in charge. He has not previously managed people and this is his first time training other designers. There are…
I’m looking for awesome new people to join my team. Check out the UX Help Designer job description: What’s a UX Help Designer? At Marketo, the UX team is responsible for the way a feature works. We collaborate with engineers, product managers and other various groups. When we are ready to launch a feature, help…
I have a few new designers starting at Marketo in the next 30 days. One of the most important, but neglected, aspects to having new employees is giving ample training time before they are asked to do critical work. I can’t even count the number of times I saw someone doing something poorly because they…
I recently had to fill out a “Self-Review” for work. Evaluate yourself for the year and write down what you think. The hard part is deciding how much to stick your chest out and how much to pick on your weaknesses. If you write it too “puff-piece” then the management will not trust your point…