Some people get lucky, but how the heck can you work at that? Let’s focus on the ways to get promoted that you can control. The following is based on my personal experience of how people get promoted to managerial roles. Following this advice doesn’t guarantee anything, but it will give you the best chance…
Interviewing is like golf. Anyone can do it, but it’s hard to be good at it. The goal is to quickly ascertain if a candidate is a worthy member of your team and if they are then to inspire them to want to work with your company. Here are tips to be successful: Blink (From…
I am interviewing people to hire a Sr. UX Designer. Guess what is the first thing I do whenever I receive a resume? If you guessed “Look at the resume” you would be wrong. The first thing I do is search for the person’s name in Google. Unless you live in a cave, you have…
Marketo is growing on all fronts. As the engineering team grows, their appetite for more shovel-ready projects increases too. Thus, the design team needs to scale. I am looking for a UX Designer who can run design initiatives within a fast-paced multi-disciplinary environment. That’s greek for “lots of people all talking at once”. The company has something special…
Of course, I have a vested interest. I am the first hired employee and the head of UX for Marketo, but I feel I can be objective. Well, just take it with a grain of salt anyway. It was awesome. Last year, we had about a hundred and fifty people. I thought that was alot…
My first few weeks at Marketo have been great! The sales have been so strong that they have been growing rapidly to support all the customers. In fact, there are alot of positions open right now. Marketo is growing rapidly, which means that there is alot of opportunity to make an impact that will last…
I’ve heard this story many times. The big boss is right in front of you. Normally, you never see him up close. You are in the middle of the organization somewhere and he is the leader. You start to feel butterflies in your stomach. Then, he asks that incredibly insightful question: How’s it going? Arrghhh. …
Made to Stick has a great concept called the Curse of Knowledge. (Highly recommended reading) Here is a summary of the curse: Imagine a song (not Happy Birthday) in your head. A common familiar song. Then ask someone listen while you tap out the song on your desk. See if they can understand it. They…
I remember when Kokopelli (company I ran from 1994-2002) moved offices. It was a short move just across the street. While we were checking it out, we looked out the window and there was our crew waving at us. I almost started crying. The new space was extremely nice and very big. At Marketo, we…
I forgot to post this. I took this picture with my new phone (HTC Touch Pro 2) on my first day of work. The rainbow actually ends at the office building at Adchemy! Is that a good sign or what?
I joined Marketo in December 2006 as the first non-founder and began a wonderful journey that has lasted 3 years. I learned a tremendous amount from the people here on a cornucopia of topics and I will miss them. I have accepted a new position at another company (I’ll post that later). Some UX…
I don’t think this applies to everyone, but it applies to me many times over. When I feel like I can not make “progress” I get very stressed. My mind doesn’t think as well, my body feels ill. I generally have a short temper when I am in this state. Progress is my minds digestion…
There are lots of people who can do a particular job. Sometimes, however, one gets a new idea. The idea is how you can do that job better, more effectively and more enjoyably. The idea is important. Most companies make that idea difficult to implement. It stays on the shelf with lots of other good…
Business Model #1: Enterprise This is when your product costs over 100k. Maybe even in the millions. The sales cycle is pretty long. It requires lots of documents to make the sale and build the product. RFI, RFP, MRD, PRD, Roadmap, the list goes on and on. This is a tough business to be in. …