I started Wholegrain Digital with my wife Vineeta in 2007. At the time, consumers were increasingly looking for new and differ­… Read More
The work we do is rarely well described by the titles we hold. There are far more of us managing people and projects than there are official Project Manage… Read More
We had only known each other for half an hour or so, but I felt like Sebastian was ready for a more substantial question. I’d endured the n… Read More
Just because you don’t have Project Manager in your title doesn’t mean you are removed and immune from the challenges of managing projects… Read More
I’ve been seeing some patterns lately. There are precise points in a digital consultancy or agency workflow that can either lead to healthier projects and higher profitabilit… Read More
Project management is probably one of the most difficult roles in this industry to define. Countless articles, blog posts, and books will give you varying definitions. Expectations… Read More
On a different day, I might have titled this piece: How to be a stupid freelancer. But that’s not where I’m at anymore and that’s not exactly what people want to… Read More
In project management, it’s not the project phases themselves that trip you up, it’s those milky grey transitions between them. One of the first and best chances you ha… Read More
Our job titles rarely cover the full extent of our work. Far more people manage projects on a day-to-day basis than those with the Project Manager title. That’s why the Coax… Read More
I never planned to go into Project Management. I was determined, at the age of six, that I would be the President of the United States. I blame Ronald Reagan. It was 1986, and I wa… Read More
Wicked: adjective, wick·ed \ ˈwi-kəd \
1 : morally very bad
2 : fierce, vicious; disposed to or marked by mischief
3 : disgustingly unpleasant; causing or li… Read More
That we are the captains of our professional destinies is a lie Western capitalism tells us to prevent the poor from burning the entire system to the ground. You are not the captai… Read More
The hat of a project manager sits on top of many heads: even if those human heads have radically different jobs and roles—and even if those jobs don’t have ‘proje… Read More
Have you ever found yourself in an echo chamber at work—you look around and everyone thinks like you, talks like you, looks like you, and problem-solves the way you do? While… Read More
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People… Read More
Whether we like it or not, software forms the cornerstones of our lives. It enables us to work, to manage money, share photos, connect with friends, follow diets, and everything i… Read More
Estimates are the foundation of every project. You can’t build a relationship on a shaky, incomplete foundation and you can’t build a solid project plan on a crappy, h… Read More
She stared at herself in the elevator mirror, plumping and preening her pouty lips and bleached out hair the entire 24-floor trip down to the lobby. It made me angry.
Vain peopl… Read More
In my last Coax outing, I advocated for bringing apprenticeships into tech. Today, I want to further underline the potential they offer—for individuals, for the products we… Read More
Since early 2002, Michael Lopp has been writing about management, the tech industry, and corporate culture under his pen name and alter ego: Rands, which has grown into one of the… Read More
I signed up for a comedy improv class hoping it would make me a stronger designer, hoping it would better help me present my ideas and further my career. I had no idea it would tr… Read More
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.
If you are the only living being in the world, can humanity exist?
Two people are walking towards each other on a hot, dusty… Read More
Onstage, Greg Saunier looks like a man drowning.
Behind the drum kit, his knees jut up like he’s sitting on a chair made for a child, at times threatening to pop him in the… Read More
It’s Thursday, six pm. Two days from month end. You’re about to send an apology email to your client explaining yet another scheduling setback. Fire-fighting again. Me… Read More
If you work for yourself or in a management role, it’s likely that you’ve produced an estimate or quote. There are many approaches we can take to producing these criti… Read More