The New Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution happened in large part because of boiling water. We harnessed steam and powered massive machines that changed the way we built things and went places. Its impact on society was so great that centuries later steam is a major player power generation.

Today we stand at the cusp of technology which is going to affect societal change on a scale beyond the steam engine. My kids incredulously asking "you had to get up to change how many channels?" will be replaced with their kids asking "you had to drive yourself?" and "you owned a car?" in the same tone of disbelief.

Today we have a power grid. Tomorrow we'll be generating individual household power. Today most of us buy all the channels. Tomorrow we'll ALL buy what we want. Today it takes three hours to get to St Louis. Tomorrow it will take under thirty minutes. Flying cars? Probably not - too dangerous & there are much more elegant solutions to solve those issues.

The big question is how is this all going to be delivered? Well, let's start with what doesn't work. 

"20th Century Industry" has a reputation for keeping the status quo. Once a company gets to the size of Wal-Mart there's a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. They lean on their vendors & employees and squeeze every drop of profit out of their business line. Then some internet guy comes along and completely disrupts your business. Now what? 

Contrast that with 21st Century industry leaders, and I have to start with Steve Jobs & Bill Gates. (Yes, I realize they were 20th century guys, but both were ahead of their time.)

Apple & Microsoft have been around for thirty years now, but Steve Jobs used his vision to build great products that have changed the way consumers compute, communicate, and consume media. Gates did the same with a focus on business. Unfortunately both companies have stagnated since their founders have stepped away. 

Rather than continue to really innovate Apple is sitting on fat stacks of cash and releasing product that scores high on my "Meh" scale. Microsoft completely whiffed on mobile & was late to the cloud party to boot. Much like WalMart, Microsoft's bread and butter is a narrow lane (office systems & software) is begging to be disrupted. (G-Suite anyone?)

So how about Jeff Bezos? Now here's a guy who doesn't just want to build a great product or own the office. This is a guy that wants to change the world. 

Amazon isn't just a retailer anymore - Bezos sees Amazon as an economic machine. Maybe in the future we'll all be working for him. He'll pay us in "Bezos Bucks" and everything we buy will be dropped off inside the house by a drone within 30 minutes of our one-click order.

Elon Musk built the first all-electric, fairly autonomous production vehicle. He's like Preston Tucker with billions. Think that rattled anyone manufacturing automobiles?

He also happens to sell roof tiles that generate power. I would speculate that within the decade all new homes will have some kind of solar power generation system, and within the next twenty five years most existing homes will be retrofitted. Green is in baby.

While they're at it, Elon and Jeff both are in a space race. Sure, we put a man on the moon but these guys are looking to colonize the moon and beyond. And they're doing it cheaper and faster than any "capable" government entity.

Those of us in the technology business arget a front row seat to everything above and more, much of which we can't even fathom today. 

In my past life I loved to climb mountains. You'd start at the trailhead with a map and a goal of getting to the top. Today we stand at the trailhead of the New Industrial Revolution. We are still drawing the map, and we can't see the summit. 

We can only dream of the possibilities for generations to come. 

Changes in Quality

After seventeen plus years in the tech business I've learned that if you're not adapting to change you're going to be left behind. I can recall no other time in my time recruiting career where this is true then the shift from manual to automated testing.

The speed at which development leaders have moved quality control strategy was staggering. Demand for manual QA dropped to nearly zero while countless "Software Engineer Development in Test" (SDET) jobs are going unfilled.

The catalyst for this change is clear - manual testing was slowing the process down. As engineers are prone to do, someone in a development shop somewhere wrote a program to perform QA functions. Then someone else made that program better. Before you know it Selenium, Cucumber, JMeter, and a slew of other Quality / DevOps tools were born.

If you like be involved in the entire lifecycle, working with business and technical teams to automate processes that facilitate speed in software delivery there is plenty of opportunity in the marketplace.

If your career has largely revolved around manually testing software, take heart. The skills & passion you have translate to other roles within the development lifecycle such as Business Analysis, Project Management, Product Ownership, and Customer Support & Training.

Technology moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you're going to miss it. -Ferris Bueller

Liar. Liar.

Pittsburg, KS High School principal Amy Robertson was fired after journalists at the student newspaper discovered her credentials were bogus. Their work was picked up by many major news outlets including Fox, CBS, NBC, LA Time, the Chicago Tribune. The list went on. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands (or possibly millions) of views in social media.

Needless to say, this was a major black eye to the district and a national embarrassment for Ms. Robertson. The district claimed that the competitive nature of hiring school administrators caused them to miss a few check-marks on the background.

No kidding.

As much as I’d love to say this is an isolated incident, it’s much more common than you may think. There’s plenty of other examples of public figures getting caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Scott Thompson, then CEO of Yahoo!, claimed to hold a degree in Computer Science when in reality his degree was in Accounting forcing him to resign.

Marilee Jones worked at MIT for nearly twenty years, becoming their Dean of Admissions before resigning after being caught lying about her academic credentials.

George O’Leary was hired to coach Notre Dame football after falsely claiming to have a Masters Degree. He doubled-down by claiming to have played football despite never being on a college football roster. Notre Dame fired him.

Even celebrity chef Robert Irvine was fired from Food Network’s “Dinner Impossible” after it was discovered that his claim to have designed the wedding cake for Princess Diana & Prince Charles was false. He simply picked out the fruit used on the cake.

This tactic isn’t just for the rich & famous. Here’s just a sampling of what I’ve run across:

Bogus Credentials. Any employer worth their salt verifies credentials. I will find out that you were not honest about your degree. I will also verify any relevant certifications you claim to hold. You would be shocked at how many times I’ve caught someone red-handed misrepresenting their credentials. If you attended college but don’t have a degree “coursework toward a Bachelor of Science” is truthful, “Bachelor of Science” is lying.

Diploma Mills. The former High School principal claimed to have degrees from unaccredited schools. Many of these “schools” will issue a “degree” when your check clears the bank. If I have any questions about a college I just plug it into this site.

Mis-matched resumes. Years ago when paper ruled this was tough to catch. Today I have resumes from 15 years ago. Just this week I caught a person who did an assignment for us in another office send me a resume with different employers, different dates, with a degree from different schools. Turns out this person was released for cause after only a few months on the job.

Mis-matched people. There’s a disturbing tactic used by a handful of disreputable staffing & solutions agencies when it’s necessary to hire someone without meeting them first. Send a completely bogus resume, have someone that knows their stuff go through the interview process, and then send someone else to work. It’s becoming common enough that there’s a Twitter feed dedicated to outing people.

If you misrepresent your credentials eventually it’s going to catch up to you.

Marilee Jones initially applied for an entry level position at M.I.T. and rather than come clean, she continued the charade as she moved up the ladder. Her resignation letter read in part “I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since, I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me, and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.”

I’m sure in hindsight she wishes she would have mustered the courage. She felt painted into a corner with no out. However, there is an out and it starts with courage. You have to muster the courage to come clean. With the right attitude and outlook lying about your background is not the end of the world.

Marilee spent nearly twenty years handling admissions at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. She knows a thing or two about what it takes to get a letter of acceptance and has parlayed that knowledge into a private consulting practice.

Despite not having a Masters Degree or experience as a player, it turns out George O’Leary is a pretty damn good football coach. He continued to coach in both the NFL and at the University of South Florida where he was head coach for over a decade.

Scott Thompson spent four years as the CEO of an online shopping company before leaving last fall to take the CEO chair of a company that provides a student loan management platform that allows employers to help employees pay off their student loans.

Robert Irvine was re-hired by Food Network to host Dinner: Impossible, launched a spin-off called Restaurant: Impossible and is a regular guest on their Iron Chef series. He has used his celebrity to launch the Robert Irvine Foundation which honors the men and women of the US Military. In the Spring of last year he was awarded the U.S. Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Award.

We all make mistakes & do things we regret. Have the courage to come clean, make amends, and use your God-given abilities to do great things.Liar

NINJA'S NEEDED!! (cue eye roll)

Attention Employers! It's a buyers market. Over the course of the last 18-24 months software engineer Supply / Demand reports are showing approximately three open positions for every one qualified job seeker.

If I told you we were hiring JavaScript Ninjas would you think any less of me? Don't answer that. See, I'm not looking for "Rock Stars," "Warlocks" or a "Code Monkey" either.

Attracting top talent takes more than posting an extensive laundry list of required skills or using clever words and phrases to appear "hip."

What if I told you I simply need a solid client-side developer who can come up with elegant front-end solutions? You'll be given autonomy to make decisions, work with some reasonably talented and friendly human beings, and be treated & compensated fairly. Sound reasonable?

The methods recruiters (both corporate and agency) are using to engage with technical professionals need to change. Job descriptions should be descriptive of the job not a generic list of skills that you won't find combined in one person.

Here's what top talent wants to see in a job description:

• A decent picture of the day-to-day roles and responsibilities. They understand they'll be slinging code and running unit tests. They also understand there likely will be some production babysitting. They're looking for the FUN stuff like researching and deploying new technology along with being an integrated member of the solution development & delivery team. Coding existing technical requirements is part of every software engineer's job, but if that's all they're going to do reference "code monkey" and make sure your day-to-day picture looks like that. (Note: this will likely negatively impact the number of applicants.)
• What kind of people will they be working with on a regular basis? What's the team make-up? Who inside and outside the organization will be influencing and impacting their work on a daily basis? Is there a mentor? Is there someone there TO mentor?
• What the company offers in terms of culture, benefits, and opportunities for growth. Ultimately they want to know why it's a great place to work and what might set you apart from the other two employers who are competing for their services.
• How much money the employer expects to pay for the right person. They'd also like to know the non-monetary reasons to consider the job if the money is on the low side of the scale.
• Some core technical expectations without running down the litany of every piece of technology and third party vendor currently residing in your data center.

What top talent doesn't want to see is qualifications listing "a minimum of five years experience in XYZ" or a demand for "excellent organization, communication, and/or people skills."

They also don't want to see jobs that don't pay a fair market wage. A recent senior .NET developer posting in Kansas City touted "TOP PAY $" yet listed pay range is $25,000less than average compensation level and $35,000 less than what empirical data from a number of reliable sources indicates.

The data tells me the senior .NET developer you are so desperately trying to attract to your team is currently making anywhere from $90k - $120k annually. An advertised $65 - $85k range represents a significant cut in pay which will only attract unqualified applicants or no applicants at all.

PS: I didn't run the numbers on a ninja, but I'm certain that will be higher.

Software professionals are smart buyers so talent acquisition professionals need to be savvy marketers.

PPS: I seriously am hiring a couple solid client-side developers to build elegant front-end solutions who will be given autonomy to make decisions, work with some reasonably talented and friendly human beings, and be treated & compensated fairly.

How to Spot a Phony on LinkedIn

Hackers are a busy bunch. I'm sure you've received a Facebook invitation from someone you're already friends with, or from a complete stranger. Usually these are hackers with ill intent. It should come as no surprise hackers have targeted LinkedIn as well.

Here's how to spot a fake.

Start by doing a Google search on the profile picture by right clicking and selecting "Search Google for Image." Hackers often use the same stock photos on multiple phony profiles. Generally you should only get a handful of hits on the image - any more than three or four is a flag to do some further investigation. (This works for Facebook & other social outlets as well.)

Other things to consider:

• How many connections does this person have? Once someone determines a profile is a fake they're not going to want to connect.
• How complete is the profile? There are a LOT of "shell" profiles on LinkedIn and while many are legitimate people who signed up and simply aren't active users others are fakes. Either way, why connect to someone that isn't involved in the community? The whole idea is to build a relationship and collaborate. 
• Quality of content. Many hackers are not native English speakers so when they do take time to build out a more robust profile you're likely to find bad grammar, misspellings, and poorly written copy.
• What does the invitation to connect say? Many legitimate people don't change the default "I'd like you to join my network on LinkedIn" message, and I'm sure there's some hackers who have figured out how to customize their message.

LinkedIn is a wonderful networking tool. I know I've helped people I've never met in person, and they have helped me. Just because you don't know someone now doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get to know them. Don't be afraid to accept invitations, just be a little more aware when a new invitation hits your inbox.

If you'd like more pointers on spotting a fake, check out this article which proved exceptionally helpful in composing this post.

Online Consumer Review Sites

Everyone has an opinion. With so many voices wanting to be heard in today's hyper-connected and information saturated world, it's no mystery why online review sites have become so popular. 

Google's review platform allows you to share your opinion on any product or service in a Google search result. Interested in researching a company? Glassdoor, Yahoo, and others offer options. Traveling or looking for a new place to have a nice meal? Check out Yelp or TripAdvisor. You can even check out reviews for a gallon of milk on Amazon. 

If you clicked on the link to the milk reviews you saw the humor of some online reviewers. However, reviews don't have to be absurd to be viewed with skepticism. There certainly are pro's and con's to using online reviews as a source of information.

The Pro's:

Accessibility to Information. Before Al Gore invented the internet there were a handful of print publication that provided this type of information Today that has all changed. Before we step foot in a business we have an opportunity to form an opinion based on "word-of-mouth" ("word of internet?") information.

Positive Reviews drive business. Yes, I check out Yelp before I try someplace new. The places that"delight their customers" have been rewarded with new customers. However, there's another edge to this sword - if the reviews are consistently 4+ stars I also go in with high expectations. 

The Business can improve and/or make amends. A negative review gives a company a chance to learn from mistakes and provides an opportunity to reach out to an unsatisfied customer to rectify a situation. 

Global Impact. If you're unfamiliar with a city you plan to visit or live in this information can impact many decisions you need to make. Online review sites expose businesses to an audience beyond their immediate neighborhood.

The Cons's:

Michael Scott (Dunder Mifflen Regional Manager) once said "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." Review sites are no different than the rest of the intrawebs - everything must be read with a critical eye. Just because it's written doesn't make it real.

Focusing on the Negative. You know the old adage "if you like something you'll tell one person, if you don't like it you'll tell ten." As authors review sites give us a forum to vent our frustrations. As readers we like "the dirt." Expect negative reviews - you can't please everyone.

Dated Reviews. Our world moves at a fast pace so reviews have a fairly short shelf life. The positive or negative experience from two or three years ago very well may be a completely different story today.

Anonymity. If you so choose, you can remain anonymous on every review site. In some cases (such as Glassdoor) nearly every review is anonymous. If you have an ax to grind there are no consequences for providing  misleading or false information.

If you post nothing but negative reviews your credibility as a reviewer is in question. Make sure you're singing the praises of the organizations that get it right as much (if not more) than the ones that get it wrong. 

Conclusion

As a consumer be discerning about available information. Reviews often are born from a strong opinion or experience so the number of reviews should be considered. Look for trends in the reviews. Is the majority singing their praises or complaining? 

Above all, formulate your own opinions and check things out with an open mind. Make decisions based on your experience, not on opinions and experiences of people you'll never meet.

Scrummerfall....

...is now one of my favorite made up words. This interesting mash-up of Scrum and Waterfall was used in a conversation yesterday and it made me smile. It also got me thinking about how many conversations I've had with people about Agile, Scrum and the stories I hear about how these SDLC strategies are being used (and mis-used.)

If an organization is going to 'buy in' to SCRUM there are two fairly critical Agile principles they need to follow:

• "Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done"
• "Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project."

Sounds good, right? Give business a daily voice in development and give the technical team the resources they need to do the job.

So why can we relate to Scrummerfall?

Let's start with Agile. Like it's predecessor Waterfall, Agile is a general label. It's a foundation that has generated different ideas and styles along with new tools and technologies for delivering software.

Scrum, TDD / BDD / FDD, paired programming and other development strategies fall under the Agile "brand."  Tools such as JIRA & TFS, Selenium & Cucumber, Docker, & CruiseControl are just a handful of the hundreds of platforms available to deliver in an iterative and continuous fashion.

By definition, if they serve the underlying purpose of delivering software efficiently, you can mix and match these strategies. When you boil it all down Agile is simply finding a way for business and technology to work together to find a better way to put usable software to production. 

Scrum & Kanban have been mashed up into Scrumban so why not mash up Scrum and Waterfall? Some would argue DSDM could be branded Scrummerfall.

After all, Agile is not without it's foibles. Fifteen years after the manifesto was written organizations still struggle to implement an Agile strategy that works for everyone. This is especially true in large, established organizations where there are many impediments to large scale Agile adaptation.

Who knows, maybe in the next few years we'll see Scrummerfall (or a variant) pop up on the drop down in TFS. And that's the beauty of Agile.