Dan TaoWhat are engineers for?I was once out with a team of software engineers who were talking about a challenging project, and one of them said, “It’s our job to say…4 min read·Mar 5, 2024----
Dan TaoPlan for the bestOne Friday night recently, some friends of mine dropped off their daughter for an evening play date with three other girls. Their daughter…3 min read·Jun 12, 2023----
Dan TaoThe men on the beachTwo traveling men meet on a vast, endless beach.3 min read·Jan 30, 2023----
Dan TaoLeaky bucket, overflowing bucketI’ve used this analogy over the years with multiple people, both team members reporting to me as well as peers and friends. Since others…3 min read·Jun 22, 2022----
Dan TaoWrite your own promoAt many tech companies, there is a formal process for requesting a promotion. At Atlassian, the biggest part of this process is a…3 min read·May 3, 2022----
Dan TaoModesty is a luxuryAbout a year ago, a colleague reached out to me for some advice. He was a peer of mine and was receiving feedback from his manager that he…8 min read·Feb 11, 2021----
Dan TaoOn reducing tensionHave you read The Zax, by Dr. Seuss? It’s a powerful story. Ultimately it’s about the dangers of stubbornness and pride. In the story, the…3 min read·Jan 31, 2021----
Dan TaoinThe StartupFocus Time Is Not Petty CashBudgets are useful when you have a limited amount of something and discipline is required to use it appropriately given your needs and…5 min read·Jun 29, 2020----
Dan TaoWhat is a spike?Many software teams use the term “spike” or “research spike” to refer to a particular type of task where the primary work involved is some…6 min read·Jan 23, 2020----