rajiv.com

Tag: CTO

  • 3 Dimensions of a Technology Team

    Organizing Software Engineering Teams to Balance Products, Partners & Professions This organizational design for a technology department aims to optimally blend the need for the technology team to be an engine of innovation, a customer-service organization and technically excellent. It views the staff, roles and responsibilities in three dimensions: products, partnerships, and professions. Organization by…

  • 3 Roles of a CTO: Culture. Technology. Operations.

    This is a guide for CTOs, VPs of Software Engineering and other technology managers responsible for a software engineering organization. The purpose of this checklist is to help the CTO cover the areas of culture, technology and operations in their teams. It is presented in the form of a memo to direct reports. Dear Tech…

  • 3-5-7 Meeting Format for Weekly Staff Meetings

    If you are the manager of a team of people at your job, here is a format we suggest for running your staff meetings. We call it the 3-5-7 format because of its convention of giving 3 to 5 minutes per person to answer 7 questions. This system assumes that you have fewer than ten direct…

  • Posted Signs for Productive Meetings

    You can post these slides as signs in your meeting rooms and offices or include them at the start of your presentations.   You can also open the original Google Slides document to print or leave comments.

  • Suggested Template For Requesting a Meeting

    Every time someone calls a meeting, they should consider using this simple template. [ meeting-invitation-template begins ] The desired outcome of this meeting is: e.g. Come to agreement on solution for issue X e.g. Make a decision about Y. e.g. Share announcements about topic Z. e.g. Continue to grow a good working relationship with each…

  • Templates for Replying to Meeting Requests & Polite Ways to Decline Meetings

    By default, we should only attend meetings where we are active participants, not passive attendees with not much to contribute to the desired outcome of the meeting. There are some exceptions to this like training sessions, educational presentations or others where the purpose for attendees is to learn something. When I receive a meeting request, I…

  • When to have and when not to schedule meetings

    Companies should, by default, avoid scheduling meetings that start before 10am or end after 5pm. If an employee comes to the office at 8am on some days, it is often to use the two hours of the morning before meetings to catch up and/or get a head start on the day. Meetings that start before…

  • 50/25 Meeting Format

    Update (2023 September 17): I published an update to this system based on data, experience, and the advice of colleagues. If you manage a team, value your team members time and want to improve productivity at your workplace with a simple change, consider implementing the 50/25 Meeting Recommendation that some companies are embracing. Consider communicating…

  • Using Laptops or Smartphones in Meetings

    Using smartphones — or worse, laptops — during in-person meetings diminishes productivity, is disrespectful to others and decreases your brainpower. Yes, scientific evidence indicates that multitasking makes people less intelligent.1 When you are  doing something unrelated on your phone or laptop in inappropriate situations (e.g. during business meetings), you lose out because you become oblivious to the environment, people, and…

  • What I Learned During the Hacking Attacks of August 28, 2013

    One of the most important lessons that was reinforced to me during the Aug 28th hacking attacks on Melbourne IT, the domain registrar for the Web sites of The New York Times, Twitter and many others was the importance of human relationships, personal networking and real-time communications during an emergency situation. In this article, I’ll mention…

  • Maker’s Schedule (For Managers Too)

    The following memo from a department head to staff is an example of how to implement a productive maker’s schedule at your workplace. This approach recommends starting with baby steps, evaluating results and making changes accordingly. Dear Colleagues in the Technology, Project Management and Product Teams, Executive Summary:1 We are implementing a maker’s schedule starting…

  • HR Classification and Discretionary/Business Job Titles for Makers, Managers and Leaders in Technology

    This article presents an organization system and policy for job titles of maker, manager and leader roles in technology staffs. Separate job titles for HR classification and discretionary/business use are used at many technology organizations, ranging from medium-sized, innovative and fast-moving companies to large, established and enterprise technology companies.1 This is a well-established practice that balances HR requirements with the rapid pace of innovation and change in job…