Life with Tim

Context In a discussion about my career pathing with a mentor, we identified that I have a tendency to "judo move" the question, "where do you want to go" with "where the business needs are". I was reflecting on this yesterday and I've come to the conclusion that this is my challenge for this post. They explained what they enjoyed and what they tried to work towards, but I didn't have a good answer to this, well I did, after some thought. My priorities/values are in this order; family, changing the world for the better, and having a bit of fun. Really what does that mean?  Family Family is my everything, without them I am just a man living their normal life. I always put my family first in all decisions. Quality time with my family is my favorite part of my day. Working remotely has really unlocked another level of enjoyment as I'm at home for the majority of my day. So it is quite normal to have a big breakfast together, have some lunch togeth...

 Holy buckets, 2021 went by quickly. Felt like 6 months! It's been a very rollercoaster year, but here we are, about to reenter the start/finish line and preparing to start another year. Starting off, we are still going through this pandemic, that has had an impact on my goals and aspirations, more on that later. Regardless, on to the review section. Looking back, I didn’t ever publish my 2021 goals, LOL. My general ideas were to stay healthy, and read a book per month. I read a lot more this year, reading 10 books (2 shy of my goal of 1 per month), and even enjoyed a few non-fiction books this year. We built a house and moved to a new town (still near Madison) and have really been enjoying the quieter life and funny enough my walking score here is way better than when I lived on the edge of the city. This was pretty huge part of the first half of the year. My kiddo started preschool and is really having a lot of fun. I did a bit of working out, more on that later. I took on a new ...

We now live in a different world. As such management should have to take a hard look at what the typical workday looks like. What once was easy, like joining meetings during the weekday during core hours is now difficult due to having to be a parent first, or help a neighbor that is fearful to go to the store, or assist your parents who are in the highly vulnerable population. Keep in mind that some are more impacted than others. With those thoughts pressing, I decided to do a bit of research on asynchronous work habits. I started my research with some podcasts. One I came across was  Making Sense with Sam Harris, episode 194: The new future of work . In this podcast the CEO of Automattic (the company behind WordPress) elaborates on how he shaped his business and how they operate. His goal from the start was to create an environment that is fully autonomous teams, and by far, he has succeeded. Some key aspects that I took away that I intend to take forward to my work is: Make meeti...

So I have some news, after much consideration, I've decided to submit my notice to Sonatype. I've grown tremendously during my 3 years at Sonatype. First joining as an Engineering Manager working with wonderful people on the Lifecycle product. Then later moving on to the Director of Engineering for the complicated sub-systems of Sonatype. I’ve met some wonderful people on the way, and they will be forever missed. I have no doubt that they will be successful in their business market going forward and I wish them all the best. That being said, it's time to start walking through succession planning. I really want to set my successor up for success when I leave. I'm reminded of a great episode of The Office (US) when Dewight gets fired for the episode. After a few weeks, things start falling apart in odd ways. The plants start dying, the fridge starts smelling, etc... He didn't get the chance to hand off the things he did around the place before he left.  During my time...

I was asked recently for a list of resources for management by a fellow manager. I have so many, but I didn't have it readily available. This post is for that. I'll regularly update it with references and the like. Podcasts Simon Sinek Podcas t; interesting interviews with various leaders Jacko Podcast ; the discipline of leadership. Interesting US military leader view of the world. Good stories and lessons learned. HBR IdeaCast  - Harvard Business Review's collection of stories about business. The Knowledge Podcast - Really interesting interviews with various leaders of the world Making Sense with Sam Harris - Most of these are pretty good listen. Sometimes relevant to leadership, other times just about humanity. Video Channels Simon Sinek - a collection of lectures, cuts from the podcast recordings, and tips of the day. Leadership Nudges - Great collection of 2-5 minute reminders. This comes from the author of "Turn the ship around". Books See my book...

My wife came across this interesting challenge over the weekend, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. SO, here it is. We are diving in!  Things we will do during this challenge and many of which we'll move forward with: For a quick summary, here are the 5 things required during the 75 days. Exercise twice each day for 45 minutes — it doesn’t matter what the exercise is but one of these sessions must be outdoors. Drink 4 liters of water per day. Pick a diet or eating plan and stick to that plan. You don’t necessarily have to count calories but be intelligent — no chocolates, no cake, no soft drinks, and NO ALCOHOL (this is the one I’ll struggle with the most). Read a minimum of 10 pages every day of growth mindset material or self-help book. No fifty shades of grey content! stick to real-life material to work on your mindset. Take one progress photo each day — even though this is more of a mental challenge, the byproduct will be a physical change at the end of the 75 days. Cre...

In the light of recent events (read that COVID-19) a lot of companies are going remote for the first time in their existence. These are troubling times but also time for evolution to take place. The human race is brilliant, bringing sound solutions to complicated scenarios. So when we are asked to practice social distancing, we move our businesses online.  Get ready for work I'm serious, it's super important. I wake, shower, shave, and put on jeans every workday. This to me is my way of gearing up for the day. It's a mental practice I carried from my days of office work that I still do because if I didn't I don't feel I'd be ready mentally. Dedicated space I've found it really helpful to have a dedicated space, for a few reasons. First, having a dedicated quiet space is a way to block off other family members that may be home with you. It allows your brain to know, it's time for work. Long term, having a good office chair is better for y...