Category: Gigs
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One day at a time
I’ve been checking in with colleagues, peers, and mentors lately and when one asked me how I was handling things lately, I said “one day at a time” and she said something like that sounds like a good strategy. As if I have a choice! Still, there’s some wisdom in there. You can only game…
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A RIF by any other name
More than a day after being notified that they should expect to be dismissed during their probation period for reasons having nothing to do with performance, two people on my team were finally notified after 10 pm ET via email and attachment. I have to assume that hundreds if not thousands other across the fed…
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The fork not taken
Because these are very serious people treating us with respect, our new overlords declared once a judge lifted his stay, that the deferred resignation program was closed to new entrants at 4:20 on pacific time. Maybe now we can stop hearing about this meshugganah fork, at least? In the meantime, they semi rolled out a…
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Reporting for duty!
I’ve been working remotely since 2015. After we sold a startup to Dropbox, I had about six months off to chill and figure out what to do next. I took a playwriting class and got a lot of exercise. At the end of the period I joined another startup that was fully remote. I worked…
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Waiting for the other shoe to drop
So it’s another day of doing my job while trying to understand what the plan is, what’s on pause, and what is going to happen next. The judge who stayed the deadline for forking ourselves heard arguments yesterday and then left the stay in place indefinitely (until he makes his decision). Meanwhile, inside the house…
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Calm before the storm
One nice thing about the temporary restraining order (TRO) handed down by a judge in Massachusetts last Thursday is that by extending the deadline to take the “go fork yourself” offer from the stooges doing the bidding of the Project 2025 playbook (while Elon and his muskrats continue to root through our national privates), they…
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Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend
I was anticipating the new season of Severance since they started announcing it last fall and now life has gotten so crazed I am tending to catch the newest episodes days late instead of right when they drop. And then all of a sudden a show about a job where the people at the top…
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Oath takers and oath breakers
The whole concept of swearing an oath can feel antique, or worse cringe-y. Sad creepy quasi-militia guys exchanging rings with their daughters, that kind of thing. But I have worked for two governments now, and three administrations. When I was appointed to a role in the California government I swore an oath to defend the…
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For those who don’t have the spoons
We will all do what we need to do to keep our loved ones safe in times of tribulation. For now, I choose the spoon, for myself and for those who can’t.
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Reports of our death…
I appreciate all the folks who’ve reached out (including some of our partners at work) concerned by what they’ve been reading about our team and wanted to send a brief acknowledgement to the folks out there that we are still in here fighting the good fight:
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Technical difficulties
If I seem at all distracted it may be that my new boss’s old boss who is also possibly the actual boss of the country’s new boss is currently attacking the team I work for, and doxxing my colleagues. 18F’s account on Twitter was apparently deleted (actually a good thing, if you ask me) but,…
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So… this happened
Like an aging AAA slugger called up to the majors, like a prep-school outsider starting college, like a choreographer with bad knees getting access to the biggest stage, I find myself leading the product management chapter at 18F as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. 18F is a consulting entity in TTS (Technology Transformation Services) in…
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Super friends
Between recording sessions and working for the state, I’ve been planning a redux of the one-day remote Design in Product conference and just posted a video over on Linky-Din promoting it.
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Where I’m writing from
When Apple brought the touch screen and the tablet together they kicked off a new revolution, one that moves us all one step closer to direct manipulation of the digital world at our hands. As a writer, I suppose I have naturally gravitated toward the realm of writing and editing, where we’re still following “word…
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There's no 'I' in 'corporate brand' (or is there?)
Jeff Gothelf has just published an article in Smashing Magazine on How to Maintain Your Personal Brand as a Corporate Employee. He interviewed me, as well as David Armano and Luke Wroblewski, while researching the article, and I’m quoted a few times in it. Here’s part of his conclusion: Be respectful of your employer and…
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AOL?!? Really?
Some thoughts on my first few days on my new job as a consumer experience evangelist at AOL, and what I hope to help the team here accomplish.