Tag Archives: hiring

Building a Great Software Development Team

Posted on May 29, 2014 by John Hunter

Elliot: I worked with some of the best programmers I’ve ever known at the tiny, obscure ASEE Adam Solove: Why do you think that happened? They hired for passion, rather than experience? If I had to pick one thing, passion would likely be it but really it is a complex assortment of things. Passion for the right things, based on what we aimed to be, mattered a great deal. That took the form of being passionate about the user experience, … Continue reading →

Posted in IT, Management, Popular, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged curiouscat, hiring, John Hunter, managing people, organization as a system, Popular, Psychology, Software Development, teams | 4 Comments

More Evidence of the Damage Done by Kleptocrat CEO Pay

Posted on April 21, 2014 by John Hunter

I have been writing about the problems of overpaid executives that has lately become so bad that “overpaid executives” doesn’t capture the nature of the problem. Today I see many CEO’s are acting as kleptocrats do – taking food out of others mouths to build their castles. The damage done to everyone else involved is of no concern. Both groups love bankers that flood them with cash for new and larger castles at the expense of the futures of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged business, executive pay, hiring, Investing, management research, overpaid executives, stakeholders, stockholders | 2 Comments

Management Improvement Blog Carnival #171

Posted on July 1, 2012 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog Carnival has been published since 2006. We find great management blog posts and share them with you 3 times a month. We hope you find these post interesting and find some new blogs to start reading. Follow me online: Google+, Twitter, Reddit, and more. Ticket Grab: New Game at Caine’s Arcade + 5 lessons for entrepreneurs – 5 Lessons for Entrepreneurs Caine (shown is video above) has Learned: 1) Be nice to customers. 2) … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged entrepreneur, hiring, management

Manufacturing Skills Gap or Management Skills Gap?

Posted on November 7, 2011 by John Hunter

I stumble across articles discussing the problem of manufacturers having difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (in the USA largely, but elsewhere too) somewhat regularly. While it is true that companies have this problem, I think looking at the problem in that way might not be the most insightful view. Is the problem just that potential workers don’t having the right skills or the result of a long term management skills gap? To me, the current manufacturing skills … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, Deming, hiring, jobs, lean manufacturing, long term thinking, management, managing people, Manufacturing, problem solving, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking, workplace improvement | 3 Comments

Management Blog Posts From October 2006

Posted on October 25, 2011 by John Hunter

I have selected a few posts from the Curious Cat Management Blog back in October 2006 for those of you who were not reading this blog then. Why Pay Taxes or be Honest – “I don’t think acting illegally, immorally, unethically is excusable just because lots of other people are… It is sad how bad the behavior is that is considered acceptable.” Hiring the Right Workers – “The job market is an inefficient market. There are many reasons for this … Continue reading →

Posted in Quality tools, Respect | Tagged continual improvement, hiring, Quality tools, respect for people

Finding, and Keeping, Good IT People

Posted on April 6, 2011 by John Hunter

Finding good IT people, wherever you located globally, is hard. Waiting for the good IT people to apply for positions, is not likely to gain enough good candidates. To get really good IT people you need to actually manage your current IT staff properly. Then word will get out that your organization is not run by pointy haired bosses (phb) and good IT people will be open to joining. This obviously is not a quick fix. But this practice is … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, IT, Management, Software Development | Tagged Career, hiring, jobs, Software Development | 3 Comments

Dee Hock on Hiring

Posted on August 16, 2010 by John Hunter

Great quote from Dee Hock, founder of Visa: Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities. This short article from Fast Company is … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, quote | Tagged curiouscat, hiring, leadership, managing people, quote | 3 Comments

Improving the Recruitment Process

Posted on July 3, 2010 by John Hunter

I have thought the recruiting process for hiring staff was very inefficient. I still think it is very inefficient. Not only do companies waste time or resources we also do not do a good job systemically placing the right people in the right jobs effectively. So there is waste is the process of hiring and also a huge amount of waste in not doing well at finding the best fits for people and jobs. So we have lots of jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Management | Tagged Career, hiring, management, managing people, respect for people | 3 Comments

Hire People You Can Trust to Do Their Job

Posted on February 5, 2009 by John Hunter

How great companies turn crisis into opportunity The right people don’t need to be managed. The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake. The right people don’t think they have a job: They have responsibilities. If I’m a climber, my job is not [just] to belay. My responsibility is that if we get in trouble, I don’t let my partner down. The right people do what they say they will do, which means … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged coaching, hiring, jobs, Management Articles, managing people, training | 4 Comments

What to Wear to an Interview

Posted on January 3, 2009 by John Hunter

Response to What to Wear for an IT Job Interview?. Is this just a huge bit stereotypical? Who can blame them for not wanting to bother with their wardrobes? Fashion is fickle. Fashion is expensive. Fashion requires imagination and inspiration, and let’s face it, after a long day spent debugging code or trouble-shooting computer problems, there’s not a lot of creativity left for clothing. But if there’s one professional occasion when a tech worker should think fashion first, it’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, IT, Psychology, Software Development | Tagged Career, commentary, curiouscat, hiring, jobs, Joel Spolsky, John Hunter, productivity, programming, Software Development, tips | 6 Comments

Hiring the Right Person

Posted on September 2, 2008 by John Hunter

Malcolm Gladwell presented at the New Yorker conference on the Challenge of Hiring in the Modern World. As usually, he provides some great thoughts. I wrote on Hiring the Right Workers The job market is an inefficient market. There are many reasons for this including relying on specification (this job requires a BS in Computer Science – no Bill Gates you don’t meet the spec) instead of understanding the system. Insisting on managing by the numbers even when the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Fun, Management, webcast | Tagged Data, hiring, management, Systems thinking, webcast | 1 Comment

IT Talent Shortage, or Management Failure?

Posted on January 7, 2008 by John Hunter

IT talent shortage, or management failure? [the broken link was removed] Is there a talent shortage? Only because employers have created it. The real shortage is in good management. Without proper seeding, feeding and cultivating, the IT community withers like any other garden. Companies are madly trying to hire skills, not talent. They want to harvest fruit overnight. Give a smart IT worker some manuals, a workstation, an objective, and a little time, and they’ll come up to speed every … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, IT, Management, Software Development | Tagged hiring | 7 Comments

Hiring: Silicon Valley Style

Posted on August 6, 2007 by John Hunter

Interviews on how to hire in Silicon Valley. I especially like Guy Kawasaki’s comment – “the key to getting great people to work for you is to have a great product. That is why Google does so well. That is why Apple does so well.” I agree with the concept that a huge part of hiring good people is offering them a place where they feel proud of what they are working on. This is even more true when you … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Google, IT, Management, Software Development, Systems thinking, webcast | Tagged Career, hiring, IT | 4 Comments

Google’s Answer to Filling Jobs Is an Algorithm

Posted on January 4, 2007 by John Hunter

Google Answer to Filling Jobs Is an Algorithm. First, from a “what should I do,” view, I believe, Kevin Meyer’s advice is more appropriate: The False God of the Almighty Algorithm. But Google can do some things well that are unwise for others to try. Desperate to hire more engineers and sales representatives to staff its rapidly growing search and advertising business, Google — in typical eccentric fashion — has created an automated way to search for talent among the … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Creativity, Google, Innovation, Management | Tagged Creativity, Google, hiring, Innovation | 6 Comments

Hiring the Right People

Posted on October 7, 2006 by John Hunter

The job market is an inefficient market. There are many reasons for this including relying on specification (this job requires a BS in Computer Science – no Bill Gates you don’t meet the spec) instead of understanding the system. Insisting on managing by the numbers even when the most important figures are unknown and maybe unknowable. Using HR to find the right person to work in a process they don’t understand (which reinforces the desire to focus on specifications instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Customer focus, IT, Management, Performance Appraisal, Popular | Tagged Career, curiouscat, Deming, hiring, management, managing people, Popular | 15 Comments

Selecting Six Sigma Black Belts

Posted on December 27, 2005 by John Hunter

A Question of Balance by Jim Bossert and Larry Krynski, Quality Digest. The articles explores attributes needed by black belts: personal, technical ability, training, experience, aptitude and culture. “This article examines “each attribute to see how it contributes to selecting the right candidate. Organizations can use the information when interviewing candidates, knowing that whomever they select will contribute to the success of their Six Sigma projects.”

Posted in Management Articles, Six sigma | Tagged hiring, Six sigma