August 2009
Beginner
252 pages
6h 2m
English
Content preview from 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Chapter 7. Add Talents, Not Skills, to Your Team
I USED TO HIRE THE WAY EVERYONE IN OUR INDUSTRY HIRED: skills, skills, skills. One day an interview candidate threw cold water in my face, figuratively, and it changed me.
I was looking to add a new hero to my team, someone with years of Microsoft experience. Looking over Bill's resume, I could tell he was perfect for the position. He had over six years of experience in all the relevant skills. If I could hit the right price point, this was going to be easy.
Bill came in for the interview. We talked and I described the projects we had on tap, and what a perfect fit Bill was for this position. I was sure this was going well. Suddenly, I realized I wasn't going to get him. I stopped the interview in mid-stream and asked Bill what had happened. I told him he was perfect for the position, but that I sensed he wasn't coming.
His response was, "Rich, if I wanted to do what I've been doing the last six years, I'd stay where I am. I heard you had some cool, new Java projects coming up and I wanted to work here because I saw it as a chance to learn and grow."
That's when it dawned on me. Hiring by running a "resume versus skills" match is the stupidest way a manager could ever build a team.
You see, my partners and I got into the high-tech industry because we wanted to be at the leading edge of technology. None of us hoped to spend ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.