The Real Adam, “we got your lists” edition
Madhouses, “Serpentine Fire”, lists of all sorts, networks, and team sizes.
We cannot truly know whether we are not at this moment sitting in a madhouse.
– Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, The Waste Books
What’s more 2024 than this?! 🫠
Every time I hear it, I’m reminded that Earth Wind and Fire did not have to go so hard on "Serpentine Fire". But then, they absolutely did. The bass literally slaps. The album cover is really something too, exactly half way between 70s jazz fusion and 80s metal. I'm here for it.
"Give us an Iron Maiden album cover, but less scary."
Kinda comedy – I had hot takes about The Bear’s categorization for reward shows.
Backlogs – Sometimes, a backlog is a defense mechanism. At times, they are a soft no to ourselves or collaborators. “Not a bad idea, but not within immediate grasp either. It’s in the backlog. Maybe someday it will bubble to the top, or we’ll find it at just the right moment.” Other times, they’re a big pile of noise with one good idea lurking amongst the chaff.
Lists for the past, lists for the future – Related, I want to (once again) talk to you about the life-changing power of making a list and putting it in order. Hint: backlogs are lists.
Team sizes & breakpoints – there’s always someone who wants to talk about Dunbar’s number. In this case, it’s sort of me.
Managers and coding: “it depends”, but go for it anyway – if you miss coding, then code. But don’t get in your team’s way.
Warm up your network before things get spooky – When job seeking, the network is the work. A strong, active professional network is the most important tool in this scenario. Don’t let your job seeking guard down. Ideally, job searches are steady-state behavior, not on-demand. Ergo: warm up your network before things get spooky!