Paul Glen

Paul Glen: Geeks love problems, so give them some

The most elegant thing you can do to motivate geeks is to define a problem that your team will want to solve.

Paul Glen: The secret to keeping processes vital

As long as a problem seems present, gnarly and intractable, we enjoy following the process that solves it. But once the problem has been solved, it's not so interesting to us anymore.

Paul Glen: How to deal with a toxic team

Five warning signs can warn you that your project team has turned toxic.

Paul Glen: The hazards of literal listening

Geeks are often told that they are annoyingly literal, which they find confusing and unfair. But their colleagues have another way of listening.

Paul Glen: Even if you can't measure it, you still must manage it

There are no metrics for measuring the quality of your relationships. For metrics-loving geeks, that's a problem.

Paul Glen: Build relationships, and career opportunities will follow

Your competitive advantage in the labor market will come from your interest in, and aptitude for, creating good experiences for the people you work with, says columnist Paul Glen.

Paul Glen: Being right vs. not being wrong

To a lot of people, it seems as if we geeks are always battling for supremacy in the Always-Need-to-Be-Right Club.

Paul Glen: Rogue IT, and power as an obstacle to influence

We in IT have a decision to make: Do we want to be powerful, or do we want to be influential?

Paul Glen: How CIOs can become more influential

The first step is to expand what, for those in IT, is a limited understanding of what influence is.

Paul Glen: Check your work, or else

We geeks must transform our eagerness to please users into eagerness to help. There's a big difference.

Paul Glen: Assess your surroundings from 2,000 feet above

You can tell a lot about what matters in a community from the vantage point of a small plane. That's figuratively true of all organizations.

Paul Glen: Truth and project time estimates

Geeks are devoted to Truth, with a capital T. The question 'When will it be done?' feels like an invitation to lie. Insider; registration required)

Paul Glen: We techies can put users on edge

When we hear a good idea, we often start to explore its edges until we find an exception that we then just have to blurt out. Surprise! Users hate that. Insider (registration required)

Fixing the Technology Isn't Always Enough

Users want us to acknowledge the emotions that accompany their technology problems. Relax, though; you don't have to be Dr. Phil to do that. Insider (registration required)

Words Are First Hurdle for New Tech Managers

New managers lack the language to understand and express the value of management itself. Insider (registration required)

Paul Glen: In Tech, Management Is Not a Promotion

To move from a technical role to management is to abandon one career for another.

Paul Glen: The 'Low Affect' Effect

Business people expect their colleagues to express enthusiasm openly, and they don't recognize hard work as an expression of commitment to their goals.

Paul Glen: Want to own the future? Build rich relationships

Technologies come and go, says columnist Paul Glen, but the ability to connect business and technical people will always be the rarest and most valuable skill an IT professional can offer. (Insider, registration required.)

Paul Glen: 'Nothing but the facts' approach just won't work with business people

The reason techies' presentations to business people often bomb is that we make the mistake of believing that they think like we do. (Insider, registration required)

Talking to the Business: Our Problems, Their Visions

For IT, problems are our life's work, but business people want to avoid them at all costs. Insider (registration required)