Category: Leadership
Blog Posts for a Year
I have officially written one blog post per week for one year! I started this endeavor on August 1, 2017 with the post, PHP Through the Eyes of a .NET Engineer. During that time, I have written many blog posts in a single week, then sometimes take a week or two off. I have also…
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Our Top Posts of 2017
The end of the year is a few days away and I don’t think I’m alone when I say that this year flew by pretty darn quick. It’s also time for another end-of-year “Top 10” list. I am again blown away by how this team does such a fantastic job in sharing what they’re learning…
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Agile Is Not A Silver Bullet, Part 1
Hopefully this headline got your attention. I considered trying to come up with a hashtag like #NoTDD or #NoEstimates that seem to be popular these days. I opted for a (hopefully) catchy title instead. The purpose of this post is not to bash agile methods or to somehow suggest that we should not be following…
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What We Mean When We Say “Software Engineer”
It’s very easy to throw terms around in our (or any) industry. In our hurried culture, we latch onto words or phrases that may not fully encapsulate their original intent. I’m afraid that is what has happened to the label of “software engineer”. And it has not been without consequences. I believe the real, working…
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The Quest for Network Security at Home
Since I started in IT consulting years ago, I’ve always had an interest in network security. It’s amazing how in the last 15 years the nature of threats has radically changed (from simple viruses, to malware, to phishing, to ransomware, and even mass device compromises to create botnets for coordinated Denial of Service or other…
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Development Teams Need a Coach
I was talking with a colleague recently who is part of an organization that has recognized that their development processes, culture maturity, etc., was holding them back. The conversation went something like this… “As a developer, I would see Don’t Panic Labs as a dream job given the emphasis and adherence to consistent software design…
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Where Are They Now?
We are not a lifestyle company. This is a sentiment I made clear at a recent Don’t Panic company meeting. It’s not that we have anything against companies where employees settle in for their entire careers, but that’s just not who we are (or ever aspire to be). I’m not saying anything new here. This…
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Fun Through The Years
We have had a lot of fun since 2010 (when both Nebraska Global and Don’t Panic Labs were founded). This fun has always extended beyond just the Don’t Panic team. If you’ve ever been around Nebraska Global, you know we’re like one big family. We’re just a bit more spread out these days. We have…
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7 Years Later: A Reflection on Nebraska Global
April was the seventh anniversary of the launch of Nebraska Global. While we spend a lot of time internally reflecting on our progress and strategy, we have never really shared it in a public forum or blog post. Like a lot of startups, we tend to be focused inward and not as concerned with how…
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A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Don’t Panic Labs (Abridged Version)
“And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before–and thus was the Empire forged.” – Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Don’t Panic Labs (DPL) was born in 2010 as a sub brand of Nebraska Global, which was chosen as the…
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