Tag: performance
Performance Is Contextual November 20th, 2023
Managers often talk about performance as a static thing. We say that someone is a “high performer” or “low performer”, as if performance is a fixed attribute of their personality. This fixed mindset is a mistake. Performance is contextual: how well you perform your job is deeply dependent on the conditions around you.
Hire for Floors, not Ceilings August 16th, 2023
When you’re hiring, try not to get caught in the trap of evaluating candidates based on their best possible performance. Look instead for consistency: reliable results in variable conditions, the ability to deliver predictably with consistent quality, and so forth.
Follow-ups to "Incompetent but Nice" March 31st, 2023
I received a ton of replies to my previous piece in “incompetent but nice” people. I’ve collected some of those replies, and some of my own follow-ups. I’ll cover: what managers should do; the theme that this is almost always a management failure; and my advice for people who are worried that they might be the “incompetent but nice” person.
Incompetent but Nice March 28th, 2023
A question I’ve never been able to answer to my satisfaction: how do you manage people who are nice but can’t do the work?
Performance "Seasons" Are Useless — Use Anniversary Reviews Instead October 25th, 2022
Stop doing performance reviews based on the calendar year. Instead, schedule performance reviews around each person’s individual calendar — a year after they join the team, switch roles, get promoted, etc.
Goals aren't enough; you have to talk about performance, too April 1st, 2019
Craig recently wrote about his mixed opinions about OKRs. The crux of his argument, I think, is that communicating goals is the important thing, and that OKRs are a heavyweight tool (with limited success). I agree, somewhat; this post is a “yes, and”: OKRs (when done well) do one other important thing: force explicit conversations about performance. Talking about goals can be fairly easy compared to talking about performance. But talking about performance is a basic management responsibility, and unfortunately it’s frequently done poorly (if at all).…
Django performance tips December 12th, 2005
Django handles lots of traffic with ease; Django sites have survived slashdottings, farkings, and more. Here are some notes on how we tweak our servers to get that type of high performance. Use a separate media server Django deliberately doesn’t serve media for you, and it’s designed that way to save you from yourself. If you try to serve media from the same Apache instance that’s serving Django, you’re going to absolutely kill performance.…