Freely Offended

I have noticed over the span of my career that no matter how politely you decline the opportunity to work for someone for free, invariably they will be offended that you had the audacity to reject their generous offer.

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Secret Shortcuts That We Aren’t Telling

People confuse “secret” and “shortcut” all the time. “What is the secret to losing weight?” “What is the secret to being successful?” “What is the secret to getting published?” “What is the secret to breaking in to the industry?” What they are really asking is “What is the shortcut?” And we all know the answer…

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Measured Cutting

A good rule of thumb to live by is measure everything you are about to cut at least twice. This is the old saw (pun intended) that you hear in woodworking. But it applies equally well to almost every other worthwhile endeavour you will undertake from software development to cooking. Any act that consumes a…

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Foster or adopt?

If you have the ability, adopting the position of “I need a job, I just don’t need THIS job” and that you have other options and limited patience, use it. Do it politely, of course. That said I told a recruiter at Disney after a month of being yanked around “You either need to shit,…

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No longer a common commodity

If you don’t act like a commodity, people won’t treat you like a commodity. By setting yourself apart, by indicating your unique values and contributions and skill set, you move from commodification to unique opportunity. When you are a commodity, I can replace you for someone faster and cheaper and (possibly) better (however I measure…

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Espresso Without Pressure

Drop me a line at justin@justinlloyd.org if you want to grab a “no pressure” coffee and just talk about cool technology and neat ideas in S.F. or San Jose this weekend.

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Good Question!

The question is not who will let me, but is in fact, who will stop me.

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I hate jobs that mean I have to work

People confuse “work” and “job” all the time. “Work is something you want to do.” “A job is something you have to do.” I wonder who sowed this confusion among us. Was it the workers? Or the people who want to give us jobs?

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2 million things I hate about you

If you have a modicum of reputation, if you are known, however minor, for anything, there will be people who don’t know you who don’t like you. We make judgments about others based on information to hand. We make those judgments from either stated facts or something synthesized from those facts. The judgments aren’t always…

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The value of caring

Attention to detail does not mean perfectionism. Perfectionism is a form a procrastination. “I’m a perfectionist” is to claim “I have trouble letting go. I have trouble shipping. I cannot deliver value to your organization because I cannot deliver value to your customer.” Attention to detail is saying, loud, and clear, “I care.” I care…

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It’s no longer a secret

I’ve often talked and written about people wanting to know the secret. The secret to losing weight. The secret to being a success. The secret to getting funded. The secret to getting started. And I’ve equated that question “what is the secret?” to a one dimensional train of thought “What is the shortcut?” But I…

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Indefinite growth

To do lists are not meant to grow indefinitely. Once a to do list grows to a dozen or so items, especially if those items are related, the to do list has transformed in to a small project, and should be treated as such.

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Bossing around

I’ve met way too many people who want to be the boss and very few who want to be the leader. The distinct difference between the two is that one imperiously tells you what you should be doing and the other one works alongside you to show you what you should be doing.  

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The Long View

It’s easy to manipulate people if they’re only looking for short-term gains even if the manipulation is not in their long-term self-interest. It’s harder to manipulate someone when they have more long-term viewpoints than short-term viewpoints.

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Wisely Procrastinating

When you look for edge cases in a wise statement you are really looking for reasons to procrastinate or reasons why it won’t work – which is really the same thing.

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Preferred Contact

“Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail of Justin Lloyd. When you hear the beep, hang up, and text me instead.”

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