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I don’t think Jared Spool had Netflix in mind when he wrote about end user licenses but his point fits none the less. Apparently, Netflix throttles down their service if you’re a frequent user. People who rent more than a set number (known only to Netflix) of films a month find that their next DVD is delayed and that popular releases are dolled out to new subscribers. Of course Netflix advertises an all you can eat buffet but apparently that’s only true if you don’t come back for seconds. In other words, if you threaten their profits, you’ll find you get a different tier of service…for the same price as someone that isn’t taking full advantage of what they are paying for. But it’s all OK - they revised their terms of use about a year ago so buyer beware right? Take this quote out for a spin:

In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service.

Personally, I think this is just a horrible way to treat customers and I’m frankly amazed that they continue to have such high customer satisfaction ratings. Imagine if your health club did this - come in once a month and we’ll make sure your favorite elliptical machine is waiting. However, if you dare come in more than 3 times a week…well, we have a rusty stationary bike out back you can use. Don’t get my wrong, I understand the motivation for the executives at Netflix (heck, they’ll probably roll out a “premium” service for $29.99 a month that actually gets you unlimited rentals and drops you at the head of the line for the latest Hollywood blockbuster) but is this really a good way to treat users? Should I poke you in the eye with a sharp stick so long as my end user license says I can?

I’ve always believed in the motto “that calls for treats” (can you say new person treats?) Now I admit, some of this is pure selfishness - I just can’t resist Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch Bagel but I am also doing my part to keep up team morale (who can be grumpy while eating a doughnut?) Anyway, I bring this up for a reason. I’ve had an odd career when it comes to, ahh, shipping. Truth be told, I’ve only had a couple of my applications make it to production (and one happened after I had left the team - and no, it wasn’t me…) so I’ve only gotten to partake in one true “release party.” Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the free pizza, but somehow, it left me hollow; seems to me, we need to celebrate more often!

I’ve spoken about rhythm before and I can’t stress its importance to the sanity of a software team. If you’ve been on a death march before…you know how evil they really are. Let’s show off my range - how about a non-software example? It’s only February and I’m sure more than a few people are clinging diligently to that resolution about dropping some weight. Let’s say you want to lose 25 pounds - if you focus on the 25 what happens after you’ve lost 5? Are you motivated to keep going or are you downtrodden that you still have 20 more to go? To be successful, you’ve got to chunk the goal up and celebrate the baby steps! Software isn’t any different. Finish that cool new Ajax widget? Great, bring in some pie! Finally approved that functional spec? Heck, the boss should spring for pizza!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a pretty short attention span (hey, what’s that - over there?) so if I try to think about everything that my team has to do before our next release, I’ll just cry. That said, I can feel pretty good about clearing some of the low hanging fruit. Short iterations are one of the real strengths (though they have their drawbacks too…) of the agile movement, one that is often lost in the talk of user stories and pair programming. The next time you accomplish something - celebrate (and don’t forget to invite me)! Not only will your developers thank you, it might just improve your product’s quality. Of course you could just go to Waterfall 2006 instead.

A while back, I wrote about two of the most dangerous words in the programing world - what if. Like many before me, I’ve been on teams that were stuck in analysis paralysis before and I can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve attended that quickly devolved when people started tossing out loaded phrases like “well, I could see a customer doing…” or “you know, I think it’d be nice if…” Hey, I’ve been guilty of gold plating from time to time, but I’ve grown - I fully accept YAGNI in my life. Now, along with a blood sacrifice, I demand living breathing proof that we need to implement a feature…who am I kidding, I don’t have that kind of clout.

The next time you’re sitting around trying to figure out what you feature you *must* have in your next release, just ask: is it essential or not? Of course that doesn’t mean you should ship utter garbage either…and don’t get me started on all the beta-ware out there!

Wow. RailsConf 2006 is sold out - in less than a week. Glad I didn’t wait around… I’m *very* excited to be heading down to this event even though it takes place in prime golfing season! Guess I might have to check out RubyConf too. When I first read Rolling with Ruby on Rails I never imagined a year later a conference dedicated to the topic would have sold out in such a short time. Must have struck a nerve huh? I was quite pleased to see Jay Zimmerman of No Fluff fame is involved along with Chad Fowler. I can’t say enough good things about NFJS, it really is a great experience. Check the Tour Stops - chances are it’ll be coming your way and if you’re in the Twin Cities, I hope to see you there!

I’ve got my ticket to RailsConf 2006, how about you? I’m really excited about The Rails Guidebook (I very much wanted to be at the upcoming Rails Studio…sigh). Anyway, I’m trying to get my employer to defray the costs a bit but I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity - heck, the keynotes alone are worth the price of admission. Hope to see many of you in Chicago this June (I wouldn’t dawdle if I were you)!

This piece over on the BuzzMachine sure has gotten a lot of responses. Hey, I don’t like it when people in foreign countries burn the American flag but I’m not throwing Molotov cocktails at their embassies either. Seriously, take a deep breath already, it’s a comic - I don’t know about you, but I’m more interested in reading them now (reminds me of the protests over The Last Temptation of Christ).

Many moons ago, I was on a pseudo high school all start football team that travelled to Ireland to compete against a similar group of students from the east coast. Our coach was a legend in Minnesota high school football (who shall remain nameless…) and he had a decidedly old school, caustic approach to coaching. Now I was a rarity - I was a “finesse” offensive lineman, I preferred to pass block. Heck, it was just plain easier, all I had to do was get in your way for a few seconds. Of course, the coaching legend we were playing for favored the wishbone…which, if you know anything about football is basically the antithesis of a passing offense. I was very much a square peg being pummeled into a round hole.

Around our second or third day on the Emerald Isle, we installed a pass play into our offense. I was overjoyed until I realized that my job was to hook the defensive end because the quarterback was rolling out to my side. Of course on the same day we added this new play, the defense added a new stunt. The defensive end (already in an outside shade) was taking an outside rush. In other words, it was the perfect call for our new play. Basically, I was being asked to try and take a guy that was trying to rush outside and get him turned inside - not the easiest of plays by high school rules (it’s not like I could clip the guy…)

Most coaches would just say, well, they called the right defense, shoot. Not the legend - he just kept calling the play (of course the defense kept running their stunt and stopping it) and he kept chewing me out all practice. He didn’t mind that the block was nearly impossible. He didn’t care that I was put in a position to fail - repeatedly. He was going to make a point. Of course I’m not sure just what that point was…and it would have been smarter to find a way to make it easier for me to succeed. I could have just pushed the end out towards the sideline but “that wasn’t the play” so I was in a bind. Needless to say, my opinion of this particular coach is not terribly good.

So why do I bring this up today? Good old Kathy Sierra! I’m pretty sure Kathy is one of the sagest people around - and she really hits the nail on the head when she talks about square pegs and round holes (don’t miss her take on performance reviews either). If you’ve ever thought you went above and beyond only to get a big old “meets plan” at review time…well, at least you’ve never been kicked in the head by a donkey (have you?). At my last job, I had a pretty good manager and he took care of me, but despite my best efforts, I suffered from the “we can’t have too many exceeds plans” deal. My former CEO was big into the meritocracy theory which is great if you do something that can be easily measured and the company is actually serious about rewarding *everyone* that deserve it (instead of some preconceived bell curve notion of how many raises and bonuses can be given out). So I know exactly what she means…except I’ve never been kicked in the head.

So what would happen if we actually tried to put people into positions to succeed? What kind of company would it take to put square pegs into square holes? We often hear sports commentators discuss the importance of the role player - that guy that comes of the bench and catches that third down pass or gives you those tough minutes at the end of the half. They may not be flashy but how many championships did Michael Jordan win before his supporting cast arrived? Phil Jackson didn’t try to get Dennis Rodman to be an outside shooting threat (think Phil said - “Dennis, you’re great, pink hair and all, but you really need to spend some time on your shooting touch”?). No, he recognized what his players strengths were and he exploited them to win 6 championships.

The message? Embrace your strengths! Sure, we can all improve, but we each have things that we are destined to excel at - this isn’t a character flaw. Would you rather have a team of eight that are all pretty average at pretty much everything or could you take a group with distinct talents and meld them into a winning organization? My advice - the next time you encounter a square peg and you have the urge to get out your hammer, think about finding a way to square off the hole before you force someone towards mediocrity.