Working principles · 01—32
Mantras.
Hard-won mantras shaped through experience: building Newicon, working with teams and pursuing personal projects.
Some are original, some are borrowed or adapted from people and companies I admire. They are not commandments. They are prompts: useful ways to challenge an assumption, unlock a conversation or find a better next step.
01—08
Transparency and trust
- 01.Transparent by default
- 02.Leave politics to the politicians
- 03.Be responsible, be free
- 04.Perception is reality
- 05.Questions are the answers
Be positive
Close mantra ↑Most of these values become easier to follow if you are positive and kind.
If a colleague or customer finds a bug or problem, thank them. Do not complain to people who cannot fix it. Talk constructively and directly with those who can.
Negativity spreads and makes everyone miserable. What we do is challenging, creative and fun. Practise gratitude for that.
- 07.The session musician
- 08.Toxic behaviour
09—16
Empowerment and growth
17—30
Innovation and engineering
- 17.The simple, not the complex
- 18.All requirements are wrong
- 19.Challenge constraints
- 20.Don’t #!@$ the customer
- 21.Pragmatic, not dogmatic
- 22.Use first-principles thinking
- 23.Aim to be less wrong over time
- 24.I don’t know is a superpower
- 25.Build rather than buy core skills
- 26.Ask why, why, why, why, why
- 27.Automate
- 28.Organise around the value stream
- 29.Be bold and break things
- 30.Make it visual
31—32