Learning Bytes by Steve Semler

It’s a new year! What do you want to do differently? Many people make (and then discard) New Year’s resolutions. I generally suggest ditching New Year’s resolutions as ineffective. Build a few new habits that serve you well, instead. I can hear the subconscious complaints already, “But habits seem hard!” “That's a lot of work!” “When will I find time to do that?” Each of us has built up an "immunity to change." We have brain mechanisms that inoculate us against changes that could harm us,...

Greetings! 2025 is almost here and this is my last newsletter of 2024! What changes are coming up for you in the new year? I’ve got some big ones in motion that I’ll share with you here, and I need your help! If you’re wrestling with change yourself, or just trying to keep steady while everything is shifting, there’s a tip in this article that can be useful. (See below) But let me bring you up to date on the newsletter (it now has a title, “Learning Bytes”), changes in my business focus, and...

Hey Reader, I've got a new leadership resource for you to share with people. I've recently been writing a whole bunch of leadership tips for technical leaders and posting them on LinkedIn. Usually, this is once per weekday, but sometimes twice. Each tip comes from a specific behavior and success factor on the Technical Leadership Scorecard. They are action-oriented, work-relevant, and "bite-sized" so a person can put the tip into practice right away and build the skill over a week or a month....

Today I’m delivering a short workshop on how IT consultants can reduce stress and handle clients who are “on fire.” TIP: First, put out the fire. “On Fire” clients are the ones caught in the grip of frustration, panic, blame, or other negative emotions. Their survival brain Saboteurs have hijacked them. When people are in that survival brain activation, their ability to think clearly and creatively is dramatically reduced. They simply don’t have access to the higher brain functions they need....

What the heck is a “Rock Star” in the IT world, anyway? And why do I talk about them? It’s about the energy they bring and the results and recognition they get for it. Rock stars in any field do some of these things: Perform at the highest levels for their roles Make even the hard things look easy Give people energy Have fun while they perform at their chosen craft Get recognition and attract positive attention Doesn’t that sound like fun? Like something you’d want to experience? (Get the...

This article has tips for people in the first 10 years of their careers, whether or not you decide to take on a management role. To see how you can start putting these tips to work, get this 4-page ebook for leaders: Technical Rock Star Starter Guide. If you’ve been around the block a few more times, take this as a self-check opportunity on your leadership habits. Consider these tips and pass this on to someone early in their career. Important: You aren’t a leader just because you’re a...

Techies love solving problems. But there is an Achilles’ Heel to our typical method. If we don’t attend to it, it can add stress, cause conflicts, burn us out, and destroy relationships. We put far too little value on emotions. This blocks off an important channel of data we need to acknowledge. Paradoxically, it dramatically weakens the power of our rational approach. Here’s the logic behind how this works. Below, I will give you one technique to combat this flaw. As techies, we tend to lean...

A lot of our decision making is influenced by our habits of thinking. Data is secondary, even for people who pride themselves on being "data-driven decision-makers." (We're all human, sorry.) We go to what we're used to doing, first. Then, if we're in a good mental state we will look for data to check our initial assumptions. Tip of the Day: Check your mood when making a decision. Is it curious and positive? If not, use PQ techniques to get into Sage mode. Then make your decision. In...