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What’s so HARD about Marketing a Software Development Company?
Atomic Object launched a new website back in November. While I believe the end result is very good, the time and effort it required surprised me. In the process I think I figured out why it is...
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Sick time follows a simple formula
I made an interesting discovery recently while spelunking in our time tracking system. The distribution of sick time, over all the people we’ve ever employed, very closely follows a logarithmic...
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A screwup avoided through a brush with mindfulness
I recently avoided a mistake I’ve made plenty of times in the past. The mistake I could easily have made was in how I reacted to an internal screwup. I attribute my better reaction to an experience I’d...
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The Value of Part-Time Knowledge Workers
In a world of talent scarcity—certainly the one software design and development companies live in currently—it would be foolish to not accommodate a proven employee’s request to move to a part-time...
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Company culture maintenance: Adding a 6th Atomic value
I’m the founder of a company that I hope thrives well beyond my lifetime. Part of my job these days, fifteen years from our creation, is to pay close attention to company culture: what it is, how we...
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Sustainable pace is a smart long-term strategy
In the late 1990s, when Kent Beck included “40 hour work week” in the original 13 practices of Extreme Programming, it was in the context of an industry that co-opted the term “death march”. Software...
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Silly names for important things – the power of naming abstract ideas
One of the things I’ve learned about helping people work well together in business is the power of naming your values, ideals, and expectations. Wielding this tool to best effect is a prime...
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Sharing culture with new employees via a retreat with the founder
I recently spent 24 hours with four of our newest developers, all very recent grads. We ended up calling the time we spent together a Founder’s Retreat. While the intention was that my young...
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Embrace and resolve your fear, uncertainty, doubt and anger
It seems an inevitable part of the human condition that we hurt each others feelings, confuse our friends and colleagues, anger or worry people close to us. I believe most of the time this is...
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Software project budgeting is more than estimating
We make successful products for our clients by maintaining flexibility in our process, folding in what we discover and learn as we build. We make projects successful for our clients by delivering...
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Expecting perfect understanding from your writing is a leadership pitfall
I write. They read. Some people are confused or upset. They complain. I’m frustrated. Live through this cycle a few times and it’s tempting to communicate less. I call this temptation the leadership...
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Succeeding with outside leadership hires
Many companies only promote from within for leadership positions. My own experience confirms the wisdom of this approach. Recently, we found ourselves taking a different route for our Grand Rapids...
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Firing people: feelings, perspectives, and practical advice
This is a summary of what I’ve learned about firing people. I’ve had to do that difficult, unpleasant, but occasionally absolutely necessary task 12 times, and have supported other managers doing it an...
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Visualizing Cash Flow for Shareholders with a Cash/AR Graph
Cash is the life blood that runs a business. If it’s mismanaged, it’s highly likely that the company will experience pain. Unfortunately, employees are often surprised by this pain, leading to negative...
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Can Matrix Management Work in a Services Firm?
I never suspected I’d come to think matrix management might be a great idea for managing project-based, professional services firms like Atomic. My undergraduate business classes exposed me to the...
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A milestone reached in Atomic’s goal to employ more women
We’re approaching a significant milestone in our company initiative to employ more women. When our last Accelerator member joins in mid-July, 25% of Atoms will be women. Four years ago, that number...
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Why colocation? Addressing the objections to having a centralized team
Everyone who works at Atomic as a full-time employee has the expectation of colocating with their team in one of our two offices in Michigan. This expectation rubs against a common industry trend...
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What identifying a company architecture did for us
Growth challenges the structure of any organization. In my experience, it’s easy to let those changes sneak up on you. As part of our recent work on structure, we’ve decided to adopt the “consultancy...
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Jazz and the software company – A choreography of chaos and order
The longer I’m in leadership, the more I become aware of a simple, but harrowing fact: The best leaders in business improvise. A lot. In fact, having a detailed, multi-step, multi-phase plan can be...
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Client diversity drives good financial results
Atomic is an intentionally-general software product development consultancy. We’ve found success through technology and client diversity. Instead of focusing on a single industry or technology or...
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