Nate Wiger vs Software – …or how many beers until the bugs are fixed?

This is not a clever technical article where DONUT is some obscure new encryption algorithm. This is about getting people to lock their laptop screens. Using donuts.
In the early days of the Amazon San Diego office, we were in an unsecured, shared office space with other companies. As such, it was crucial that people remembered to lock their screens whenever they left their computers, even if only for a few minutes...

I loathe the term “Director”, because it connotes the opposite behavior of what senior leaders should really be doing.
A movie director tells every person what to do – where to stand, how to act, which cameras should shoot from what angles, which lighting to use, and so forth.  This works great for the movies, or theater, or dance, where you have a predefined script...

I’m a fan of simplifying as much as possible. One strategy I love to use is analogies.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “it’s like riding a bicycle”. We all know what that means – once you’ve learned a skill, you can take a break from it, but regain it quickly if you start again later.  Saying “it’s like riding a bicycle” encompasses not...

One of my favorite career accomplishments so far was founding the Amazon San Diego office.  I wrote the 6-pager proposal about the city and presented it to Amazon VP/SVPs to gain approval.  I was employee #1 in the office, hiring a team that grew to...