After spending a better part of the decade with Slack, HipChat and Microsoft Teams I joined a team that chooses to work a different way and the depth of work is evident. The engineers on the team contribute a lot to the Kubernetes codebase and it seems like hours and days of uninterrupted time are critical to the way they work. This made me think about the necessity of “always on” culture. Is getting someone unblocked worth everyone keeping an eye on Slack throughout the day? For those who have read the timeless classic Deep Work by Cal Newport this is a well explored subject. I have read this book a few years ago and it immediately resonated with my experience. I think about some of the key ways that I worked early in my life and I realize that my mentors were preaching and practicing deep work. Growing up I went to a boarding school where at night homework was done behind a desk, in the classroom with the entire class sitting there quietly. There was a teacher present who could
A few years ago I have created a company in Belarussian High Tech Park. I found the city’s technology scene vibrant and the favorable tax structure created for the High Tech Park a nice pro business reform. I have recommended Minsk as a viable location for an Eastern European software team. Since August 9th 2020 my recommendation is changing: Mr. Lukashenko’s regime has kidnapped people off the streets, turned off the internet for several days and started putting people in jail for political reasons. It is now risky to create or keep your R&D office in Minsk and I would not recommend it. AP Photo - Belarus Arrests In my blog I try to keep focus on technology and keep politics out of it. Regardless of my beliefs on Mr. Lukashenko’s government, I am going to keep this post strictly to risks that the current regime has posed to anyone doing business with Belarus since the troublesome election on August 9th. I sincerely hope that companies which are affected by the police brutal