Doug Wagner, Author at Sunwapta Solutions

7 Apr 2011

Did God Give Developers Brains?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:27-06:00April 7th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Software Development|

I just saw a tweet from @UncleBobMartin

"If programmers were meant to test everything, God would have given them brains."

Perhaps a little non-diplomatic. Maybe evoking religion into development discussions. Funny and thought provoking though.

Another person I know is facing the task of moving his organization to agile and meeting some resistance from the fabled "crusty old C++ developer".

How do you get others to move to what you consider is a better method of programming?

Persistence? Wear them down over time? The best religion wins?

The problem is developers tend to form camps, often with religious overtones. It is very hard […]

1 Apr 2011

Science Proves It – Calgarians Are More “Manly”

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:37-06:00April 1st, 2011|Categories: Books and Courses, Current Events, Doug's Blog|

Fishing 20921941_m
I was recently reading an article in the Okotoks Western Wheel titled "Alberta's fish are on drugs". When put together with other information I have come across I came to a startling realization.

Calgarians (actually western Albertans) are manlier for a scientific reason; and it has nothing to do with the Calgary Stampede.

The Facts About Fish

People take birth control pills and other medications in large quantities. Our kidneys are very efficient at removing these chemicals from our bodies. People then use the um, ah, well facilities and […]

28 Mar 2011

Rejoicing in the Success of Others

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:41-06:00March 28th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

"Rather than being unhappy and hateful, we should rejoice in the success of others." Dalai Lama

This quote showed up courtesy of a Twitter feed. Whether or not the Dalia Lama actually said it is not point. This point hit home for me for three main reasons.

1. Personal Fulfillment

It is unlikely you will ever be truly happy if don't find happiness in seeing others grow and be happy.

This one is truly hard; especially if you are competitive or insecure by nature.

It is one thing to see your friends succeed and cheer them on, if you are doing just as […]

22 Mar 2011

Is Building A New Product A Dream?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:46-06:00March 22nd, 2011|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Is it your dream to launch a new product into the market? Are you looking for your dream job? Dream house? Are you dreaming of running a successful business?

Stop dreaming!

Actually, don't stop dreaming. Dreaming is good.

Stop "stopping" at dreaming.

Make your dreams real.

Dream, plan and take the action require to manifest it.

On two levels that is what our Manifast vision is about:

Building and shipping a useful software product (us),
Helping business owners manifest their dreams (us helping others).

It is not a just a dream. It is happening.

What is your dream?

21 Mar 2011

Decide What Your Show Is!

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-04T14:51:57-06:00March 21st, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog|

The other day I did a post about putting on your best show.

Before you can do that, you have to decide what show to put on.

A show is more than just your product or service.

It is the essence of who you are and how you want to impact the world.

It is how you choose to do that in a way that is unique and creative.

It is your art.

Decide what your show is. Then give everyone the best show possible.

19 Mar 2011

Always Give People Your Best Show

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:55-06:00March 19th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

Personal and business lessons are everywhere, even in the things you do as hobby or for fun.

I've mentioned before that I play Celtic music in couple of bands here in Calgary. One of those bands just completed a Saint Paddy's Day performance. We were the opening act, initially playing for a sparse crowd that then grew into a full house. It was also a noisy pub night environment; people drinking and talking with their friends.

One might be tempted to think people are not really watching and not put your full energy or talent into the show.

But this would be a mistake.

You Never […]

16 Mar 2011

Software Developer Extraordinaire

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:47:01-06:00March 16th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Software Development|

We are hiring some more technical people.

We have recently been readdressing things like mission, vision and culture. To me fulfilling live means a balance of achievement, relationships and fun.

So when I wrote the job description for a great developer, I decided to have some fun… and hopefully share some of that fun with our applicants (and anyone else who reads it).

This is the most fun I've had doing this and it reinforces the idea that work should be fun. Looking for lots more opportunities for that.

It is also a good opportunity to see what we think makes a great developer. So […]

12 Mar 2011

Getting 100% Employee Engagement

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:47:06-06:00March 12th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Leadership|

HR professionals (even enlightened ones) and business consultants often talk about the "fact" that employees generally are giving 80% effort and the having them fully engaged can bring them up to 100% plus (110% or 120%) effort. This gap is called discretionary effort and is the recipe for business success.

Our mission involves helping people (and thus businesses) acheive their full potential; so I am all over the idea in general. But, as with anything, you need to really understand what it means.

Defining Max Effort

To me 100% effort means holding back nothing; giving it your all. So what does someone mean when […]

7 Mar 2011

Infrastructure and Development Support Specialist – Opening

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-06T14:28:59-06:00March 7th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Software Development, Technology|

Sunwapta Solutions is in growth mode and hiring people for our Calgary location.

The job title is negotiable. The outcomes we want to achieve are not.

We are looking for someone to work closely with our development team to drive out the architecture and support our hosting environments, look after our internal infrastructure, help support the applications and databases, and provide support to our developers.

The full description is available in the careers section of our company website.

(We will also be looking for a software developer in the very near future.)

6 Mar 2011

A Better Method For Hiring

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:47:15-06:00March 6th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams|

We are back in hiring mode. But we are also changing the way we think about hiring.

Traditionally, companies write a short description of of the job followed by a list of the essential knowledge and skills. Potential employees don't get a lot of details about what is expected of them until the interview and post-hiring phase.

It is also difficult to tell if there is a match between the company's mission and culture and the potential employee. For instance, you may be told that a company is in the top 100 employers category. But what does that really mean? It certainly […]

dwagner

About Doug Wagner

The Facts About Fish

1. Personal Fulfillment

You Never […]

Defining Max Effort