Brian de Haaff's Blog, page 16
June 29, 2018
Aha! Named 2018 CODiE Award Finalist
We are proud of what we have built at Aha! — and people have started to take notice. Today I am thrilled to share that we have received more recognition from our peers in the software industry.
Aha! was voted as a finalist in the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) 2018 CODiE Awards.
The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards for the software and information industries. For more than 30 years, they have been recognizing product excellence in education and business technologi...
June 27, 2018
Aha! Cares: 5 Ways Our Remote Team Volunteers Together
What is your favorite memory from the past year? This is a question we ask every Aha! teammate on their work anniversary. (Or “Aha!-niversary,” as we like to call it.) You would expect people to fondly recall the beautiful locations where we hold our all-company meetings. But the favorite memory I hear the most is: “The time we got together to volunteer.”
We are a fully distributed company with teammates working from locations around the world.
So, how is it that our entirely remote team is...
June 19, 2018
6 Questions to Ask in an Interview for a Remote Job
I believe in remote work. Big shock, right? But I have a secret — it is actually not a deep passion point for me. You do not find me on the speaker circuit pushing the idea that it will save the world. Sure, I have written a lot about the topic on this blog and elsewhere. And yes, I founded a company with an entirely distributed team. But I did not set out to become a remote work champion. Let me explain.
Having a distributed workforce was not the goal at Aha! — it is the means by which we ac...
June 13, 2018
The Founder’s Paradox: How to Promote for Achievement and Not Tenure
The word “promote” is interesting in a subtle way. It can mean different things depending on the context. Advancing in rank or placement. Contributing to growth or increasing awareness. Even presenting something for acceptance. When you think about it within the context of professional development, all of these come into play.
But look closely at those definitions — you do not see career longevity or tenure in the mix.
Sure, in many dysfunctional organizations, how long you have been there or...
June 12, 2018
How to Avoid Team Chaos When Your Product Plans Change
Let’s set the scene. Your team is prepping for a major product launch. Marketing has been working on the go-to-market activities for weeks. Sales has been teasing the new functionality with customers. And engineering has been polishing the experience. Then the worst scenario — two days before launch, a major bug is revealed. A stop-everything-you-are-doing kind of bug.
It will take days to fix. No way the launch will happen on time. You get busy hustling and rallying the product team around w...
June 7, 2018
The Founder’s Paradox: How to Sell When You Have No Salespeople
“Hi there, this is Fred from X!7ZO…” So glad I answered the phone because I cannot wait to be sold to, thought no one ever. But when you walk into a store, browse a website, or call up a company looking for a service, this is exactly what happens — you just hope you can find the info you need and avoid a sales pitch.
Why are we still doing this to each other? I say, stop selling.
Traditional selling (by which I mean company representatives whose financial compensation directly correlates wi...
June 4, 2018
5 Signs a Product Manager Is Operating in the Dark
Do you like scavenger hunts? Searching all over can be a fun game for kids. But when it comes to product management — well, hunting for clues to understand what is happening is not nearly as delightful. And unfortunately, I hear from many product builders that your teams are spending too much time tracking things down.
Many product teams are working in this kind of darkness. It is a painful truth.
It is especially painful because the market challenges that product teams face today are increa...
May 30, 2018
How This CEO Prioritizes Employee Joy
Last December, I met up with a group of awesome people in Laguna Beach, CA. We ran along the beach together. Shared personal stories that made us laugh and cry. Ate some good food. Even spent time volunteering for local organizations. No, this was not a vacation with my oldest friends — it was the Aha! semi-annual company meeting. And it is one of the many reasons that this is one of the best places to work.
Am I biased? Maybe a little — but this is not just my personal opinion.
Last week, I...
May 22, 2018
Why You Need a Strategic IT Roadmap
“IT manages technology and projects — not customer experiences.” Have you heard this before? Not lately, I hope. Most companies are taking on major initiatives to focus all teams on customer experience. Not just customer-facing groups. Of course, this focus requires big changes in mindset and approach in departments across the organization, including both internal- and external-facing teams.
For IT, the question becomes — how do you guarantee technology is serving the company’s vision for cu...
May 21, 2018
How Office Workers Are (Accidentally) Bullying Remote Workers
Bullies are easy to despise. Loud. Blustering. Obnoxious. Willing to do or say anything to get their way. Especially in movies, these heels are easy to root against and we cheer when the hero overcomes a small-minded jerk. But in the workplace, this kind of behavior is more nuanced. Remote workers know this all too well — as they are often subjected to unfair treatment by in-office colleagues.
Is it hyperbole to say that some office workers are bullying remote teammates (maybe without even kn...
