PRESSING

THE BIG SCARY RED

RESET BUTTON

DANIEL DOUBROVKINE (A K A DB.)

#NYCTOSCHOOL @DBLOCKDOTORG – DBLOCK@DBLOCK.ORG

CTO SCHOOL NYC / MAY 2012

HOW DO WE REALLY

FEEL ABOUT RESETS?

consequence of failure

failed to focus

failed at market fit

hacked with friends

failed to execute technology

failed to hire enough hands

failed to deliver in a timeframe

failed to fit a budget

failed to cut losses failed to convince

ADDED DRAMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=316AzLYfAzw

• slam the brakes

• change wings in-flight

• stop the hemorrhage

• jump from a sinking ship

• escape a train wreck

• stop flogging a dead horse

EXHIBIT 1: MICROSOFT

WINDOWS LONGHORN VISTA

• Development Begins in 2001

• “Longhorn” ETA 2003, btw. “Whistler” & “Blackcomb”

• Another “Cairo”?

• Reset in 2004 on top of Windows Server 2003

• Alchin in WSJ: “Longhorn was crashing into the ground.”

• In 2004 Developers no longer cared

• Ships 2006 as Vista, major fail

EXHIBIT 2: MICROSOFT

OFFICE ’98 & NETDOCS

• Windows Hawks vs. Internet Doves

• Office 98 Team Walked to be Netdocs, reset and shipped

• Netdocs 1 in Java, effectively an Office reset

• Netdocs 2 reset in C++

• Netdocs 3 reset as a Service

• Spent 500M$ over 4 years, 500 devs

• Canned in 2001

• Technology folded into Office

100% SAY THEY ARE

CONSEQUENCE OF A

FAILURE SURVEYED TWO DOZEN PROJECTS

4/10 HAVE A LARGE

SUNK COST

7/10 FACED STRONG

OPPOSITION

2/10 BLAME PURE

PRODUCT FAILURE

3/10 BLAME PURE TECH

FAILURE

2/10 BLAME PEOPLE

FAILURE

2/10 BLAME FAILURE ALL

AROUND

4/10 RESETS LEAD

TO FAILURE

100% OF PROJECTS

THAT WEREN’T

RESET FAILED

3/10 RESETS LEAD

TO SUCCESS

PRESSING RESET IS

ALWAYS THE RIGHT

THING TO DO* * PROVIDED YOU’RE 100% SURE THE PROJECT IS FAILING

PRESSING RESET IS

ALWAYS THE RIGHT

THING TO DO*

* PROVIDED YOU’RE 100% SURE THE PROJECT IS FAILING

• Find Truth-Sayers

• Measure Value vs. Cost

• Don’t be a Chicken

US AND THEM

RESETS CAN BE A SMART

CAREER MOVE

RESETS CAN BE A DUMB

CAREER MOVE

7/10 FACE STRONG

OPPOSITION

• Act Now

• Invest Into Trust Capital

• Double or Nothing

• Split Execute

• Underpromise and Overdeliver

PEOPLE TEND TO

FORGET HOW BAD IT

WAS BEFORE A RESET

• No Place for Heroes

• This is Your Job

FOSTER A CULTURE OF

FREQUENT BUT SMALLER

RESETS

• Everything is an Experiment

• Embrace Change

• Underpromise and Overdeliver

• Stop at the Top

100 % OF RESETS

ARE CONSEQUENCES OF

FAILURE

QUESTIONS?

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twitter: @dblockdotorg

blog: http://code.dblock.org

email: dblock@dblock.org

slides on slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/dblockdotorg