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• Rules of Holes #5: Seek Help to Get Out of the Hole

  - by ArnieRowland

  You are moving along, doing good work, maintaining a steady pace. All seems to be going well for you. Then BAM!, a Hole just grabbed you. How the heck did that happen? What went wrong? How did you fall into a Hole? Definitely, you will want to do a post-mortem and try to tease out what misteps led you into the Hole. Certainly you will want to use this opportunity to enhance your Hole avoidance skills. But your first priority is to get out of this Hole right NOW.. Consider the Fifth Rule of Holes...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #4 -Do You Have the BIG Picture?

  - by ArnieRowland

  Some folks decry the concept of being in a 'Hole'. For them, there is no such thing as 'Technical Debt', no such thing as maintaining weak and wobbly legacy code, no such thing as bad designs, no such thing as under-skilled or poorly performing co-workers, no such thing as 'fighting fires', or no such thing as management that doesn't share the corporate vision. They just go to work and do their job, keep their head down, and do whatever is required. Mostly. Until the day they are swallowed by the...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #5: Seek Help to Get Out of the Hole

  - by ArnieRowland

  You are moving along, doing good work, maintaining a steady pace. All seems to be going well for you. Then BAM!, a Hole just grabbed you. How the heck did that happen? What went wrong? How did you fall into a Hole? Definitely, you will want to do a post-mortem and try to tease out what misteps led you into the Hole. Certainly you will want to use this opportunity to enhance your Hole avoidance skills. But your first priority is to get out of this Hole right NOW.. Consider the Fifth Rule of Holes...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #2: You Are Still in a Hole

  - by ArnieRowland

  OK. So you followed the First Rule of Holes -you stopped digging yourself in deeper. But now what? You are still in a Hole. Your situation has not changed much, but at least you are no longer making it worse. You need to redirect the digging effort into escape and avoidance efforts. The Hole has a singular purpose -consuming all of your time and effort. AND it has succeeded! But now you are going to redirect your efforts for your own survival. You have encountered the Second Rule of Holes: When you...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #7: Some Will Look Down on You.

  - by ArnieRowland

  I've been extoling the Rules of Holes, hoping to give you both courage to get out of your Hole, and solace for having allowed yourself to get in a Hole in the first place. How about the others, the folks that see that you are up to your neck, the folks that could guide you out, the folks that are secretly glad that it is you down in the Hole instead of them. So this brings us to Rules of Holes #7: When you are in a hole, some will look down on you. Only a few will offer their hand, and of those,...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #4: Do You Have the BIG Picture?

  - by ArnieRowland

  Some folks decry the concept of being in a 'Hole'. For them, there is no such thing as 'Technical Debt', no such thing as maintaining weak and wobbly legacy code, no such thing as bad designs, no such thing as under-skilled or poorly performing co-workers, no such thing as 'fighting fires', or no such thing as management that doesn't share the corporate vision. They just go to work and do their job, keep their head down, and do whatever is required. Mostly. Until the day they are swallowed by the...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #6: Don't Draw Others Into the Hole with You

  - by ArnieRowland

  In the Fifth Rules of Holes, you were encouraged to seek help from others in order to extricate youself from the Hole. And it should have been clear in that Rule that you want to seek out those that can actually help you. Not everyone, or just anyone, will be able to help you get out of a Hole. Hopefully, you have a mentor, or will take the opportunity to enlist a mentor. Just be selective. Being selective will help you with Rules of Holes #5: Drawing more people into the Hole with you is not likely...(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #3: A Better Shovel is NOT the Answer!

  - by ArnieRowland

  You stopped digging. You looked around and saw that you were still in the Hole. You needed to get out. AHA! Problem solved, you thought. You'll just get a better and more efficient shovel! I regret to tell you that the Third Rule of Holes applies: Switching to a more efficient shovel is unlikely to help you get out of the Hole . Yes, your resumed digging may be faster, more directed, and even well planned and articulated. But you will still be in the Hole, and digging. And that's just not the solution....(read more)

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• Rules of Holes #1: Stop Digging

  - by ArnieRowland

  You may have heard of the 'First Rule of Holes'. It goes something like this: " When you suspect you might be in a hole, stop digging. " That seems like obvious, and good advice, but what does it really mean? How does the Rule of Holes apply to you? How does it apply to your job? When things are not going right, stop doing the "same ol', same ol'" You find yourself involved in doing the same type of coding over and over. Maybe it's time to stop, step back, take a little time and learn something new....(read more)

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