"there are a lot of folks who think gamification means pulling the worst aspects out of games and shoving them into an application. It’s not. Don’t think of gamification as anything other than clever strategies to motivate someone to learn so they can have fun being productive."

"When an engineer becomes a lead or a manager, they create a professional satisfaction gap. They’ve observed this gap long before they became a lead with the question: “What does my boss do all day? I see him running around like something is on fire, but… what does he actually do?” The question gets personal when the now freshly minted manager begins to understand that life as a lead is an endless list of little things that collectively keep you busy, but, in aggregate, don’t feel much like progress.

The positive feedback an engineer receives in the Zone is the sensation that you literally performed magic. From the complete problem set in your mind combined with your weapons-grade focus, you build a thing that you immediately recognize as disproportionately valuable. And you see this value instantaneously - that’s the high.

I believe that leads and managers are forever chasing the high associated with the Zone, but rarely achieve them because their job responsibilities are in direct contradiction to the requirements to achieve it. We often lack the time to have the intimate knowledge of a problem space because we rarely have 10-15 minutes free to consider it."

Rands' advice for what to do when you realize the sky is falling on your head.

Rands shares some tips for making your presentations the best they can be.

Fantastic test to gauge how healthy your company and team are.

Rands writes about the different types of conferences. It's always about the people.

Great insight into an off-site by Rands.

Rands writes about the full screen and desktop transition changes in Lion.

Rands writes about the three layers of a Mac OS X desktop.

Another solid essay from Rands on motivation, boredom, and why managers should keep coding.

"DNA is an organizational cue to everyone that all forms of leadership matter."

Rands writes about how to handle people you have a fundamental communication disconnect with.

Rands writes about how the summer internship game works.

"We’re addicted quick fixes, top ten lists, and four-hour work weeks, but the truth is - if it wasn’t hard, everyone would be doing it and a hard thing is never done by reading a list or a book or an article about doing it. A hard thing is done by figuring out how to start."

The different super powers you might encounter (or be) in management.

Rands does a masterful interview with Instapaper founder Marco Arment.

"These habits are designed to create unexpected moments with Signal. Each moment with Signal is a moment that you’re killing the Noise and they exist so you remember what it feels like to care rather than just do."

Rands' tips for managing nerds in the workplace.

Rands' seven precious books and what they mean to him.

Cool analysis of Instagram from Rands.

Rands maps out a conversation.

"The art of the connection is the end result of a nerd’s highly obsessive due diligence performed on anything that falls into the relevant bucket."

Scott Berkun interviews Michael Lopp about his new book, "Being Geek."

Michael Lopp's ideas about running a meeting.

Rands has a new book out. Sounds like a good one.

Rands talks about how to write a book and the process it necessitates.

"In a world where whomever is screaming the loudest sound bite is considered to be providing information, I think the act of chilling out is essential."

The three pillars of software and business.