Dear Reader,
CodeWorks 09 Vital Stats
CodeWorks 09 day #: -4
Days till I see the Lovely and Talented Kathy:11
Cities left: 7
Miles Traveled: 0
Cups of Coffee: 0
Current Current City: London
Random Statistic of the day
People who have seen me practice “Design Patterns”: 2
Prep Work
My prep work last night consisted of having dinner with Derick Rethans. We talked about our sessions, the prep work we are doing. I like talking with Derick, Sebastian, Chris Shiflett and the hand full of other PHP community members that are every conference. They are unique because not only are their presentations technically educating, they do them enough so that they are also well polished. One day I hope I am good enough at my presentations as they are at theirs.
Random Thought:Training
It has been a long time since I attended a conference as an attendee. When I was working for Zend, I was either speaking or attending as Zend’s “Community Representative”. At Ibuildings, I attend conferences at which I speak. A long time ago though, I used to attend computer conferences to learn. So it is easy for me to forget that most of the people who will be at CodeWorks, don’t give a hoot about the dramas going on in the community or the perils of speaking at 7 cities in 14 days. They are there to learn things.
Training is something very interesting to me. I’m starting a training company, Box Lunch Training, to provide continuous and affordable training to every company who has PHP developers. I am also a trainer for Ibuildings delivering both beginner and advanced level training. Of course, I also speak at conferences delivering training to the attendees. Obviously, I feel training is important for developers. So important that I once told a friend, “A developer who hasn’t learned something new in the past six months is a paperweight.” Many companies however, see training as an expense. Usually it is considered a perk for developers and one that can be cut whenever money gets tight. Training however, doesn’t have to equate to spending money.
At the base level, training is nothing more than one developer sharing something they have learned with others. If you have more than one developer on your team, you can do some training of your own. If you have a team of 2 or more, consider setting up a cross-training program internally. Offer each team member one day a month to develop a 10-30 minute presentation on something technical. They shouldn’t be required to stick strictly to programming, let them talk about whatever topic they want as long as it’s a technical topic.
The small amount it costs you in salary will pay for itself handily as your developers will not only learn new techniques and tips but the process of sharing will help bring your team together and build esprit de corps.
OC-PHP
Hey! Ben Ramsey, myself and a couple of the other CodeWorks 09 speakers will be attending this months meeting of the OCPHP on September 24th. If you are in LA, please come by and see us.
Until next time,
Ich liebe dich meine liebste Kathy
=C=
