Hi, I'm Allen Pike. I run Steamclock, where we design and develop nice apps in beautiful Vancouver. At least monthly, I write an article and publish it here.
Beyond Optimism
On a mindset for doing hard things.
We’re often called on to consider future events. While you may endeavour to be a realist – evaluating what may come based on the facts and odds – the future is inherently uncertain. Whether we like it or not, gut judgement drives a lot of how we anticipate and prepare...
The Burgeoning Need for Focus
How increasing resources can decrease effectiveness.
One of the core building blocks of effectiveness is focus. Much of leadership training, business strategy, executive coaching, and personal development comes down to focus: how do we choose what to focus on, and how do we stay focused on it? One of the reasons startups and small indie teams...
Fresh Air Life
On getting out in the rain.
Many of us live in a place that has weather. While weather has certain benefits, it presents us with an annual challenge. Each year, at a certain time, the weather gets worse. Warmth gives way to rain. Long days give way to short. The dark closes in. When this happens,...
Fight for Outside Perspective
The case of too many team meetings.
To build a product, you need to talk to people. You need to talk to potential customers, and to potential employees. People whose expertise you could use, and people who could use yours. Any leader that isn’t getting outside perspective is going to eventually get stuck. Unfortunately, with our own...
The Persistent Gravity of Cross Platform
Coordinating a large product org is hard.
Agilebits recently caused a stir with their announcement that they’ve rewritten 1Password 8 as a cross-platform Electron app, replacing their well-loved native Mac app. The takes came hot and fast. Like many developers, I love and appreciate a well-crafted native UI, and I’ve been somewhat skeptical of the consistent trend...
How to Write Docs People Read
On the power of a guide.
I like to write. Well, I like to have written. And I especially like when people read what I’ve written, and find it useful. It brings me joy. Writing useful things also helps me do my job. When you’re growing a team, you only get so far on oral tradition,...
Amazing Atelic Activities
On doing things for the doing.
Early in one’s life, it’s easy to be driven by goals. Pass the test, get the grade. Get a job, buy a car. Get into university, finish university. Get married, have a kid. There are a lot of things to do! While the specific goals vary from person to person,...
The Teams You Worked on May Have Sucked
On who we compare ourselves to.
As we grow at Steamclock – we’re now at 14 and hiring our 15th – we’re getting more intentional about how we do things. I worry less about how to do the work, and more about how to build the team and our processes. Which is great. But it’s a...
Should You Build a Mobile App? →
I talk to a lot different companies about their mobile app plans. Sometimes they have a really compelling business case for an app. Sometimes getting a quality app their customers’ hands is the key to supercharging their business, and is something that will pay dividends for years. More often, it...
Books Are a Seed You Can Plant
Why every diet could use the occasional book.
For most of my life, I rarely read books. I’m a pretty high-energy person, but a rather slow reader. Ever since I grew into an Extremely Online teenager, books have felt a bit… sluggish. Less informative, per hour invested, than the alternatives. Low density. I’ve always loved the idea of...
Remote Hiring at Steamclock →
I’ve spent the last year trying to decide if Steamclock should go all-remote, or if we’re better off going back to all-in-office. Both options have substantial upsides! And both avoid the dreaded “hybrid” meetings with half the team in a conference room and half on Zoom. I feel a bit...
An Iterative Workflow for Attention
My current OmniFocus setup, and why it works.
I am not instinctually a planner. In school, I didn’t keep a todo list, or even a calendar. I would make the occasional list, but for the most part I was a “we’ll do it live” sort of person. And sometimes that served me well! And other times it didn’t....