Jack Rennie
Hey, thanks for stopping by.I'm a 46 year old father of three who outwardly looks like he has it all. Lovely wife, family, house, and job.But I'm not sure that the job part of the equation stacks up for me anymore.You see, I became a Software Engineer because I loved solving problems.But now I'm in a senior management position (Head of Engineering) I don't feel like I'm solving the kind of problems I originally signed up for.Excel spreadsheets just aren't me.The one part of the job I do love is helping people.Helping them become the best version of themselves.And I wonder if that is something I should lean into further.So, I'm writing about the things that interest me in the hope that it will help you too.Below are a few of the things that I am currently working on.
wfbeginner.com
We've all been there. You've created an amazing webflow site for your client and handed it over, but they struggle to use it. Its an overhead that eats into the profit of creating the site.wfbeginner.com is the place for clients to learn how to use webflow admin.
startlearning.shop
Starting out using Shopify can be daunting. Our curated view of the best tutorials, courses and news means you can level up fast.
zebras.io
Knowing what apps to use in your Shopify store is never easy. Things are changing all the time and new apps are always appearing. Zebras is the place the best curated reviews, tips and news for Shopify apps.
wfscripts.com
Nothing levels up your Webflow skills like learning how to use scripts within your sites. Our curated tutorials and tips gets you moving.
gentlemanhacker.io
I write about my journey building out my different ideas. From Saas to newsletters I have a lot itches I want to scratch and as I do that, hopefully you can learn from me along the way.
56north.io
We're a web development agency that specialises in working with large brand agencies. We are you're technology partner meaning you never have to worry about being overbooked again because you can call on us knowing you will get quality work delivered on time.
flowbundle.com
Anyone who has built sites using other technologies knows that bundling your javascript has lots of advantages. We show you the best way to do this with Webflow and make it easy with our flowbundle command line tool.
thoughts.so
Capturing all the great ideas you find in podcasts, youtube videos and articles on the web hard. Just bookmarking them means they are doomed to stay hidden forever. Thoughts, helps you distill the main ideas that resonate with you so you can store them in your own PKM or directly in our app.
automation.fm
Most small businesses are missing out on the 10x opportunity that AI and automation provides. Our curated tutorials, tips and news will help you understand where it can fit into you business today.
getsmarturls.com
As a creator, we want to be in control of our urls. Whether we're using them on our websites, in our newsletters or ebooks we want to make sure they can be updated when we need them to be.When we're sending our visitors to other interesting websites we want to provide CTA's back to our site or even show interstitial ads on the way to these sites.getsmarturls.com lets us do all of these things and much more.
barfly.dev
Bars are changing. What customers expect is changing.
If you're not using the latest technology on your bars website to engage your customer, provide them with innovative ways to make reservations and generally delight them you are being left behind.
We are an industry newsletter that helps keep you up to date with the latest trends in bar technology.
56north.io
We're a web development agency that specialises in working with large brand agencies. We are you're technology partner meaning you never have to worry about being overbooked again because you can call on us knowing you will get quality work delivered on time.
gentlemanhacker.io
I write about my journey building out my different ideas. From Saas to newsletters I have a lot itches I want to scratch and as I do that, hopefully you can learn from me along the way.
myfriendmax.com
Owning a dog is fun. Making sure you are looking after your new best friend can be daunting though. Our curated tutorials, tips and advice makes things easy for you.
Travelling with Kids Guides
My wife and I love to travel with our kids. Each trip is different though. Not only are we going to different places, but as our kids grow, what they want and need changes. By writing about our experiences, I hope you can learn from our successes (and mistakes) so that you can enjoy travel with your kids as much as us.
Weightloss Guide
The internet is awash with weightloss guides, I know this...But I wanted to share my story in the hope that it could inspire or help others.You see, I've struggled with being overweight almost my entire adult life. I've tried all the diets. I've read pretty much everything there is to read about weightloss.Now in my late 40's I feel like I've finally cracked the code and I want to help others benefit.The thing is, its not actually that difficult and some modest changes to your life can make all the difference.In this guide, I break down what hasn't worked for me and why and then go into detail on the things that have worked.
Journaling Guide
I used to watch my dad journal growing up. It interested me. The fact he had a section in his wardrobe for old diaries and the fact he could on demand look back to what was happening on the 13th October 5 years previous was cool.
So I would always say to myself that I should do that too.
And then didn't.
Until one day feeling pretty low during a covid lockdown, I decided to write down my thoughts in a journal. It was weird, but I felt like it helped me. Getting thoughts out of my head and down in a journal was therapeutic.
I went from thinking about journaling as a way to record what mundane things were happening in a day to understanding the power of it.
I wanted to know more about it. I read about how profound an impact it has had on others too.
As I journaled more and read more about it, I developed my own way of journalling. Its a mish mash of what has worked for other people that I've read about, but the fact is it works for me so I want to share it in the hope it ( or a tailored version of it ) can work for you too.
A Managers Guide To Coaching
Being a manager of people is tough. When I first took a role where I was a line manager, I wasn't prepared for it at all.Over time though, I think I've got ok at it. At least the feedback I get from people who work with me makes me think that.I've learned a lot about people during this time as well as whats expected of being a manager.You see when you are Software Engineer, knowing whether you are doing it right is easier to understand. As a manager, the shift in what is expected of you is surprisingly large.I created this guide to help people who find themselves walking a similar path to the one I did. My hope is that you can find your stride in the role quicker than I did by using what I've learned the hard way.
A Blueprint For Truly Flexible Working
March 2020 brought working from home to the forefront and many of us embraced it for the opportunities it provided. For me it allowed more time with my kids and for that I will always be grateful.Most major enterprises are currently trying to rein back on the WFH policies that were forced upon them because of covid. The problem they are facing though, is employees liked the flexibility and aren't prepared to just accept a mandate to go back to the office.This glimpse of flexibility has set work as we have known it for the last 100 plus years on a path of self-destruction. Ultimately the winners in the next 100 years will be organisations who realise this the fastest and embrace true flexibility.This is my blueprint for what I think the future of work can be.
What Makes A Good 121
I see it happen so often, particularly in software engineering.
People have line management responsibilities thrust upon them without any preparation and then struggle.
It creates a negative experience for both the new line manager and their new direct report.
I too was in this position about 10 years ago and I don't want to see you have to go through the same pain as me.
I created this guide so that you can learn from my mistakes and start having great 121's much quicker than I did.
Not only will it make them enjoyable, but it will put you in the top 1% of managers in your organisation as the vast majority are in the same position as you right now, but they just stumble through each 121 while you are learning the stills to be great.