Professionalism
Do Ask, Do Tell
Pamela Slim tells us it’s not my employer’s fault if my creativity is repressed. “Freedom is not a state of employment. It is a state of mind.” On a related note, Liz Ryan in BusinessWeek online says, Don’t Be Afraid to Ask: Sometimes a seemingly innocent question uncovers a touchy subject. But it can also [...]
Be a Toxic Employee
If I knew two years ago how to be a toxic employee, the knowledge would have saved me much grief.
Taking Responsibility
Some say Software Engineers aren’t real engineers, because we can’t be sued. (Well, actually we can. Anyone can.) But even if it’s atypical, we can still behave as though we can. Anyhow, the risk of lawsuit isn’t what drives professionalism! Consider this story of “A Potentially Disastrous Design Error.” The risk of legal repercussions almost [...]
How to Accept a Resignation
I’ve resigned from a job only once. That doesn’t count the part-time jobs I had in high school and college. I also resigned from two of those, to go on to career-enhancing positions. But there was only one real job I resigned from, and only one I resigned from because I didn’t fit in.
How to Sell for Your Competitors
I didn’t know what category to put this one under, so I put it in four different ones. Jim Logan tells a story that I’ve seen too many times in real life. When you don’t have enough people buying your product, attending your function, or supporting your cause, what do you do? Scold, then beg. [...]