Once upon a time, a dysfunctional company in NY hired a new VP of Marketing. I’m going to call him Mancy, because that is only a one letter change from his real name. This is the very true story of how Mancy introduced himself. Mancy walks into a conference room packed with developers, product managers and…
Rule 38: Work politics is chess, not checkers
The higher you climb in an organization, the more you need to think through each person’s motivations. Most people are very self-serving, as they should be. We aren’t working in a utopia – we are being paid. Everyone you interact with is building a career, influence, and ultimately power and job security. If you play…
Rule 64: Pros shake hands like they mean it
In a brief moment of introduction, both people have created (whether they know it or not) a construction of the other in their minds – made up of their gut instinct, past experiences and small bits of truth – all wrapped up into an easily stereotyped persona. For some, these first impressions are the only…
Rule 35: You can’t teach smart and you can’t fix stupid
The first time I ever managed a team, my company wound up in the unfortunate position of needing a 20% Reduction in Force (RIF). One of my team must be let go. I was torn. I had two very smart employees who I wasn’t getting the best out of, and a third employee that worked…
Rule 41: A Pro dresses up on casual Friday
To an executive, this is how you look Monday through Thursday, milling about with your peers: To an executive, this is how you look on Friday, dressed awesome when the schlubs around you are looking “casual”: You’re welcome. ——-Author Update in 2024: This was originally written in 2012. The pandemic changed a lot of things….