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 one letter from his real name. This is the true story of how Mancy introduced himself to the company. Mancy walks into a conference room packed with developers, product managers and…
Author: Duncan Zaves
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 the brief moment of an 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 a stereotyped persona. For some, this first impression is 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 was on the chopping block. I was torn. I had two smart employees I wasn’t getting the best out of, and a third employee that worked his…
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….