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…
Category: Executives
Rule 19: Every C-3PO needs an R2-D2
Editors note 2/4/24This was originally written somewhere between 2008 and 2011 and aged so poorly that I had to rewrite it – if for no other reason than most of my current co-workers don’t have any fondness for the most important franchise of my youth. ===== I’m going to incorrectly assume for the sake of…
Rule 16: Never give a date for things beyond your control
“When will the project complete?” I hate this question and I bet you do too. If it’s some document or presentation you need to create – that is simple enough. Take whatever you are comfortable with and add 20-30% on top of whatever you were going to say. If you need to work harder or…
Rule 14: A Pro values trust over honesty
Lot’s of people say that “honesty” is the key to a good relationship. This is false. You introduce me to a guy who is “honest” in his relationship, and I’ll introduce you to his crying, insecure wife. And vice versa – I don’t want my wife to tell me how she would love to bang my…