Three New Year’s Resolutions
Those of you who are regular readers of this column probably already know that I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. They set people up for failure by setting unrealistic expectations that only lead to disappointment and depression. But I am an advocate of managerial reflection, of taking a little time on a regular basis to think carefully about your role and how you fill it. So this year, I’d like to suggest a different approach to your New Year’s reflection. Instead of thinking about all the goals you want to achieve and things you want to do over the next...
Read MoreThe scourge of personal exceptionalism
With fair regularity, someone will ask me, “What is the single most important thing for a leader to do to be successful?” In other words, “What’s the secret to good management?” Of course, there’s no good answer. There are many paths to management success, and, sadly, none of them is particularly well trodden. But for every path to success, there seem to be at least 10 highways to failure, and traffic is always jammed on those. There’s no shortage of bad management and leadership out there. Dilbert is funny for good reason: Most of our bosses are,...
Read MoreWhat geeking-out will get you
At one time or another, most technical managers long to do technical work. For most of us, hands-on production dominated our early careers, and just as a yearning for youth reached out to me, technical work sends out a siren’s call to managers. But heeding the call of technical work endangers the careers of managers and the health of their projects. Why is this desire so common? I’ve got a few theories: A yearning to relive your glory days. Management generally doesn’t offer the same thrill of many early career successes. It’s hard to get the sense of accomplishment...
Read MoreThe MBA Infatuation
What’s An MBA Good For — Really? It seems that I get more questions about the MBA degree than any other career development topic. It appears to hold a uniquely prominent space in the minds of ambitious managers and would-be managers among the IT ranks. But the questions are usually of a rather black-and-white nature: Should I get one? Will it be good for my career? Will it be worth the money? Is it worth the time away from the workplace to do it full time? Are part-time MBA programs too hard to do while working full time? Is it worth going back for an executive MBA once I’m...
Read MoreWhat does your email say about you?
What Does Your Email Say About You? Every day, we send email to our colleagues and clients, but do you ever take a moment to think about what your messages really say about you? I’m not talking about the message that you’re trying to send to someone else, but what the form and format of your emails communicate unintentionally. Too often, little details left out or inadvertently included can suggest that you’re lazy, incompetent, inattentive, mistrustful, or unprofessional. Here’s my list of things to look out for in your email messages: 1. Spelling. Is everything...
Read MoreThree Pillars of Professionalism
Professionalism. It sounds like something that we all aspire to, like motherhood and apple pie. For each of us it conjures up images. For some, the kindly pediatrician in the white coat calmly dispensing sage advice, curative prescriptions and pastel-colored lollypops comes to mind. For others, it’s the confident Joe DiMaggio striding to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. For far fewer it is the family lawyer protecting against unseen legal exposure who fits the bill. But what does it mean to be an IT Professional? For doctors, accountants, and...
Read MoreThe Perils of Mistaking E-learning for E-ducation
At a conference I recently attended, a speaker billed as a “futurist” confidently predicted that within 10 years universities will be irrelevant and that corporations will control the entire educational system. In his view most education would be delivered through the Web in small 5-to-10 minute increments that can be easily digested at a desk in a cubicle. He wasn’t the first person I’ve heard make that claim, but what bothered me was that most of the audience seemed to bob their heads in agreement. “Oh yes,” they said, “Education will all move to...
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