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a) Stop caring about being right b) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/21/how_to_get_paid_more/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/21/how_to_get_paid_more.

a) Stop caring about being right b) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/21/how_to_get_paid_more/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/21/how_to_get_paid_more... -- read this c) It's fine to say no, or it's wrong, or whatever, but always have a positive and enthusiastic solution for whatever's wrong. Being blocked by a bureaucratic organization? Have a work-around that you offer straight away!

cmdrfred 10y ago
>The first thing you get wrong is spending too much time on things no one sees. No one really cares if you’ve made the backup process run 50 per cent faster unless it’s stopping work, so don't waste your time on this until some politically powerful person or business unit asks. That’s a tactic: the full methodology you should adopt for all your work is Continuous Visible Productivity (CVP). Plan your work in terms of things other people can see; forget agile dependency modelling, GANTT, etcetera and prioritise with respect to how many useful people see the result. Is this why every web app I see from a large organization flat out sucks?(2 megs of js to do a single post request, I'm looking at you ADP) It probably works in the corporate world, but damn that's depressing.
- mahyarm 10y ago
  You have to make the metric visible then. Put a "average web request size", "average time to load webpage", "average time to load in region X". Show how speed = $$$ & bring up how google saving microseconds in search lead to much higher revenues. Then it becomes part of CVP.
monk_e_boy 10y ago
It took me a long time to figure out that you don't get paid to do work, you get paid to do work AND get on with people. I found my life became far easier when I took five minutes to talk to people about their kids, pets, work, spouses etc. Make a cup of coffee for the team, get one for your boss before a meeting. Bring in some cookies and doughnuts. Hell, turn up to work 30 minutes late with cookies everyone is pleased to see you. I read "how to make friends and influence people".... it didn't change my life, but it's good to remember what my mum would call 'good manners' trumps 100% productivity.
- DanBC 10y ago
  > It took me a long time to figure out that you don't get paid to do work, you get paid to do work AND get on with people. In many places work is defined as "what the boss wants, even if that's really stupid". Life is easier if you can accept doing dumb stuff is part of the job, or if you just leave and get another job.
  - monk_e_boy 10y ago
    And when layoffs come knocking with almost equal skilled workers and half the team have to go? The boss is going to keep his friends or people he likes. I've seen so many ass-lickers who treat the boss to a round of golf get the promotion because 'they are keen'
afarrell 10y ago
> stop caring about being right This is either bad advice, or poorly phrased. There are many domains where being right actually really does matter. Engineering is one of them. But being right is very very different than getting the last word. It involves a lot more listening.
- wccrawford 10y ago
  > stop caring about being right There's 2 ways to take this statement. The first is the way you took it, in that you care to only say things that are correct. However, most people (especially "toxic" ones) are more focused on not being proven wrong than on being correct in the first place. "Being right" to them is having everyone think they're right, even if they're actually wrong. They eventually show their attitude by saying things like, "He never implements my ideas." or "He doesn't take my ideas seriously."
  - afarrell 10y ago
    The third way is to be willing to say things that are incorrect, collaborating with someone else to come to a more correct understanding.

cmdrfred 10y ago

>The first thing you get wrong is spending too much time on things no one sees. No one really cares if you’ve made the backup process run 50 per cent faster unless it’s stopping work, so don't waste your time on this until some politically powerful person or business unit asks. That’s a tactic: the full methodology you should adopt for all your work is Continuous Visible Productivity (CVP). Plan your work in terms of things other people can see; forget agile dependency modelling, GANTT, etcetera and prioritise with respect to how many useful people see the result. Is this why every web app I see from a large organization flat out sucks?(2 megs of js to do a single post request, I'm looking at you ADP) It probably works in the corporate world, but damn that's depressing.

mahyarm 10y ago
You have to make the metric visible then. Put a "average web request size", "average time to load webpage", "average time to load in region X". Show how speed = $$$ & bring up how google saving microseconds in search lead to much higher revenues. Then it becomes part of CVP.

monk_e_boy 10y ago

It took me a long time to figure out that you don't get paid to do work, you get paid to do work AND get on with people. I found my life became far easier when I took five minutes to talk to people about their kids, pets, work, spouses etc. Make a cup of coffee for the team, get one for your boss before a meeting. Bring in some cookies and doughnuts. Hell, turn up to work 30 minutes late with cookies everyone is pleased to see you. I read "how to make friends and influence people".... it didn't change my life, but it's good to remember what my mum would call 'good manners' trumps 100% productivity.

DanBC 10y ago
> It took me a long time to figure out that you don't get paid to do work, you get paid to do work AND get on with people. In many places work is defined as "what the boss wants, even if that's really stupid". Life is easier if you can accept doing dumb stuff is part of the job, or if you just leave and get another job.
- monk_e_boy 10y ago
  And when layoffs come knocking with almost equal skilled workers and half the team have to go? The boss is going to keep his friends or people he likes. I've seen so many ass-lickers who treat the boss to a round of golf get the promotion because 'they are keen'

afarrell 10y ago

> stop caring about being right This is either bad advice, or poorly phrased. There are many domains where being right actually really does matter. Engineering is one of them. But being right is very very different than getting the last word. It involves a lot more listening.

wccrawford 10y ago
> stop caring about being right There's 2 ways to take this statement. The first is the way you took it, in that you care to only say things that are correct. However, most people (especially "toxic" ones) are more focused on not being proven wrong than on being correct in the first place. "Being right" to them is having everyone think they're right, even if they're actually wrong. They eventually show their attitude by saying things like, "He never implements my ideas." or "He doesn't take my ideas seriously."
- afarrell 10y ago
  The third way is to be willing to say things that are incorrect, collaborating with someone else to come to a more correct understanding.