4 ms·

There's no real alternative offered here. I understand there's a whole 'open' and 'small' world out there and I can learn lessons from my peers, but if I'm not

• blakesterz 13y ago
  I think there is an alternative offered here, it's just rather buried in there, I had to read it a couple times to find. I think these to bits of advice are pretty good: "Today, success requires a modern perspective on the industry and actively managing your skills and relationships." "Your loyalty must lie with your own career in the industry where you've chosen to work."
  • phoen 13y ago
    The dog-eat-dog one-person band?
    • AdrianRossouw 13y ago
      no, it's pretty clearly not about that. It's about being a good co-worker, because that's what gets you ahead in the end.
    • analog31 13y ago
      In my view, to a considerable extent, the work environment created by following Welch's management methods, turned each of us into a dog-eat-dog one-person-band even within the mainstream organization.
• AdrianRossouw 13y ago
  learning, doing, telling people about it. making friends, finding mentors, teaching others. I think this is why open source is becoming the new programmer's resume. It is kind of the intersection of all those things. None of this precludes working hard either, just for who and why you are doing it.
• tejay 13y ago
  This appears to be an older post, but I think what the original author meant was that hard work alone isn't a sufficient condition for success (I'd argue it is a necessary one, though). The real answer is there probably isn't a sufficient condition for success, but hard work in pursuit of your own goals (rather a manager's) increases the likelihood of a positive outcome. Still, I'd have gone a step further. 'Career' is such a false construction. Go do fun shit and get really good at it. Maybe I'm naively optimistic, but if you're really good at something, it's pretty easy to get paid (a lot) for it.
  • danbruc 13y ago
    Hard work is not important, good results are. That's a very different thing.
    • jes 13y ago
      I think hard work is a necessary precursor to good results. Although, that hard work may not be of the kind most people associate with office work of the past.
      • danbruc 13y ago
        Fair point, hard work is not well-defined. I interpreted and meant it in the sense of throwing a lot of working hours at the problem. And I think this is not necessary for good results and may actually be counterproductive in some cases.
      • wrongc0ntinent 13y ago
        For my part, I think so is boredom.
    • judk 13y ago
      That's non-responsive. We know what the deaired outputs are. The question is what are the necessary inputs.
      • 13y ago
• zanny 13y ago
  If you work hard for your boss they laugh their way to the bank paying you the same flat salary and pocketing the profits of your labors. To get there eventually (sadly?) you have to plan to get out from under others siphoning your productivity like that. Because the modern corporate culture has shifted to taking advantage of the best, rather than empowering them. Mostly because there is a surplus of (skilled) labor in most industries. If there wasn't, your boss would be treating you better because you are a scarce resource they don't want to lose because its either expensive or time consuming to replace. And like the article says, "working hard" isn't invaluable.
• zenbowman 13y ago
  Work hard for your boss, but learn to, and intentionally practice communicating your work to a wider audience, so you are not tied to the fate of your boss or company. Speak at meetups, conferences, take an active role in mentoring, and develop meaningful relationships with peers in other companies so that when you want to move, its easy to do so.
  • Ixiaus 13y ago
    Contributing or producing your own oss software too. Writing your thoughts and experiences in a blog our book too.