GeekMBA360

I read a lot of books each year. But, my choice of the best career book of 2010 is easy. This book is enlightening because it explains to you the reality of corporate politics, and it teaches you how to play politics. I know this sounds cynical, un-ethical, and depressing. However, we’re all humans. We [...]

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I have been posting very infrequently since May because I started a new job. I left online advertising and returned to the E-commerce world. I really enjoy working in the e-commerce world. E-commerce is retail, low margin, and ultra competitive. But, I like the fact that I’m working with hard, tangible products. I’m actually selling [...]

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Jake called me yesterday morning. He informed me that he just gave notice to his boss. He was leaving his employer. Jack called me because I was one of his customers, and we had collaborated for the past three years. Jake was a member of the senior management team in his company. On the surface, [...]

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This year marks the tenth year of my career. In other words, not counting the two years of business school, I’ve been slaving away in Corporate America for a decade. Ten years is a long time. Life is short. Lately, I have been doing a lot of reflection and thinking about the past, present and [...]

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I’m going against the conventional wisdom. Job hopping is good for you if you can plan your moves strategically, Since I’m neither a USC Trojan fan nor a Tennessee Volunteer fan, I’m fairly indifferent about Lane Kiffin’s move from Tennessee to USC. From an ethical standpoint, I didn’t like how Lane Kiffin made empty promises [...]

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When I was an impressionable college student, I bought into the notion of "team work". As a computer science student, I did many projects in a team environment. I tried hard to be the team player, was willing to sacrifice for the team, and never hesitated to take on tedious tasks for the team. Professors, [...]

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I met Caleb my first day in college. Caleb was a sophomore while I was a freshmen. We ended up taking at least one class together every semester until Caleb graduated. I was a computer science major, and Caleb studied economics. But, computer was Caleb’s hobby since he was a little kid. So, he took [...]

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Have you wondered how performance reviews are conducted behind-the-scene? When I was an individual contributor, I bought into what management told me — setting SMART goals in the beginning of the year. Work hard throughout the year. Write thorough and insightful self-reviews and peer reviews. Get 360-degree feedback from colleagues. And I’ll get a review [...]

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  I started elementary school one and half years later than my peers. Although I finished all of the required classes in four years in college, I didn’t feel that I was ready for the real world. So, I stayed for one extra semester to take classes I enjoyed. (I paid for all of the [...]

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I had a chat with a friend yesterday. His company has suspended salary increase and bonus for 2009. But, the company would still conducted its annual performance review by the end of April. My friend was telling me that he wouldn’t spend much time on his review — "If I have a great review, I [...]

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