Julie hates to work with Adam. They are the polar opposite of each other. Julie is outgoing, passionate, aggressive, go-getter, detailed oriented, and widely popular. Adam is introverted, insightful, absent minded, and socially awkward. Julie is a star in the company, and her career has been progressing very well. Adam is competent, but he tended […]
Entries Tagged as 'Frustration@Work'
I’m done with him!
April 9th, 2011 · No Comments
Tags: Frustration@Work · Management
What is HR’s most important role?
January 31st, 2011 · No Comments
Some folks are going to disagree with me on this post. Based on my experience on both ends (as an employee and as a manager who frequently works with human resource professionals), I believe that HR’s most important role is to make sure the company does not get sued. There are complex regulations and laws […]
Tags: Career Fast Track · Frustration@Work · Management
360 Feedback and Self Awareness
December 12th, 2010 · No Comments
Fellow blogger and venture capitalist Brad Feld had a very interesting post on his blog: The Power of a CEO 360 Review. I had to admit that I hadn’t been a big fan of performance reviews in any shape or form in the past. In fact, one of the most popular articles on this blog […]
Tags: Frustration@Work · Learning and Growing · Management
The awkward role of product management in online advertising network companies
April 28th, 2010 · 1 Comment
I don’t envy any product management professional who work for any of the online advertising networks. There are tremendous amount of hype in the online advertising network industry. But, I’m going to make a controversial statement today: most ad networks are ad agency in disguise. They’re essentially ad agency for the digital world. Two groups […]
Tags: Frustration@Work · Product Management
Is this ethical? Or even legal?
February 20th, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Secret of Profitability (SOP) is a high profile start-up in the Silicon Valley. It’s "high profile" because it has two of the most famous venture capitalists on earth sitting on its board. it had received $100 million in venture funding. its senior management consists of super stars from major internet companies such as Google […]
Tags: Frustration@Work · Start-up Success
You should be ready to leave immediately
February 19th, 2010 · 1 Comment
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, […]
Tags: Corporate Ladder · Frustration@Work
Quit early, and quit fast
January 6th, 2010 · 1 Comment
After I graduated from business school, I took a job at a medium sized Internet company in Southern California. I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area at that time. So, I packed my belongs and drove to the L.A. area. For some reasons, instead of finding an apartment, I chose to stay in […]
Tags: Frustration@Work
Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful
December 18th, 2009 · 4 Comments
"Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful." — The Art of War, Sun Tzu. Jack is a hard working software developer. Like many of us, he works for a highly dysfunctional organization. He is part of a major software project […]
Tags: Frustration@Work
Is team work overrated in corporate environment?
September 11th, 2009 · No Comments
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, […]
Tags: Corporate Ladder · Frustration@Work
Don’t get stuck
September 9th, 2009 · No Comments
I met a very unusual shuttle driver last Thursday. It was time for me to bring in my car for a regular maintenance service. Like many auto repair shops, this particular auto shop provided a shuttle ride to where I worked while they worked on my car. The shuttle driver was a lady in her […]
Tags: Frustration@Work · Learning and Growing