At one of my jobs, they had a lot of online courses you could take. One of them, which I have found helpful to this day, was how to communicate with different levels of your company. The short read on that hour long course was that the higher you go up in management, the less it should be about details and the more high level and strategic it gets. Let them ask questions if they like. The developer is gonna wanna know the exact requirement for a change, the EVP is gonna wanna know the business value for the change, maybe the cost, and how soon it’s going out the door. Also, kinda obvious, but be more and more careful with what you assert as fact as you go up higher. Because the mistakes get magnified if they take you out your word and develop policy around it. Always kinda been my bible on communication. The farther someone is above me, the shorter the email.
You kept taking breaks though? Back in the day I used to hate the slackers that took untold cigarette breaks…
If you want to make money, show up, work hard and save. If you want true wealth, own a business and invest in yourself.
The corollary I’ve been told is “if you don’t have the time (or money) to do it right, how the hell will you find the time (or money) to do it over”. I’m an engineer and I tell my mentees this version. Fits well when details matter.
I had a boss tell me that once. I can’t remember if it was a co-op job or maybe even high school job. I use that expression frequently.
When I graduated UF my dad warned me that more than four jobs or so in my career, and I’ll look like a job hopper. When my son graduated university a decade ago, the placement office told him more than four jobs in the first two years and he’ll look like a job hopper. How times have changed!
Great thread. In sales some customers will be frustrating, aggravating or difficult to deal with. They made my job difficult until I was told "If a customer is causing you problems then that means you aren't making enough money off that customer. Mark the sale/job up to a point where you will be thrilled to see them.... one of 2 things will happen (1) the customer will buy the job from you at a higher price making you more money or (2) they will move on to your competitors causing your competitors problems".....problem solved. This has never failed me.
“Always do the right thing.” Sounds simple, but I’ve seen quite a few come and go who didn’t understand what these words meant.
Not after he told me that. I admired the man and felt I had disappointed him. I know what you mean about slackers.
I just thought of something my father told me that I've realized is incredibly true the older I get. A lot of business is done on the golf course.
Never hold company stock. A ton of your personal wealth is already tied to your employer through your salary, don't add to it by holding stock. My first manager at Digital Equipment Corp told me that and he was spot on.
That's an interesting one because I know quite a few people that did really well when then stock they had in a private company finally went public. One person I know did so well they retired. One of my best friends works for Fantatics and has a bunch of stock and is waiting for the inevitable day it does it'd IPO, rumored to be this year. But I see how that can cut the other way
Home Depot created a lot of millionaire employees in the early days. I agree, though, it can go both ways. I had a friend who retired from a chemical company about 20 years ago, and his company stock was worth almost $1 million. On the other hand, my wife’s uncle retired from an oil field services company and his retirement stock had gone to almost zero.
