Earlier today I received a text from a colleague, Dave, from my previous job whom I hadn't talked to in almost a year.  I was very happy to reconnect with him and am looking forward to catching up properly after tonight's Thanksgiving festivities.  His note made me reflect on what I gained from my three years at Sungard where we worked together.  Though I learned a lot of skills at Sungard - real estate finance, data center design and construction, managing and growing teams - I realized that it was my friendship with Dave that's really the longest lasting asset from that job.

Recently our CEO Brian Halligan said during an employee gathering that there are only two jobs worth having at a company – either building the product or selling it.  The blunt statement has seemingly obvious wisdom, particularly in our tumultuous economy where jobs come and go at an alarming speed, but it left some people outside of engineering and sales feeling queasy about their career prospects. 

In many companies, particularly fast growing internet startups, there is much talk about flexible hours and how face time is not as important as getting your job done.  Results, not effort, people espouse.  Most people sincerely believe this mantra but in my experience I’ve found that it is not completely true at most companies.

One of the most clichéd interview questions is “what are your strengths and weaknesses.”  Most of us have heard it so many times that we’ve prepared for it extensively.  Often we create a bogus weakness that could be seen as a strength by the interviewer such as “I’m a perfectionist” or “I’m very detail oriented.”  However, as pedestrian as this interview question is, and lately is seldom asked in interviews because everyone knows there’s a prepared answer waiting on the other end, the tragedy is answering this very question is crucial for real career advancement.

Nearly every business school student or professional takes a negotiations course in their lifetime.  But I can’t remember the first thing from my negotiation class today and indeed I “lost” in most of the in-class negotiation exercises.  So when I was hired as VP of Infrastructure at SunGard I was apprehensive to get a job where my primary function was negotiating real estate and energy supply deals.  

Thankfully I was fortunate to have a great teacher in David Gordon, SunGard’s 15+ year real estate broker.  David taught me several principles, often saliently, about how to negotiate effectively.  I remember these better than any class and I hope they can be of assistance to you as well.

 

Until recently I prided myself on having a reputation as a tough job interviewer.  I've espoused the importance of design problems and case interviews (a style thoroughly ingrained in me while at BCG) as these questions cannot be completely prepared for and so I believed they truly tested the candidate.  However, when I got tripped up on a very casual case-like question at a dinner party last week, I began to wonder if this was a good method and what in fact was the best interview technique.

After nearly 5 years of undergrad computer engineering I was thrilled to be done with school and finally earn some money.  My first job was as a Program Manager at RealNetworks, a hot tech startup back in 1999.  I was attracted to this role because instead of a traditional "code monkey" job I got to be a "manager" - a modern day misnomer itself but I digress.  In retrospect this single decision was the highest opportunity cost I've incurred in my career.

During my undergrad I landed an internship at an investment bank that was highly sought after because the manager was an alumni who was legendary in his financial and managerial abilities.  (His selection of me being the sole error in his otherwise flawless career I’m sure, but I digress).  But the week that I arrived for the internship he joined another group in the company and I never saw him again.  And the manager who replaced him?  Well, let’s just say he a bit shy of legendary status.

Coming out of undergrad as a computer engineer in the late 90s, I joined a young tech company like many of classmates.  A few of my classmates, particularly those at the top of the rankings, went to investment banks like Goldman Sachs and high-end management consulting firms like BCG, McKinsey & Co etc.  At the time, I felt joining such firms was to waste my engineering training but I always wondered if I should’ve gone down that other path with its brand prestige.  Years later I worked hard to get into a top consulting firm but when I finally did get into BCG I realized that my initial decision actually wasn’t a bad one.