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Make it Big in software

 
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Hi Sam,
I have a few questions. I don't know if they have been asked already but here goes.

1. It's a ruthless world out there where not everyone will resort to the fairest of strategies to get ahead in their careers. Does your book discuss anything about how to deal with these sort of situations and maybe even how to employ such strategies myself? In short, does it have a road map that one can realistically emulate to get to the top and stay there?


2. Who was your favorite interviewee in the book and why? Whom do you see to be the most visionary?


Thanks.
 
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Arvind Mahendra wrote:
1. It's a ruthless world out there where not everyone will resort to the fairest of strategies to get ahead in their careers.



Personally, I would like to believe that the premise of this question is wrong -- as with maybe one or two exceptions, I have never seen anyone being "ruthless", or even slightly immoral. And even with the exceptions, the ruthlessness were merely personality issues, and had nothing to do with getting ahead in their careers.

Henry
 
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How about when someone accepts acclaim for work, clearly done by one someone else, as their own?
How about twisting statistics to fabricate project success in a less than truthful manner?
How about under-reporting the number of hours you spent on a deliverable?
How about passive-aggressively undermining a project/person/strategy because it conflicts with your own?

I've witnessed these practices even in the best of organizations. While ruthless may be too harsh a word, I view them all immoral if done pre-meditatively.

That said, I'm as perpelexed as Henry as to why someone would pose this question (unless I've misunderstood the premise).
 
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Hi Arvind, Henry,

First, let me say that Making it Big in Software only recommends ethical behavior. Not only can you get to the top being ethical, but in the long run it is your ally. People hate working with (or doing business with) others they can't trust, or who they feel have questionable morals. Ethics and kindness are powerful allies in career climbing because they engender people to trust you and work with you.

That being said, I've been around long enough to witness some pretty unethical behavior. Usually it backfires, but there are rare situations where unethical behavior is tolerated in an organization because it leads to results and doesn't explicitly cross legal lines. Bullying and discrediting others are examples where a forceful personality can potentially achieve goals through unethical behavior while skirting the edge of the legal boundaries. I detest unethical behavior, and I resent organizations that tolerate it. It reflects badly on the organization, and in particular is speaks volumes of the kind of leadership that tolerates it. But it does exist. There are very few cases of people who are consistently unethical and succeed in keeping it unnoticed over the span of years. Most of the time it is discovered, and the perpetrator gains an unshakable reputation that largely destroys their career.

Perhaps most importantly I can't recall a single case where the benefits of unethical behavior could not have been achieved through ethical means. So why take the chance?

I'm going to qualify what I wrote above. When I talk about unethical behavior I'm referring to lying, stealing, bullying, threatening, claiming credit for what isn’t yours and so on. Behaviors we would all generally agree are wrong. However, business is, to a large degree, a sport. There is strategy, and there is jockeying for position. It is not unethical to jockey for position within your organization to get a good project or to get recognition for what you have contributed. In terms of both business strategy and getting hired, while you really need to be meticulously honest in what you say, and in how you answer questions, it's considered reasonable to be selective in what you do not say. You don't have to volunteer information that will discredit you. If explicitly asked, you must be truthful. Remember, that these days fact checking is only a phone call or a google search away.

I'll answer your question about my favorite interviews in another post.

Thanks

Sam


 
Don't get me started about those stupid light bulbs.
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