"Resource" Lost…

Yesterday was the last day for a colleague on my project. He quit because he got tired of not being tasked and wasting time sitting around. About a month prior to his last day, he had contacted the task lead asking to talk, to see if something could be worked out for him to move to a busier project. She never made time to sit down with him. The day he dropped his resignation letter on her desk, she called all upset that he was leaving. She blew it! The time to talk was a month ago!

Leadership Rule #1: Listen!
I’ll say it again. LISTEN! I’m not the first one to say this but I don’t mind repeating it. If she had just taken the time to sit down and listen to Mike, he may have stayed. I have found that sometimes just listening to somebody, letting them get things off their chest and showing real concern for their point of view is enough. Sometimes nothing can be done. Fine. Say that but still listen and try to understand.

Our lead did not listen until it was too late. She didn’t have time or respect or whatever to take 3o minutes and find out why Mike was unhappy. Now he has moved on and she is scrambling to find a replacement.

Chris Brogan…

I’ve seen his name on other blogs and twitter posts but never read his stuff. I stumbled upon (not the site Stumbleupon but actually found it through a link on another site, but I digress) his blog today. I liked this post about personal leadership. Just more validation that it is my job to make things better, not someone else’s. It’s not easy to escape career hell and harder, yet, to keep that positive attitude when things that once appeared promising have stalled. I will take the hint, though, a keep pushing and not get negative or discouraged.
So, what does that mean to you, Al Franken (old SNL reference)? Why am I sharing this? Maybe someone will stumble here who happens to be having a down day themselves will follow the link to Chris’ site and feel encouraged themselves. There had to be a reason I stumbled myself today…

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way…

Jimmy Gardner has started a forum for the D.C. tech community as “an exchange of complimentary services and what a better place for one of us to ask for a little help. At the worst a good gathering place for all our little bits or information.” Great idea!
In an earlier post, he and others voiced their frustration at the lack of attention for the D.C. tech community. Instead of stopping there and giving up, he and the community are pushing back with ideas on how to create their own buzz.
It is refreshing to see that instead of giving in to the negativity and nay-sayers the rest of the tech world, they are using it as inspiration to succeed inspite of them. Well done.

As a side note, I suspect, in my humble opinion, the impromtu CXCC will be remembered as the “First Annual” and grow into a major event in its own right.

Something to Chew On…

In today’s Fast Company.com‘s front page, Dennis Smith posted a great article called, “Why Everything You Do Today Matters Three Years From Now.” His story makes a good point about always being honest and treating people with respect. My favorite part is a quote from Walt Disney, “”Long after people forget what you did for them, they will remember how you made them feel.” A nice little nugget I am going to keep.

This made me wonder how I am going to be remembered by the people from my last job. I spoke of it before, I was not in a good place that year and was one of those people Hugh MacLeod talked about once (I can’t find the post but it is pretty good), those that hang around the water cooler and complain. How will they remember me in three years?