work politics

THG @SXSW: Using an “Army of Interns” to Kick Your Business into High Gear

Larry Smith on February 13, 2012

innovation, internships, leadership, SXSW, THG@SXSW, work politics Comment

We have a bumper crop of Hired Guns presenting their ideas at next month’s SXSW Interactive. Over the next few weeks we’ll be profiling them, so that you can get a taste of their ideas — whether or not you’ll be making it to Austin yourself.

Marshalling Your Army of Interns
Tuesday, March 13, 3:30
Presenter: Larry Smith

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Mine is just six words: “Tell your story, that’s my story.”

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I’ve learned so much in the years I’ve gone to SXSW, and I’m thrilled to offer any knowledge I can back. This year I’m leading a “Core Conversation.” It will be a nice change of pace: rather than doing a panel or fancy presentation where I’m the “expert,” I’ll be leading a discussion in a room of very smart people sharing tips and experiences together.

There’s Still Time to Get that Raise for Next Year — If You Hurry

Jim Hopkinson on November 29, 2011

negotiation, salary, salary tutor Comment

You’ve finally finished off the last of the leftovers from Thanksgiving, and now December is staring you in the face, another year gone by. Your wallet is also feeling the effects of those “doorbuster” specials from Black Friday. With the rest of the holiday activities looming, it sure would be nice to have some extra cash.

However, many people are nervous about approaching their boss to talk about their performance. They have questions. Is now a good time to ask? How should I approach the topic? Will I seem greedy? To make things easier, it helps to have a plan. Let’s call it

The Past, Present, and Future Plan

Cut Through the Dithering and Pick Up That Phone!

The Hired Guns on November 7, 2011

communication, email, technology, telephone Comment

These days, it’s much more normal to start a “conversation” with colleagues and clients or to bring up an issue with them through an email rather than a phone call. Emails are great for creating a paper trail, and their convenience is hard to beat, but their drawbacks are often overlooked. And good old phone calls have a lot going for them.

Writing for the Harvard Business Review, the venture capitalist Anthony Tjan makes a good case for using the phone and face-to-face meetings much more frequently, especially “when people are trying to resolve a conflict or communicate an important business decision.”

Are Performance Reviews Worth It?

The Hired Guns on October 28, 2011

human resources, performance reviews Comment

Chances are that performance reviews aren’t anyone’s favorite aspect of the modern workplace, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless paperwork. In the Globe and Mail, Marjo Johne makes the case for them, quoting a partner in an accounting firm who says that a review “removes a lot of uncertainty amongst employees about how they are performing at work.” Johne also gets some advice on how smaller companies can do reviews effectively. She also notes that in smaller companies, it’s extra-important to make sure that reviews are constructive, with an emphasis on improvement rather than fault-finding.

Related: Evil HR Lady on why formal performance reviews may not always be essential: “start asking for regular feedback” instead.

Bullet Points: Low Morale Costs a Lot; Say Hello to Weekly Performance Reviews

The Hired Guns on September 8, 2011

bullet points, hiring, performance reviews Comment

What’s the point of Yahoo these days? Hardly anyone knows. [NPR]
For software developers, the jobs are pouring in, recession or no, and the salaries are keeping pace, too. [NPR]
Some companies are dropping year-end performance reviews and moving to weekly ones instead, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s providing that instant feedback that the Twitter-addled kids need and love! Evil HR Lady: “Back in prehistoric times people used to call this conversation.“
Studies have shown that low job satisfaction may cost companies as much as “$300 billion in lost productivity annually,” write the researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer in the New York Times. “Promoting workers’ well-being isn’t just ethical; it makes economic sense,” they argue.
“Copyright troll” Righthaven has been lying low for the past couple months, presumably because judge after judge has ruled against them (and, implicitly, its business model). [Wired]

Bullet Points: Suboptimal Bosses and Clients; Making Time for Vacation

The Hired Guns on August 4, 2011

bullet points, design, freelancing, work politics Comment

Are you a freelancer? Mashable talks about how to deal with bad clients. On staff? The Vault has some tips on bad bosses.
Core 77 taps $7 tool for carrying heavy loads as the year’s best product design. [FastCo Design]
“Hooray! I’ve been exposed to this message enough to move from awareness to consideration” and other Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising.
Have you gone on vacation this summer or are you about to? Our pals at The Energy Project are running a campaign to encourage folks to use all their vacation days. By merely committing to take time off, you can win a coaching session with TEP’s founder, Tony Schwartz. Head to the The Energy Project’s Facebook page to enter.
Utilizing the power of recycling in web design. [Smashing Mag.]
“Can freelancers be friends?” “No. Warriors don’t befriend enemies on the battlefield, do they?” says Susannah Breslin.
A headline we didn’t think we’d read today (or any day): “Stoned wallabies blamed for crop circles. More at the BBC. [Alltop]

Bullet Points: How to Sink That IT Job Interview; Google Worker #59; Should Women Bother with Tech Conferences?

The Hired Guns on July 29, 2011

bullet points, Google, technology, work politics Comment

Susannah Breslin’s experiences at TechWeek made her wonder if women should even make the effort to go to tech conferences at all: bottom line, “it makes them depressed.” As you’d except, lots of discussion about this….
Mashable celebrates its six-year anniversary with an infographic of the developments in tech during that time.
Lying and being unprepared—they’re but a few of the ways you can 86 yourself from the IT job you’re after. [InfoWorld]
“… college graduates who enter the labor force during a recession make significantly less money—in their first year and over the course of their careers—than grads who walk into an economic boom.” [NationalJournal]
Douglas Edwards’s book about being Google brand manager—the 59th employee to be hired—is shaping up to be one of the major tech reads of the summer. The WSJ recently ran an excerpt from “I’m Feeling Lucky.”

Hiring: Dealing with the Double-edged Sword of Specialization

Jeff Gothelf on June 27, 2011

hiring, specialization, startups, work politics Comment

If you’re a startup with limited funds, then you have no choice but to hire generalists. Employees who wear many hats can produce a minimally viable product faster and more cheaply. And a smaller team means a nimbler team, which takes less time to make decisions.

The downside, of course, is that rarely will someone be an excellent engineer, product person and CEO all rolled in one. Rarely is someone a great saleswoman, marketer, and financial analyst. And even more rarely is someone a great UX designer, writer, visual designer, and researcher. Everyone has a finite number of strengths, and that means that your startup will suffer from a lack of talent in the areas in which your team is weak.

Fast-forward a bit, to when your company has grown to the point at which you can start hiring for specialized positions. You can bring in the top players in all the essential disciplines and start filling out the areas in which you’ve been weak. From a hiring perspective, things get a bit easier: you know exactly what you need. However, the startup world still tends to attract players who can play multiple positions. It rarely attracts star single-position players. You may still find yourself interviewing generalists—some of whom are very talented—but the organization you’ve now created mostly needs specialists. If you hire a generalist for a specialist position, he or she is likely to feel underutilized and start branching out of the space you’ve carved out for them.

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work politics

THG @SXSW: Using an “Army of Interns” to Kick Your Business into High Gear

There’s Still Time to Get that Raise for Next Year — If You Hurry

The Past, Present, and Future Plan

Cut Through the Dithering and Pick Up That Phone!

Are Performance Reviews Worth It?

Bullet Points: Low Morale Costs a Lot; Say Hello to Weekly Performance Reviews

Bullet Points: Suboptimal Bosses and Clients; Making Time for Vacation

Bullet Points: How to Sink That IT Job Interview; Google Worker #59; Should Women Bother with Tech Conferences?

Hiring: Dealing with the Double-edged Sword of Specialization

Gunsworthy

THG @SXSW: Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You
by Jim Hopkinson

Why Modern Marketers Need to Do More Than Just “Love Data”
by Tom Burg

THG @SXSW: Revealing Design’s True Power
by Jeff Gothelf

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