Frances Horibe's

Going for Broke Saying ‘no’ when Larry asked you to join a clandestine project was fraught with land mines, as you saw.  Is the answer to go for broke and say ‘yes’? The pros and cons If you put together a pros and cons list, it might look like this:   Pros of going for broke Cons of going for broke The project could be great career move. You’re violating your employment contract. Lots of people get to the top by breaking the rules. If you`re caught, you could be fired. The game could make you big money. Nothing comes of the project and it`s all risk, no pay-off.   Your terms You think the pros outweigh the cons but want to square things with your conscience. You stipulate you`ll work on the project only on your own time and your own laptop. Meetings have off the premises. Larry agrees although his ` Aren’t you the stickler?` is more than a little mocking. At first, going for broke goes well The game is very cool, with levels within levels and all kinds of weapons you can acquire through a complicated ritual. They’ve only done the opening sequence but you see…

Keeping Others’ Secret In a previous post, Larry asked you to test a game he and others were developing on the side. In the last post, you contemplated saying ‘no’ and, moreover, telling your boss Malcolm what was happening. Doing so wouldn’t turn out well for anyone. So maybe the best bet is to say ‘no’ but keep it secret from Malcolm. You say no. Things go back to normal? That’s what you’d expect, right? You’ve said no politely, you’ll get back to work and Larry will get back to his. And if Larry is a nice guy, that’s probably true. He’ll just move onto the next tester candidate. But what if Larry is just the littlest bit paranoid? As he might be, since he knows he’s engaging in a fireable offence. A whole different scenario could play out. What if Larry is paranoid? Larry comes by your station the next morning. Larry: Remember, what we talked about was just between us. You: Of course, you can trust me. Larry: You know, I don’t get you. You seem like a smart guy and yet you’re turning down a chance to get a leg up. You: I appreciate the offer… Larry:…

Doing the ‘Right’ Thing In the last post, you have a new job as a tester for children’s on-line games. Larry, the senior designer and a fun guy, has asked you to work on a serious game without your boss’ knowledge. What is the right thing to do? What is the right thing to do? Obviously, if this were above board, you’d jump at the chance to work on a real game. But it clearly isn’t. You know what you should do. A good employee would not only say `no` but even tell your boss Malcolm. After all, they`re using work time. In the next post, I`ll deal with saying no but keeping quiet. This one is about saying `no` but deciding to tell Malcolm. Should you tell the boss? I bet you recoil at the idea of telling Malcolm, don’t you? Understandable. But in fact, Larry and his gang are stealing something very valuable. The company trades money (your salary) for your expertise. When employees engage in non-work activities during work, it violates that implicit agreement. So, if you’re against stealing, you actually should tell Malcolm. This still makes you kind of queasy? Let’s play out what might happen…

The Big Career Chance The career situation You have a new job as a tester for children’s on-line games.  Two weeks in, it seems like a pretty good place, with a lot of career opportunities. The obvious leader is Larry, the senior designer. You haven’t quite made it in with the pack but you’re hopeful. Testing Pen is a programmer. You’re reviewing the bugs you’ve found with her.   Pen: Gosh, that’s a strange one. You: Yeah, and only happens when the forest background is playing. Pen: (opens the files)  Hmmm—nothing obvious, but I’ll give a look. You: Unless Larry intended some sub-routine he dropped. Should we ask him? He’s over there with Caleb. Pen: Looks like they’re busy. You: But Malcolm (everybody’s boss) wants it in production asap. Pen: Larry’s busy. He won’t thank you for breaking in. You: But… Pen: Trust me, you don’t want to get involved. You: Huh? In what? Pen: (looks back to the screen) I’m sure I’ll find that bug.   What did she mean? But it’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to talk. Larry’s project About a week later, Larry comes to your desk.   Larry: You must be quite the hotshot. Malcolm…

Making Yourself Less Threatening to the Boss In the previous post, I suggested ways to lower your boss’ threat level. In this, you need to recognize work really is different from home. At work, there is a hierarchy of more power and less. You have less. Your boss has more. Therefore, what he wants will often take precedence over your wishes. I’m not saying it’s fair; it just is. This post is about making yourself less threatening to your boss. What if the ideas don’t work? Be sure you consistently use the ideas in the previous post before you decide they’re not working. However, sometimes it doesn’t solve the problem. Why can’t your boss get over herself and quit being a jerk? Uh-huh—a question for the ages. I can’t know what drives or haunts your particular boss, but a boss can be threatened which have nothing to do with you.  She might be: Worried she’s reached her level of incompetence Afraid she will be replaced by some young whippersnapper Carrying around the burden of past failures Try to imagine how you would feel if these were your concerns. It’s probably a scary and kind of helpless place. You might even…