Blogs

Collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, and structured investment vehicles are some of the greatest innovations created by the financial industry in recent times. What did this get us? Subprime loans, the housing bubble, and the financial meltdown.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but it is about learning to dance in the rain! —Unknown

Many of my clients are individual contributors, team leads, and first-level managers. Despite their excellent work they lament that their work does not get the visibility and recognition throughout their organization. This becomes painfully apparent to them during their annual performance review and during the time their promotion is due.

With so many skills to master to improve your professional standing, clients often ask me what one single skill would be most helpful in improving their career and their future. My answer is always the same: Your verbal skill, especially your story-telling skill is the most valuable.

Why?

Whenever I write about immigration, I hear heart-wrenching stories of computer workers who are unemployed and facing severe hardship. I get bombarded in the comments sections, on Twitter, and via email. Some people get so angry and xenophobic that they threaten me with violence.

I have many clients—thankfully not too many—who are driven by the concept of perfection. They come to me asking how they should structure their work, surroundings, and even their boss’ attitude so that they can achieve perfection in all their assignments. This applies to all their endeavors: writing code, designing products, and even writing a short email.

Despite my exhortations to re-invent and to land a better, more promising job as their next chapter in their career, many clients who come to me for help expect to land a job similar to the one they currently have or just had.

For 50 years, the experts have tried to figure out what makes Silicon Valley tick. The answer is people.