An older video now but still amazing and inspirational.
Showing posts with label personnel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personnel. Show all posts
Friday, September 6, 2013
Friday, August 24, 2012
Time management for bosses - TechRadar
Business people often feel that there's not enough time in the day to do what they need, or want to. The result is they can feel under pressure throughout their working day, be forced to work late into the evening and at weekends, and become irritated by people who take time away from them.
Time management skills are essential for people to be more productive in their working day, and whilst some of it is down to discipline and good practices, there are also tools and technologies available to help.
Creating a to do list
Firstly, procrastination and focus can be a problem for some people. To-do lists can really help here, and they can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. For example, you can group activities into themes, projects, deadlines and different categories. Placing the list in a prominent place in the office or at home can help to keep these things in mind, and it can also act as a visual encouragement to see things crossed off over time.
However, making lists is not always sufficient, and time management experts say that one of the biggest mistakes people make in using to-do lists is they don't set a hard date for completing something, or even for starting it. The consequence is they just get overwhelmed by to-do lists.
Microsoft Outlook, and other productivity suites, have their own task creation tools, but there are also a number of popular web-based applications that can help to prioritise tasks, and assign levels of completion and deadlines to them. One of these is Remember the Milk, which is a free online tool that can be accessed via the desktop, mobile or tablet computer, and can help to manage tasks and to-do lists. With tools like this, you can set it to send reminders by email, SMS or instant message, and the list of tasks can be accessed by phone and lists synchronised with Google Calendar.
Another effective web-based to-do list organiser is Toodledo which works along similar lines. This tool is easy to use and provides several criteria to classify tasks, such as folders, subtasks, due-dates, priorities, tags, contexts, goals, notes, and time estimates. Other web-based tools include Todoist, ccToDo and Task Freak.
One thing worth noting about to-do lists is that it's important not just to move a particular task into tomorrow or next month, but instead, to break down the list and assign each task to a particular date. That way, you can help yourself to complete, or at least begin a task within an achievable timeframe. More importantly, it helps you to beat the problem of procrastination by making the list look less formidable.
Planning and scheduling
When combined with calendaring tools such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook, you can more effectively work through your tasks. But the key thing is to make sure you look at your planner on a daily basis. Whether you use a paper-based or PC-based scheduler, it will only be effective if you check and update it regularly.
As well as knowing how and when to start a task, effective time management is also about knowing when and how to stop a particular task, and move to another.
For some people this means knowing how to finish a meeting or even a conversation in a timely manner. And with more and more ways to communicate, for example instant messaging, social networking, e-mail, voice and video conferencing, and online collaboration, all of these technologies can be useful, but they can also be massive time stealers.
Scheduling software, such as Outlook, can help to put aside time in your diary for a range of activities, not just meetings with people. For example, you could put in a block of time for sorting through paperwork, doing personal tasks that have built up over time, fixing computer-related issues, or reading through a stack of industry magazines. Remember to schedule in some relaxation time as well.
By doing this, you can indicate to people, who use a shared diary with you, that you are otherwise occupied and not to be disturbed, and it also reminds you that these tasks are important, because if they don't get done during office hours, you will be doing them at night or the weekend.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
This Week's Reading - 20120625
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
This Week's Reading - 20120521
Engadget tries on the gTar for iPhone
Tech guns for hire: 5 places to find skilled IT contractors - Computerworld
10 things you should do when moving to online collaborative project management | TechRepublic
If You Missed the Eclipse, This Video Is the Next Best Thing | PCWorld
The expert's guide to Instapaper | Macworld
Five steps for great action photos | Macworld
Four tips for the Command key in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews
Build your own desktop stereo for under $70 | The Audiophiliac - CNET News - very tempting, though I can't really think of a practical use for it...
How to make PHP apps scale - Computerworld
Thursday, April 26, 2012
7 Undeniable Reasons Why Some People Fail Where Others Succeed
7 Undeniable Reasons Why Some People Fail Where Others Succeed: "
To most people, being born in a free country is the greatest gift. To others, it’s a fleeting thought. For the latter, I feel sorry.
Before I go any further, I must admit that not everyone will find success. There will always be those who sit around waiting for success to find them. There will be those who are simply not willing to achieve it. And then there’s the fact that success would not exist without failure. All of these things create what we know; a world where success and failure are experienced by different groups of people.
Everyone in a free country has the opportunity to succeed. So why doesn’t everyone succeed? Because success and failure are choices made consciously and subconsciously and failure is chosen by many for various reasons.
Here are 7 undeniable reasons why some people fail where others succeed:
Do you believe that success is won, innate, or earned? The answer someone gives can tell you a lot about them, and why they are where they are.
Success is won: if you believe that success is won, you experience animosity and envy toward those you view as lucky or more fortunate than you. You also believe that success is out of your control; it simply depends on a flip of the coin or certain circumstances.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe that success is won rather than earned?
Success is innate: people who believe success is innate often feel the same as those who believe it’s won. The only difference is that believers in innate-success have a more pessimistic view of opportunity; it’s trivial to them (we’ll go over this a little later). Why does opportunity matter if success is innate?
How hard are you willing to work if you feel your opportunity doesn’t matter and your chances of success are nil because of your circumstances?
Success is earned: the last group of people believes what we know to be true based on statistical analysis; success is earned. These people understand that in order to succeed, they must earn it. How do they earn it? They climb the mountain and utilize the same process others have used to achieve.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe success must be earned?
Do you believe that opportunity provides a possibility of success, a probability of success, or that it’s trivial?
Let’s ask the same questions we asked when we discussed success:
I hope this is coming together for you. I still want to go further though. I want you to see exactly how your views on opportunity and success work together to help determine your outcome.
In layman’s terms, the rich see success as earned and view their opportunity as probability. The middle class see success as earned and view their opportunity as possibility, but sometimes as probability. The poor class sees success as won or innate and views their opportunity as trivial, or in some cases as a possibility, but not a probability.
Of course, people don’t stay in one class their entire life. The people who move between classes tend to have the same outlook as those of the class they move to.
We just discussed two important terms: success and opportunity. In order to continue our discussion further, we must discuss another, ‘work.’
‘But success doesn’t always come from hard work!’
Inevitably, people will point out that factory employees work harder than CEOs. Of course, this depends on your analysis of the word ‘work.’
Choose a corresponding term:
Those who claim that success doesn’t always come from hard work only acknowledge one aspect of work, physical labor.
Of course, work is labor, period. Excluding mental labor from the term work is biased and unfair. CEOs may sit at a desk, wear a suit, and enjoy the air conditioning, but that doesn’t mean they labor any less than the man in the shop room, it’s simply a different type of labor. Not accepting this is like making the argument that one who hates their job labors more than one who enjoys their job and the pay should be altered to make up for it. You see where this is going?
In terms of pay scale, people who run companies are worth a lot more than those who assemble products. Why? Because it’s easy to find people who can assemble products and it’s not very easy to find people who can operate multi-million dollar companies for a profit.
Needless to say, the man in the shop room wouldn’t have a job if the CEO behind the desk wasn’t doing his (and vice versa). The only difference is which job you’d rather be doing, and that depends solely on the choices you make throughout your life.
How do you think the CEO views success and opportunity? How do you think the shop worker views those same terms?
While there is a minority of people who actually choose to fail, the majority that fail simply make poor choices or have a poor outlook. Basically, for the majority, failure is a choice but not a decision.
I can’t possibly list all of the bad choices people make which lead them to failure, but a few to get you headed in the right direction are:
And the list goes on, and on, and on…..and on.
Of course, there are also those things which are out of someone’s control.
If you’re born into an inner-city family and attend a poor school system, you obviously start out behind others. If you’re handicapped, your road to success may be longer and more difficult. But none of this bars you from success; I’ll elaborate on this later when we discuss circumstances.
Lastly, as our quote up top reminds us, many people defeat themselves simply by expecting defeat in the first place. They don’t expect success and it actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. For more on this, you might like my highly popular article; Your Life Sucks Because You Expect it to Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve it Right Now).
‘But, hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work really hard, but fail. They tried and didn’t succeed.’
Failure is a key ingredient in success. Those who don’t achieve success most likely quit after their failure. Quitting, of course, is a choice.
If you were to follow in the footsteps of a successful person, you would likely pass the remnants of multiple failures. If you followed in the footsteps of a failure, you would find their lifeless future at the feet of their first opponent.
So the question is, how hard and for how long are you willing to fight? There are no shortcuts, statistically. The vast majority of millionaires are self-made and far too many lottery winners are broke and worse off than they were before they won the lottery. Why? Because wealth is about behavior and money doesn’t protect you from failure.
If you want to succeed where other people fail, you have to step right over failure and keep walking. The people who don’t make it let failure defeat them. Failure becomes their end result because they refuse to walk any further.
Look at it this way; if you aren’t dead yet, there’s still hope.
One of the biggest rebuttals given by non-achievers is that they are held back by their circumstances.
I don’t think circumstance is a fair argument though. Yes, you may be subject to circumstances that make it more difficult for you to succeed, but that doesn’t change the fact that you start with the same opportunity as others; the opportunity provided to you by living in a free country.
It’s also important to note that some people handle circumstances better than others. For instance, you can’t say that a handicap is a circumstance that prevents you from achieving when others with the same handicap have achieved.
Everyone has issues, circumstances, road blocks, etc. It’s all about how you deal with your circumstances and how hard you’re willing to work to overcome them. But the basics don’t change; you’re still in a free country and nobody is preventing you from achieving except for yourself.
Circumstance is also unimportant because it doesn’t determine finality. For example, a trust fund baby can lose his fortune with a series of bad decisions just as easily as a child from the ghetto can acquire a fortune with a series of good decisions.
Don’t be quick to judge others based on their circumstances. Instead, judge them based on their ferocity in overcoming those circumstances.
First, you are given an opportunity. Then, based on that opportunity, you hatch a dream. And when you try to execute that dream, you meet your opposition. It is here on the battleground, facing the opposition, that success is either realized or lost.
Everyone faces opposition on their way to the top. The crack babies and the trust fund babies both have their own sets of problems. And you can’t assume that one faces more opposition than the other; everyone’s life and path to success is unique.
The one thing they do have in common is the opportunity for success. But, as you try to succeed, there will be people and circumstances around every corner that try to tell you no. The disability you were born with tells you no, your abusive parents tell you no, your pessimistic friends tell you no, your lack of self esteem causes you to say no to yourself, addiction tells you no, and so on.
The people who succeed are those who don’t take no for an answer. They shrug off the pessimism, they choose better friends, they put up boundaries with their family, and they surround themselves with positive people and things.
Success is possible for anyone who is willing to achieve it. There are many who want success, but there is a huge difference between wanting-to and willing-to. You have to be willing…
The other thing to remember is that your outlook and the way you define success, opportunity, and work play a large role in determining your outcome.
If you aren’t achieving, the first person you should always look to first is yourself.
This was a guest post by Kevin Geary from Change Your Tree. Kevin is also the author of The Good Parent’s Guide to Teaching Your Children How to Retire Young and Wealthy.
Image by Thomas Hawk.
"
(Via PickTheBrain.)
‘Success happens not by chance, but because you were given a chance and took advantage of it.’ - Kevin Geary
To most people, being born in a free country is the greatest gift. To others, it’s a fleeting thought. For the latter, I feel sorry.
Before I go any further, I must admit that not everyone will find success. There will always be those who sit around waiting for success to find them. There will be those who are simply not willing to achieve it. And then there’s the fact that success would not exist without failure. All of these things create what we know; a world where success and failure are experienced by different groups of people.
Everyone in a free country has the opportunity to succeed. So why doesn’t everyone succeed? Because success and failure are choices made consciously and subconsciously and failure is chosen by many for various reasons.
Here are 7 undeniable reasons why some people fail where others succeed:
1. They Define Success Wrong
‘Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.’ - David Bly
Do you believe that success is won, innate, or earned? The answer someone gives can tell you a lot about them, and why they are where they are.
Success is won: if you believe that success is won, you experience animosity and envy toward those you view as lucky or more fortunate than you. You also believe that success is out of your control; it simply depends on a flip of the coin or certain circumstances.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe that success is won rather than earned?
Success is innate: people who believe success is innate often feel the same as those who believe it’s won. The only difference is that believers in innate-success have a more pessimistic view of opportunity; it’s trivial to them (we’ll go over this a little later). Why does opportunity matter if success is innate?
How hard are you willing to work if you feel your opportunity doesn’t matter and your chances of success are nil because of your circumstances?
Success is earned: the last group of people believes what we know to be true based on statistical analysis; success is earned. These people understand that in order to succeed, they must earn it. How do they earn it? They climb the mountain and utilize the same process others have used to achieve.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe success must be earned?
2. They Define Opportunity Wrong
‘The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.’ - Ayn Rand
Do you believe that opportunity provides a possibility of success, a probability of success, or that it’s trivial?
Let’s ask the same questions we asked when we discussed success:
- How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is trivial?
- How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a possibility?
- How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a probability?
I hope this is coming together for you. I still want to go further though. I want you to see exactly how your views on opportunity and success work together to help determine your outcome.
- People who believe success is won see their opportunity as a possibility, but sometimes as trivial.
- People who believe success is innate see their opportunity as trivial.
- People who believe success is earned see their opportunity as a probability, but sometimes only as a possibility.
In layman’s terms, the rich see success as earned and view their opportunity as probability. The middle class see success as earned and view their opportunity as possibility, but sometimes as probability. The poor class sees success as won or innate and views their opportunity as trivial, or in some cases as a possibility, but not a probability.
Of course, people don’t stay in one class their entire life. The people who move between classes tend to have the same outlook as those of the class they move to.
3. They Define Work Wrong
‘The value of a man’s position is often determined by the number of people qualified to fill it.’ - Kevin Geary
We just discussed two important terms: success and opportunity. In order to continue our discussion further, we must discuss another, ‘work.’
‘But success doesn’t always come from hard work!’
Inevitably, people will point out that factory employees work harder than CEOs. Of course, this depends on your analysis of the word ‘work.’
Choose a corresponding term:
- Physical Labor
- Mental Labor
- Labor
Those who claim that success doesn’t always come from hard work only acknowledge one aspect of work, physical labor.
Of course, work is labor, period. Excluding mental labor from the term work is biased and unfair. CEOs may sit at a desk, wear a suit, and enjoy the air conditioning, but that doesn’t mean they labor any less than the man in the shop room, it’s simply a different type of labor. Not accepting this is like making the argument that one who hates their job labors more than one who enjoys their job and the pay should be altered to make up for it. You see where this is going?
In terms of pay scale, people who run companies are worth a lot more than those who assemble products. Why? Because it’s easy to find people who can assemble products and it’s not very easy to find people who can operate multi-million dollar companies for a profit.
Needless to say, the man in the shop room wouldn’t have a job if the CEO behind the desk wasn’t doing his (and vice versa). The only difference is which job you’d rather be doing, and that depends solely on the choices you make throughout your life.
How do you think the CEO views success and opportunity? How do you think the shop worker views those same terms?
4. They Defeat Themselves
‘To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.’ - Henry Mencken
While there is a minority of people who actually choose to fail, the majority that fail simply make poor choices or have a poor outlook. Basically, for the majority, failure is a choice but not a decision.
I can’t possibly list all of the bad choices people make which lead them to failure, but a few to get you headed in the right direction are:
- Abusing drugs or alcohol / addiction.
- Not getting an education.
- Having a poor work ethic.
- Having a child too young or out of wedlock.
- Immaturity / laziness.
- Borrowing too much money.
And the list goes on, and on, and on…..and on.
Of course, there are also those things which are out of someone’s control.
If you’re born into an inner-city family and attend a poor school system, you obviously start out behind others. If you’re handicapped, your road to success may be longer and more difficult. But none of this bars you from success; I’ll elaborate on this later when we discuss circumstances.
Lastly, as our quote up top reminds us, many people defeat themselves simply by expecting defeat in the first place. They don’t expect success and it actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. For more on this, you might like my highly popular article; Your Life Sucks Because You Expect it to Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve it Right Now).
5. They Think Failure is Final
‘Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.’ - Winston Churchill
‘But, hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work really hard, but fail. They tried and didn’t succeed.’
Failure is a key ingredient in success. Those who don’t achieve success most likely quit after their failure. Quitting, of course, is a choice.
If you were to follow in the footsteps of a successful person, you would likely pass the remnants of multiple failures. If you followed in the footsteps of a failure, you would find their lifeless future at the feet of their first opponent.
So the question is, how hard and for how long are you willing to fight? There are no shortcuts, statistically. The vast majority of millionaires are self-made and far too many lottery winners are broke and worse off than they were before they won the lottery. Why? Because wealth is about behavior and money doesn’t protect you from failure.
If you want to succeed where other people fail, you have to step right over failure and keep walking. The people who don’t make it let failure defeat them. Failure becomes their end result because they refuse to walk any further.
Look at it this way; if you aren’t dead yet, there’s still hope.
6. They’re a Victim of Their Circumstances
‘The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.’ - Mark Cain
One of the biggest rebuttals given by non-achievers is that they are held back by their circumstances.
I don’t think circumstance is a fair argument though. Yes, you may be subject to circumstances that make it more difficult for you to succeed, but that doesn’t change the fact that you start with the same opportunity as others; the opportunity provided to you by living in a free country.
It’s also important to note that some people handle circumstances better than others. For instance, you can’t say that a handicap is a circumstance that prevents you from achieving when others with the same handicap have achieved.
Everyone has issues, circumstances, road blocks, etc. It’s all about how you deal with your circumstances and how hard you’re willing to work to overcome them. But the basics don’t change; you’re still in a free country and nobody is preventing you from achieving except for yourself.
Circumstance is also unimportant because it doesn’t determine finality. For example, a trust fund baby can lose his fortune with a series of bad decisions just as easily as a child from the ghetto can acquire a fortune with a series of good decisions.
Don’t be quick to judge others based on their circumstances. Instead, judge them based on their ferocity in overcoming those circumstances.
7. They Take No For an Answer
‘Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.’ - Stephen R. Covey
First, you are given an opportunity. Then, based on that opportunity, you hatch a dream. And when you try to execute that dream, you meet your opposition. It is here on the battleground, facing the opposition, that success is either realized or lost.
Everyone faces opposition on their way to the top. The crack babies and the trust fund babies both have their own sets of problems. And you can’t assume that one faces more opposition than the other; everyone’s life and path to success is unique.
The one thing they do have in common is the opportunity for success. But, as you try to succeed, there will be people and circumstances around every corner that try to tell you no. The disability you were born with tells you no, your abusive parents tell you no, your pessimistic friends tell you no, your lack of self esteem causes you to say no to yourself, addiction tells you no, and so on.
The people who succeed are those who don’t take no for an answer. They shrug off the pessimism, they choose better friends, they put up boundaries with their family, and they surround themselves with positive people and things.
Conclusion
Success is possible for anyone who is willing to achieve it. There are many who want success, but there is a huge difference between wanting-to and willing-to. You have to be willing…
The other thing to remember is that your outlook and the way you define success, opportunity, and work play a large role in determining your outcome.
If you aren’t achieving, the first person you should always look to first is yourself.
This was a guest post by Kevin Geary from Change Your Tree. Kevin is also the author of The Good Parent’s Guide to Teaching Your Children How to Retire Young and Wealthy.
Image by Thomas Hawk.
"(Via PickTheBrain.)
Friday, October 31, 2008
10 dumb things IT pros do that can mess up their networks
10 dumb things IT pros do that can mess up their networks: "
End users aren’t the only ones whose misguided actions can bring a smooth-running network to a screeching halt. IT pros make their share of mistakes, too — from sliding on DR planning to stalling on repairs to ignoring the need for logs and documentation.
One of the most popular pastimes of IT professionals is complaining about the dumb things users do. We all get a laugh from articles like TechRepublic’s ultimate collection of dumb user stories. But if we’re honest, we have to admit that computer novices aren’t the only ones who make mistakes. Most network administrators could (but probably won’t) tell you about their ‘most embarrassing moment.’ That’s the one where you discover you accidentally misconfigured the firewall to shut down the boss’s Internet connection or that the backup you’ve been making every day has been copying the wrong files. Oops.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common dumb things IT pros do that can mess up their networks — and how you can avoid making such mistakes yourself.
Note: This information also appears in article format and is available as a PDF download.
#1: Don’t have a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan
It’s not that backing up is hard to do. The problem is that it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, because most network administrators are overloaded already, and backups are something that seem like a waste of time and effort-until you need them.
Of course you back up your organization’s important data. I’m not suggesting that most admins don’t have a backup strategy in place. But many of those backup strategies haven’t changed in decades. You set up a tape backup to copy certain important files at specified intervals and then forget about it. You don’t get around to assessing and updating that backup strategy — or even testing the tapes periodically to make sure your data really is getting backed up — until something forces you to do so (the tape system breaks or worse, you have a catastrophic data loss that forces you to actually use those backups).
It’s even worse when it comes to full-fledged disaster recovery plans. You may have a written business continuity plan languishing in a drawer somewhere, but is it really up to date? Does it take into account all of your current equipment and personnel? Are all critical personnel aware of the plan? (For instance, new people may have been hired into key positions since the time the plan was formulated.) Does the plan cover all important elements, including how to detect the problem as quickly as possible, how to notify affected persons, how to isolate affected systems, and what actions to take to repair the damage and restore productivity?
#2: Ignore warning signs
That UPS has been showing signs of giving up the ghost for weeks. Or the mail server is suddenly having to be rebooted several times per day. Users are complaining that their Web connectivity mysteriously drops for a few minutes and then comes back. But things are still working, sort of, so you put off investigating the problem until the day you come into work and network is down.
As with our physical health, it pays to heed early warning signs that something is wrong with the network and catch it before it becomes more serious.
#3: Never document changes
When you make changes to the server’s configuration settings, it pays to take the time to document them. You’ll be glad you did if a physical disaster destroys the machine or the operating system fails and you have to start over from scratch. Circumstances don’t even have to be that drastic; what if you just make new changes that don’t work the way you expected, and you don’t quite remember the old settings?
Sure, it takes a little time, but like backing up, it’s worth the effort.
#4: Don’t waste space on logging
One way to save hard disk space is to forego enabling logging or set your log files to overwrite at a small file size threshold. The problem with that is that disk space is relatively cheap, but hours of pulling your hair out when you’re trying to troubleshoot a problem without logs to help you discover what happened can be costly, in terms of both money and frustration.
Some applications don’t have their logs turned on automatically. But if you want to save yourself a lot of grief when something goes wrong, adopt the philosophy of ‘everything that can be logged should be logged.’
#5: Take your time about installing critical updates
The ‘It’ll never happen to me’ syndrome has been the downfall of many networks. Yes, updates and patches sometimes break important applications, cause connectivity problems, or even crash the operating system. You should thoroughly test upgrades before you roll them out to prevent such occurrences. But you should do so as quickly as possible and get those updates installed once you’ve determined that they’re safe.
Many major virus or worm infestations have done untold damage to systems even though the patches for them had already been released.
#6: Save time and money by putting off upgrades
Upgrading your operating systems and mission-critical applications can be time consuming and expensive. But putting off upgrades for too long can cost you even more, especially in terms of security. There are a couple of reasons for that:
- New software usually has more security mechanisms built in. There is a much greater focus on writing secure code today than in years past.
- Vendors generally retire support for older software after awhile. That means they stop releasing security patches for it, so if you’re running the old stuff, you may not be protected against new vulnerabilities.
If upgrading all the systems in your organization isn’t feasible, do the upgrade in stages, concentrating on the most exposed systems first.
#7: Manage passwords sloppily
Although multifactor authentication (smart cards, biometrics) is becoming more popular, most organizations still depend on user names and passwords to log onto the network. Bad password policies and sloppy password management create a weak link that can allow attackers to invade your systems with little technical skill needed.
Require lengthy, complex passwords (or better, passphrases), require users to change them frequently, and don’t allow reuse of the same passwords over and over. Enforce password policies through Windows group policy or third-party products. Ensure that users are educated about the necessity to keep passwords confidential and are forewarned about the techniques that social engineers may use to discover their passwords.
If at all possible, implement a second authentication method (something you have or something you are) in addition to the password or PIN (something you know).
#8: Try to please all the people all of the time
Network administration isn’t the job for someone who needs to be liked by everyone. You’ll often be setting down and enforcing rules that users don’t like. Resist the temptation to make exceptions (’Okay, we’ll configure the firewall to allow you to use instant messaging since you asked so nicely.’)
It’s your job to see that users have the access they need to do their jobs — and no more.
#9: Don’t try to please any of the people any of the time
Just as it’s important to stand your ground when the security or integrity of the network is at stake, it’s also important to listen to both management and your users, find out what they do need to do their jobs, and make it as easy for them as you can-within the parameters of your mission (a secure and reliable network).
Don’t lose sight of the reason the network exists in the first place: so that users can share files and devices, send and receive mail, access the Internet, etc. If you make those tasks unnecessarily difficult for them, they’ll just look for ways to circumvent your security measures, possibly introducing even worse threats.
#10: Make yourself indispensable by not training anyone else to do your job
This is a common mistake throughout the business world, not just in IT. You think if you’re the only one who knows how the mail server is configured or where all the switches are, your job will be secure. This is another reason some administrators fail to document the network configuration and changes.
The sad fact is: no one is indispensable. If you got hit by a truck tomorrow, the company would go on. Your secrecy might make things a lot more difficult for your successor, but eventually he or she will figure it out.
In the meantime, by failing to train others to do your tasks, you may lock yourself into a position that makes it harder to get a promotion… or even take a vacation.
"(Via 10 Things.)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
How to think faster, better on your feet
From CNN's 'Living
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/08/12/rs.how.to.think.on.feet/index.html
(Real Simple) -- Life coach Gail Blanke went to acting school to learn to improvise in any situation. Turns out the tricks that actors use on stage can help you score a date, land a job -- or just make any conversation more engaging
If you repeat what someone else says and then start next phrase with 'and' that comment can become conversation.
There's no getting around it. We live in an unscripted world. You can rehearse in front of a mirror till the cows come home -- for that job interview, for that meeting where you're expected to speak, for the moment when you finally walk up to that very attractive guy at the gym and introduce yourself. But the minute there's another person involved, the script goes out the window. If you mean to make an impression, you have to be able to think on your feet, hurl yourself into the moment, and improvise.
How? Well, obviously, some people are simply naturals. To help the rest of us develop some techniques, I turned to the professionals.
An actor friend had told me about the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), a highly respected training center for comic improv in New York City, so I called up the academic supervisor, Joe Wengert, and asked if I could sit in on one of his classes. Luckily, he said yes. And saying yes, it turns out, is nothing less than the heart and soul of improv. But more on that in a minute. Real Simple: When friends behave badly
Here's the first thing I learned in that class: Advancing the dialogue -- or "moving the scene forward," as they say in the acting world -- is what improvising is all about. It's the same deal if you are onstage, in a boardroom, or trying to get your point across at a PTA meeting. "Dead air" is verboten in acting, and it doesn't work too well in life, either. You either take the conversation into new territory or you kill it.
So to make better connections with people and to get what you want -- whether it's a promotion at work, a new relationship, or simply a delightful conversation -- you have to be ready to "move the scene forward." I watched the 14 men and women in that improv class invent hilarious, fast-moving dialogue on the spur of the moment with words like "beach," "reunion," or (my favorite) "eating contest" as their only direction. And, boy, did they take the scenes to some pretty wild places. Still, I actually believed them.
What's their secret? Interestingly, all the improv actors I spoke to pretty much agreed that the following three principles are at the heart of their art. And, without exception, they use them to propel conversations forward in their real lives, too.
1. The "yes...and" technique
Don't Miss
Real Simple: How to thrive in tough times
Real Simple: Turn on charm -- get what you want
Real Simple: The power of praise
How it works: Say two actors are given the words "blueberry pie" with which to create a scene. It might go:
Actor 1: "I made a blueberry pie."
Actor 2: "Yes, you made a blueberry pie. And you remember the last time we had blueberry pie?"
Actor 1: "Yes, I remember. We took a picnic into the woods, and that's when you said you wanted to join a nudist colony."
You see what's happening? Suddenly there's a story; suddenly there's a direction and a purpose. Using the simple words "yes...and" moves the scene into new territory, and that's where new possibilities occur.
How to make it work for you: So let's say it's Monday and you're at the gym and that very attractive guy says, "It was a beautiful weekend." If all you say is "Yes, it was great," that ends the conversation right there. But if you say, "Yes, it was great. And I really made the most of it. I went to a concert in the park and brought my yellow Lab. He snatched a sandwich right out of the hands of some poor woman having a picnic. But we had fun."
Now you've got something. You can follow up with "Do you like dogs?" or "Have you ever been to a concert in the park?" And, bingo, the next thing you know, you're on your way to another concert in the park with none other than that very attractive guy. (Maybe minus the dog.)
The "yes...and" technique gives you the chance to acknowledge what's been said and then move the conversation to a new place, where you just might discover something -- or someone -- delightful.
Using "yes...and" can also help you direct a conversation to where you want it to go. Here's an example: Your son says, "I hate my math teacher." Instead of saying, "Well, that's just silly" or, distractedly, "Aha," and ending the conversation right there, you could say, "Yes, you hate your math teacher. And that reminds me of how much you hated your history teacher -- until you started to love her. Remember? I mean, things can change, right?"
I recently tried "yes...and" at a meeting of the board of governors of the small golf club in Connecticut that I belong to. One board member gravely announced some disturbing news: "The porta-potty is quite close to the women's tee on the seventh hole, and some of the women have complained about the, uh, odor and noise." There was silence while we all pondered this momentous issue. "Yes," I said, leaping in. "It's close all right. And we should move it to the men's tee." It got a laugh, but more important, new suggestions were offered, the problem was resolved, and we moved on. I mean, I definitely "forwarded the scene." Real Simple: Easy ways to exit awkward situations
2. Go with your gut
How it works: Improv actors don't think too much before they speak. And, in the experience of those I spoke to, the first, intuitive thought is usually the best anyway. "There's no time to rationalize, no time to weigh the pros and cons of your response," says Mike Ross, a 34-year-old lawyer and a student at the UCB.
Or as Yogi Berra put it: "You can't think and hit at the same time."
How to make it work for you: Try to break the habit of second-guessing yourself before you speak. While you're busy thinking up the "right" response, that awkward silence is settling in.
Imagine that you're in a job interview. Of course you've memorized your list of "strengths" and come up with a good answer for the inevitable question about your "weaknesses" and all the reasons why you'd be perfect in this position. But your prospective boss doesn't ask you about any of that. Instead, she says, "So what in the world would make you want to join a crazy company like this, where people work around the clock and just about everything changes every day?"
Rather than struggling to come up with the perfect scripted response by saying, "Well, uh, you ask an interesting question. Let's see, I, uh...," listen to the voice inside your head. Trust it. And start speaking without critiquing yourself (which is when those ums and uhs jump in). Maybe you'll say, "Well, why do you do it?" which isn't perfect, but it's just fine. Or "Well, if you love what you're doing, I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Or maybe you'll blurt out something like "What? Are you all nuts?" In which case, you'll probably break the ice and get a laugh.
The key is to trust your instinct. And the key to that is to practice, so when it comes to the crunch, you know your intuition isn't going to pull any lousy tricks on you.
Try these exercises to hone your intuitive responses.
• "Watch Desperate Housewives or 30 Rock and assume you are one of the characters," suggests Mike. "Respond out loud to whatever is going on with whatever comes into your head. Be outrageous, be crazy, but keep the scene going." Will you put your foot in your mouth sometimes? Absolutely. In improv, you go on as if that's what you meant to do. If you act like you meant it, the audience will buy it. That works in real life, too.
• Play speed improv games with friends at a dinner party or on the beach. Throw out a word or a phrase, like "shower curtain," "police precinct," or "family reunion." Tell them about the "yes...and" technique and take turns creating a fast-talking scene where you have to think on the fly. Real Simple: How to handle sticky situations
3. Make everyone else in your group look good.
How it works: Here's what you learn in improv: You're nothing without somebody else. There's nothing to improvise without someone to improvise with. The more you trust others to be your props, the more you invite them to shine, the stronger you get.
Sammy Buck, a 39-year-old UCB student and a writer said he was astounded at how much satisfaction he feels when playing a supporting role in a scene. "In improv, I've learned I'm as happy to help move things forward as I am to take the lead," he says. "Maybe even happier."
How to make it work for you: In any situation, practice acknowledging the others in your group (the "yes") and always make an effort to promote their ideas (the "and"). It quite simply makes for better conversation.
For instance, you're at the first meeting of a newly formed book club. You've read the book. You've even made notes about what you liked and didn't like. You're really prepared to look smart. But that's not what you're here for, is it?
So when the host asks, "What did you think of the book? Did you like it?" instead of running through your list of critiques, you say, "Yes, I loved it. I thought it was so touching, especially at the end. But I was really impressed when Lydia told me how she thought the ending could have been different. I'd love to hear her talk more about that." It's such a relief -- and so much more enjoyable for everyone -- when you don't have to prove yourself to be the smartest person in the room.
It's so easy to incorporate these improv techniques into your life. And, with a bit of practice and observation, you'll be winging it like a pro before you know it.
Whenever you have a chance, watch improv artists at work and learn from them. Catch Larry David on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which uses dialogue that is largely improvised. Or rent any Robin Williams movie. Boy, talk about tapping into your intuition! Nobody does it better or has more fun with it.
Better still, consider taking an improv class yourself. Check the listings for local acting schools or community centers. Bring a friend with you. Let yourself go. And, hey, you might even move your own scene forward in ways you never dreamed you could.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/08/12/rs.how.to.think.on.feet/index.html
(Real Simple) -- Life coach Gail Blanke went to acting school to learn to improvise in any situation. Turns out the tricks that actors use on stage can help you score a date, land a job -- or just make any conversation more engaging
If you repeat what someone else says and then start next phrase with 'and' that comment can become conversation.
There's no getting around it. We live in an unscripted world. You can rehearse in front of a mirror till the cows come home -- for that job interview, for that meeting where you're expected to speak, for the moment when you finally walk up to that very attractive guy at the gym and introduce yourself. But the minute there's another person involved, the script goes out the window. If you mean to make an impression, you have to be able to think on your feet, hurl yourself into the moment, and improvise.
How? Well, obviously, some people are simply naturals. To help the rest of us develop some techniques, I turned to the professionals.
An actor friend had told me about the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), a highly respected training center for comic improv in New York City, so I called up the academic supervisor, Joe Wengert, and asked if I could sit in on one of his classes. Luckily, he said yes. And saying yes, it turns out, is nothing less than the heart and soul of improv. But more on that in a minute. Real Simple: When friends behave badly
Here's the first thing I learned in that class: Advancing the dialogue -- or "moving the scene forward," as they say in the acting world -- is what improvising is all about. It's the same deal if you are onstage, in a boardroom, or trying to get your point across at a PTA meeting. "Dead air" is verboten in acting, and it doesn't work too well in life, either. You either take the conversation into new territory or you kill it.
So to make better connections with people and to get what you want -- whether it's a promotion at work, a new relationship, or simply a delightful conversation -- you have to be ready to "move the scene forward." I watched the 14 men and women in that improv class invent hilarious, fast-moving dialogue on the spur of the moment with words like "beach," "reunion," or (my favorite) "eating contest" as their only direction. And, boy, did they take the scenes to some pretty wild places. Still, I actually believed them.
What's their secret? Interestingly, all the improv actors I spoke to pretty much agreed that the following three principles are at the heart of their art. And, without exception, they use them to propel conversations forward in their real lives, too.
1. The "yes...and" technique
Don't Miss
Real Simple: How to thrive in tough times
Real Simple: Turn on charm -- get what you want
Real Simple: The power of praise
How it works: Say two actors are given the words "blueberry pie" with which to create a scene. It might go:
Actor 1: "I made a blueberry pie."
Actor 2: "Yes, you made a blueberry pie. And you remember the last time we had blueberry pie?"
Actor 1: "Yes, I remember. We took a picnic into the woods, and that's when you said you wanted to join a nudist colony."
You see what's happening? Suddenly there's a story; suddenly there's a direction and a purpose. Using the simple words "yes...and" moves the scene into new territory, and that's where new possibilities occur.
How to make it work for you: So let's say it's Monday and you're at the gym and that very attractive guy says, "It was a beautiful weekend." If all you say is "Yes, it was great," that ends the conversation right there. But if you say, "Yes, it was great. And I really made the most of it. I went to a concert in the park and brought my yellow Lab. He snatched a sandwich right out of the hands of some poor woman having a picnic. But we had fun."
Now you've got something. You can follow up with "Do you like dogs?" or "Have you ever been to a concert in the park?" And, bingo, the next thing you know, you're on your way to another concert in the park with none other than that very attractive guy. (Maybe minus the dog.)
The "yes...and" technique gives you the chance to acknowledge what's been said and then move the conversation to a new place, where you just might discover something -- or someone -- delightful.
Using "yes...and" can also help you direct a conversation to where you want it to go. Here's an example: Your son says, "I hate my math teacher." Instead of saying, "Well, that's just silly" or, distractedly, "Aha," and ending the conversation right there, you could say, "Yes, you hate your math teacher. And that reminds me of how much you hated your history teacher -- until you started to love her. Remember? I mean, things can change, right?"
I recently tried "yes...and" at a meeting of the board of governors of the small golf club in Connecticut that I belong to. One board member gravely announced some disturbing news: "The porta-potty is quite close to the women's tee on the seventh hole, and some of the women have complained about the, uh, odor and noise." There was silence while we all pondered this momentous issue. "Yes," I said, leaping in. "It's close all right. And we should move it to the men's tee." It got a laugh, but more important, new suggestions were offered, the problem was resolved, and we moved on. I mean, I definitely "forwarded the scene." Real Simple: Easy ways to exit awkward situations
2. Go with your gut
How it works: Improv actors don't think too much before they speak. And, in the experience of those I spoke to, the first, intuitive thought is usually the best anyway. "There's no time to rationalize, no time to weigh the pros and cons of your response," says Mike Ross, a 34-year-old lawyer and a student at the UCB.
Or as Yogi Berra put it: "You can't think and hit at the same time."
How to make it work for you: Try to break the habit of second-guessing yourself before you speak. While you're busy thinking up the "right" response, that awkward silence is settling in.
Imagine that you're in a job interview. Of course you've memorized your list of "strengths" and come up with a good answer for the inevitable question about your "weaknesses" and all the reasons why you'd be perfect in this position. But your prospective boss doesn't ask you about any of that. Instead, she says, "So what in the world would make you want to join a crazy company like this, where people work around the clock and just about everything changes every day?"
Rather than struggling to come up with the perfect scripted response by saying, "Well, uh, you ask an interesting question. Let's see, I, uh...," listen to the voice inside your head. Trust it. And start speaking without critiquing yourself (which is when those ums and uhs jump in). Maybe you'll say, "Well, why do you do it?" which isn't perfect, but it's just fine. Or "Well, if you love what you're doing, I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Or maybe you'll blurt out something like "What? Are you all nuts?" In which case, you'll probably break the ice and get a laugh.
The key is to trust your instinct. And the key to that is to practice, so when it comes to the crunch, you know your intuition isn't going to pull any lousy tricks on you.
Try these exercises to hone your intuitive responses.
• "Watch Desperate Housewives or 30 Rock and assume you are one of the characters," suggests Mike. "Respond out loud to whatever is going on with whatever comes into your head. Be outrageous, be crazy, but keep the scene going." Will you put your foot in your mouth sometimes? Absolutely. In improv, you go on as if that's what you meant to do. If you act like you meant it, the audience will buy it. That works in real life, too.
• Play speed improv games with friends at a dinner party or on the beach. Throw out a word or a phrase, like "shower curtain," "police precinct," or "family reunion." Tell them about the "yes...and" technique and take turns creating a fast-talking scene where you have to think on the fly. Real Simple: How to handle sticky situations
3. Make everyone else in your group look good.
How it works: Here's what you learn in improv: You're nothing without somebody else. There's nothing to improvise without someone to improvise with. The more you trust others to be your props, the more you invite them to shine, the stronger you get.
Sammy Buck, a 39-year-old UCB student and a writer said he was astounded at how much satisfaction he feels when playing a supporting role in a scene. "In improv, I've learned I'm as happy to help move things forward as I am to take the lead," he says. "Maybe even happier."
How to make it work for you: In any situation, practice acknowledging the others in your group (the "yes") and always make an effort to promote their ideas (the "and"). It quite simply makes for better conversation.
For instance, you're at the first meeting of a newly formed book club. You've read the book. You've even made notes about what you liked and didn't like. You're really prepared to look smart. But that's not what you're here for, is it?
So when the host asks, "What did you think of the book? Did you like it?" instead of running through your list of critiques, you say, "Yes, I loved it. I thought it was so touching, especially at the end. But I was really impressed when Lydia told me how she thought the ending could have been different. I'd love to hear her talk more about that." It's such a relief -- and so much more enjoyable for everyone -- when you don't have to prove yourself to be the smartest person in the room.
It's so easy to incorporate these improv techniques into your life. And, with a bit of practice and observation, you'll be winging it like a pro before you know it.
Whenever you have a chance, watch improv artists at work and learn from them. Catch Larry David on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which uses dialogue that is largely improvised. Or rent any Robin Williams movie. Boy, talk about tapping into your intuition! Nobody does it better or has more fun with it.
Better still, consider taking an improv class yourself. Check the listings for local acting schools or community centers. Bring a friend with you. Let yourself go. And, hey, you might even move your own scene forward in ways you never dreamed you could.
Friday, April 25, 2008
5 easy ways to commit career suicide
5 easy ways to commit career suicide: "Mistakes such as putting down co-workers or burning bridges when you resign are surefire ways to darken your career prospects. Here's how to avoid them.
"(Via Clippings.)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Six Quick Projects for IT Career Advancement
Want to move ahead? These simple tips will help you maximize your ROI on everything from management to hiring practices to job changes and more.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Giving Up The Power
Bad leaders use control to get results. Good leaders get people to work for them. Great leaders get people to work for a cause that is greater than any of them -- and then for one another in service of that cause.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, December 13, 2007
How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People
Struggling to meet new people? Follow this common-sense advice for increasing your networking mojo and improving your chances of landing a job, customers, or investors.
read more | digg story
Monday, October 22, 2007
Brand 'Me', Part II
So in Part I there was an example of bad branding and I mentioned that I'm somewhat apprehensive about marketing in general. So in this segment, what's MY brand?
I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and it really just came to me a little while ago. My thing is that I'm really good at figuring out how things go together, what the various parts are, and how to improve the bits and provide service to the customer. In my two previous positions I was hired into one job and within a few months, promoted into a much higher level position. I attribute it to my ability to quickly get the lay of the land and being able to make improvements in bite-sized chunks and after enough chunks, you can have a pretty big meal. That's what I do.
When I left my previous position at the University I got some really flattering farewell messages from a lot of people but also several from people with parallel responsibilities operating outside my department and division. I hadn't actively thought about it but I was able to facilitate service because I knew what the various parts were and was able to involve the right teams to solve problems. I think this comes back to my personal adage: It's not what you know but it's about being able to find what you need to know. When a couple of research departments were thinking about building a collaborative project that required technology support they didn't go to the individual responsible for the infrastructure, they came to me. Naturally, I involved the infrastructure team and even though the departments knew who was responsible for that portion of the University's technology, they wanted me involved. I took this as a huge compliment and after a while with meeting with the responsible parties and the researches together I was able to hand it off but I really like this reputation. This is part of my brand.
The other thing that I heard from people was that I was pleasant to work with. This bugs me; not that people find me nice to deal with, but that it seems to be so uncommon with technology people. There is a certain arrogance and lack of communications competency that seems so prevalent within technology that it's really quite embarrassing to me. More than once I heard about this from people after they met with some of our most talented individuals. It makes me shudder and as a manager we can try to coach people on these things but the reality is that they need to make a decision to be civil and professional. We as managers CAN NOT continue to give these people high marks based on their technical skills alone. Re-write the job description if you need to but let's not give people a reason to want to outsource their technology needs!
I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and it really just came to me a little while ago. My thing is that I'm really good at figuring out how things go together, what the various parts are, and how to improve the bits and provide service to the customer. In my two previous positions I was hired into one job and within a few months, promoted into a much higher level position. I attribute it to my ability to quickly get the lay of the land and being able to make improvements in bite-sized chunks and after enough chunks, you can have a pretty big meal. That's what I do.
When I left my previous position at the University I got some really flattering farewell messages from a lot of people but also several from people with parallel responsibilities operating outside my department and division. I hadn't actively thought about it but I was able to facilitate service because I knew what the various parts were and was able to involve the right teams to solve problems. I think this comes back to my personal adage: It's not what you know but it's about being able to find what you need to know. When a couple of research departments were thinking about building a collaborative project that required technology support they didn't go to the individual responsible for the infrastructure, they came to me. Naturally, I involved the infrastructure team and even though the departments knew who was responsible for that portion of the University's technology, they wanted me involved. I took this as a huge compliment and after a while with meeting with the responsible parties and the researches together I was able to hand it off but I really like this reputation. This is part of my brand.
The other thing that I heard from people was that I was pleasant to work with. This bugs me; not that people find me nice to deal with, but that it seems to be so uncommon with technology people. There is a certain arrogance and lack of communications competency that seems so prevalent within technology that it's really quite embarrassing to me. More than once I heard about this from people after they met with some of our most talented individuals. It makes me shudder and as a manager we can try to coach people on these things but the reality is that they need to make a decision to be civil and professional. We as managers CAN NOT continue to give these people high marks based on their technical skills alone. Re-write the job description if you need to but let's not give people a reason to want to outsource their technology needs!
Brand 'Me', Part I
There has been a lot of discussion on branding oneself on the web lately. CIO magazine has discussed it and there are books about how to do it. There is a part of me that has long been suspect of marketing--someone else's or my own. On a conscious, logical level I know that there is value and importance to it--many of my favorite products have brilliant marketing but then again, most of them are not as overt as the marketing that makes me shudder.
Most modern technology managers are also aware that their IT departments could use some good PR. IT people tend to be a little bit reclusive, often don't follow-up as well as they could, and treat projects as a problem that needs to be fixed. As a result, many IT departments and individuals are not seen as being part of the rest of the organization and may not be included on as many business and organization high-level projects as they could be. Like most things in life, a certain level of balance is necessary to be successful. It's not realistic to expect your strongest programmer to be an extrovert and actively meeting with the departments to find new opportunities but if they stay holed up with the lights out and complain about the operation then they're never going to make it very far.
Not long ago my department included some very diverse, creative, and intelligent IT personnel. One in particular was capable of a lot more than he was immediately tasked with but he seldom looked to work outside his immediate group though he would throw barbs at other areas of the technology staff and the organization as a whole. It's completely normal for people to whine about their employer and others but that's all it seemed like he ever did. I encouraged his manager to work with him on the notion that anyone can criticize, the successful people are those who can provide solutions. In his case he would provide solutions for other people's problems but not to them, to their supervisors instead. As a result, it was interpreted as him complaining about others instead of actually providing solutions. It's a reputation that was earned quickly and will take a long time to improve, even if he chose to actively work on it. I guess that's an example of branding, though not well.
Most modern technology managers are also aware that their IT departments could use some good PR. IT people tend to be a little bit reclusive, often don't follow-up as well as they could, and treat projects as a problem that needs to be fixed. As a result, many IT departments and individuals are not seen as being part of the rest of the organization and may not be included on as many business and organization high-level projects as they could be. Like most things in life, a certain level of balance is necessary to be successful. It's not realistic to expect your strongest programmer to be an extrovert and actively meeting with the departments to find new opportunities but if they stay holed up with the lights out and complain about the operation then they're never going to make it very far.
Not long ago my department included some very diverse, creative, and intelligent IT personnel. One in particular was capable of a lot more than he was immediately tasked with but he seldom looked to work outside his immediate group though he would throw barbs at other areas of the technology staff and the organization as a whole. It's completely normal for people to whine about their employer and others but that's all it seemed like he ever did. I encouraged his manager to work with him on the notion that anyone can criticize, the successful people are those who can provide solutions. In his case he would provide solutions for other people's problems but not to them, to their supervisors instead. As a result, it was interpreted as him complaining about others instead of actually providing solutions. It's a reputation that was earned quickly and will take a long time to improve, even if he chose to actively work on it. I guess that's an example of branding, though not well.
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