Those of us in professional services business are very familiar with the concept of hourly rate. Some companies have daily rates for their people. It is an accepted norm to have a rate sheet for based on the levels of people. While this concept works and helps in transacting business, my strong belief is that… Continue reading
Date Archives → February 2005
Taking responsibility for communication
We all know that communication skills are very very important to succeed in our careers and in life. However, only a few of us make a sustained effort to improve our communication skills in a disciplined manner. The key reason is that improved communication yields results over a long period of time and most of… Continue reading
A few thoughts on personal branding
Brands provide powerful shortcuts. When you need something and you don’t have the time to research, your gut says to go with a powerful brand. People are no different. Powerful personal brands provide an unfair advantage. If you are an IT professional and don’t have any time at all (you are extremely busy with your… Continue reading
Do you love your job?
I have been asking this question to hundreds of people over the last few years and the response usually is either “Not really” or “Yes, but..” Interestingly, only a small portion of non-entrepreneurs respond with an “Yes!” answer. My concept is that loving your job is a decision that you make and once you make… Continue reading
Leadership is as simple as filling in the blanks
There is enough literature that is out there that says that leadership is not tied to the position. However, there is not much written about how a person who is not in a “sort of” leadership position able to lead. I believe that leadership is as simple as filling in the blanks. Any organization or… Continue reading
Leaving a lasting impression
If I ask you to name a few of your teachers from your college, most often you will tell me your favorite teachers. The ones that made a lasting impression on you. Professional services is the same. If you are in the PS business, you should ask yourself “With how many clients have I made… Continue reading
The cure for commoditization
Software projects tend to be a few days late and a few thousand dollars over budget. So, for technology professionals, “walking the extra mile” is almost a common practice. Apart from the standard project pressures, these technology professionals have a daunting task of avoiding commoditizing themselves. The technology that’s hot today may be a commodity… Continue reading
Welcome to Life Beyond Code
Most white collar workers will relate to this – the constant dilemma between delivery (flawlessly executing on current projects) and the preparation (building more capacity to deliver projects). Some of us have tried to get out of this dilemma and in the process lost sight of some of the other things that we should have… Continue reading