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• Tom West was aloof and uncommunicative with the talented members of his Eagle computer (Soul of a New Machine) development team, but he fought Data General’s upper management to get them the resources they needed. No Silver Bullet In the end, although you may carefully study a company’s culture and the nature of its products and projects, a good deal of luck is involved in selecting a good boss. My advice is this: If you happen to pick a boss you don’t like, don’t blame it on him (or her). Move on. Find a new boss. Unless, of course, you elect to become subversive, instigate a cabal, enjoy sleepless nights, upset your intestinal tract, aggravate your family — and possibly become president of the company. Resources For more on “good” companies, projects, and bosses: R. Levering, M. Moskowitz, and M. Katz, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, Addison- Wesley, 1984. “The 100 Best Companies to Work For: 2006,” Fortune magazine, 23 January 2006. “The Fortune 500: 2005,” Fortune magazine, 18 April 2005. W. Bennis and P. W. Biederman, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration, Addison- Wesley, 1997. J. Welch, Jack: Straight from the Gut, Warner Business Books, 2001. B. Rich and L. Janos, Skunk Works, Little, Brown, 1994. T. Kidder, The Soul of a New Machine, Atlantic (Little, Brown), 1981. Inside Out: Microsoft—In Our Own Words, Warner Business Books, 2000 (25th Anniversary interviews with Microsoft managers and executives). F.A. Maxwell, Bad Boy Ballmer: The Man Who Rules Microsoft, William Morrow, 2002. R. Slater, Microsoft Rebooted, Portfolio, 2004. J. Young, Cisco Unauthorized, Forum, 2001. G. Dorsey, Silicon Sky, Perseus, 1999 (about Orbital Sciences Corporation). D. Packard, The H P Way, Harper Collins, 1995. “America’s Most Admired Companies”, Fortune magazine, 6 March 2006. Donald Christiansen is the former editor and publisher of IEEE Spectrum and an independent publishing consultant. 12 ieee-usa eBooks
Build Your Network Purposefully — Before You Need a Job By Debra Feldman The concept of a geometric progression is fascinating: it appeals to one’s sense of an ever-evolving world, conjuring images of a pebble hitting a pond and its resultant waves spreading out in concentric circles from the point of impact. What does throwing rocks into water have to do with finding a job, you ask? It’s simple. Just as the water keeps rippling and spreading out, your networking connections need to grow to continually impact leads to new opportunities. If you tell everyone — and I mean everyone you know — that you are in the job market, that still won’t broadcast far enough. You have to stretch beyond that first level of contacts and those in your immediate circle of friends, neighbors, acquaintances, service providers and colleagues, and spread your proposition to new circles. For your job search to progress, you have to get in touch with people that you don’t already know. Your goal should be to meet and talk about new career opportunities with individuals outside your existing network by seeking out new contacts, making connections and sharing information and ideas. By connecting purposefully with highly qualified individuals and developing genuine relationships, you can put yourself on their radar for when an appropriate lead with your name on it presents itself. Remember the six degrees of separation? In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell explains the phenomenon: how large groups of individuals become connected through just a few exceptionally well-connected individuals. Gladwell describes certain individuals who act as centers of communication (hubs) because of their pivotal positions in multiple networks of connected individuals. To network purposefully, try to identify and meet or network with especially well-connected individuals who have the means to facilitate critical introductions, referrals and connections. Those hubs can introduce you to more of the people you need to know than randomly selected contacts. In other words, network purposefully by choosing the right individuals — those who are connected to others in your targeted network — and explain your interests compellingly enough for them to want to assist you. Networking with hubs will pay far greater dividends than just knowing a lot of people a little bit. It’s important to build your networking foundation with strategically selected contacts before you launch a job hunt. Decide in advance where you might need connections and purposefully begin the chain of introductions to get to know people at companies that might offer future employment opportunities. For each person you meet initially, shoot for referrals to at least two more individuals. Purposeful networking principles can improve your job search results. First, recognize that the people you tell you are looking for a job are as important as what you tell them. Effective networking has two main components: clearly communicating your message to a hiring manager in simple but incontrovertible terms about what makes you unique, and communicating with those who will supply additional connections. Focus your efforts on those who will produce additional referrals and intro- The Best of Today’s Engineer: On Career Survival 13
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