Category Archives: Management Thoughts

Competitive Strategy Examined

Back in the 1990s, the dominant web browser was Netscape Navigator. I tried to negotiate a “bundle” deal that included a copy Netscape with every copy of the software we developed, Netscape wanted to charge me a commercial licensing fee. … Continue reading

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RSU in your paycheck

Say you are a highly coveted skilled worker in a hyper-competitive industry. This is a good day. You received two job offers for similar jobs. Both seem challenging and fun. Two companies are both publicly trading. They are comparable by … Continue reading

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Trust them, or Fire them

There are two ways to achieve success: hire the best people for the maximal responsibilities, or hire with just enough skills and supervise them at depth. You would think most executives will go for the first and you will be … Continue reading

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To be right or effective?

Google the title. My browser returned 650 million hits. Decades ago, an executive tossed this question to one of my colleagues. She was stunned and stumped. So was I. Since then, I have never asked this question to anyone, since … Continue reading

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The Psychology on Job Changing

John is a good friend. He has worked for the same company on essentially the same job for the past 5 years. During these 5 years, he received moderate raises that roughly kept up with the inflation. His boss valued … Continue reading

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Continuous Bar Raising

Companies, GE being the most notable one, tried to raise the employee bar continuously. They prune the bottom 10% of the employee pool and replace them with better new hires. This should roughly raise the average by about 5% with … Continue reading

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Dark Side of Democracy

Sometimes, we have win-win situations. Sometimes, it is lose-lose. These are easy. We can dissect those win-lose ones further. If most win and few lose, we follow the utilitarian rule and sacrifice the minority. The flip side is the taxation … Continue reading

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Interview Tricks for Old Job Seekers

The high-tech industry does not discriminate against the old. It is a hyper-competitive industry. The employers are pragmatic. They simply want the best value for their money. For that, old people usually are not a good deal. You, one of … Continue reading

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Under Preparation for Job Interviews

“If they don’t like me for who I am, then I don’t want to work for them either,” said the job applicant. Seriously? Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.– Theodore … Continue reading

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Indentured Servitude

Why would anyone in modern high-tech society even consider to be the employment side of indentured servitude? For money, power, and greed, of course. Over a dinner conversation, I learned, first-handedly, that a company just erected a policy that they … Continue reading

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