workplace

My in-laws were in town this past weekend, escaping the Wisconsin snowstorms for a few sunny days in Silicon Valley. Hanging out with them was a welcome break from all the usual nonsense we call day-to-day life.

It got me thinking about how infrequently we take a step back from our gadget-filled, workaholic lives to gain some perspective. How often do you ask yourself if you like what you're doing, if you're on the right track, or if you should be doing anything differently?

The same goes for companies. After all, companies are made up of people. Executives and directors are people. How often do they step back and assess the company's technology, products and services, and strategy with respect to the competition?… Read more

Want to know how to invent successful start-ups, improve collaboration, and drink coffee--all at the same time?

Read Michael Kanellos' story on News.com: "Better science through coffee"

Why can't we all just get along? Because it doesn't work that way. There are lots of reasons why folks don't get along. There are cultural differences, gender differences, style differences, all kinds of differences. And that's just the beginning.

According to a number of studies, at least 10 percent of the U.S. population has some sort of personality disorder. That includes depression, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, to name a few. That can't help.

In the workplace, it gets even worse. There are bullies, jerks who want to stab you in the back, and folks you just plain don't like. My personal favorite are people who are passive aggressive--they openly agree to something and then do the opposite.… Read more

Over the years, I've noticed something lots of techies have in common--they like things to be black-and-white. Sorry if that offends you, but in my experience, it's true.

Unfortunately, the real world is gray. Like it or not, living and thriving in a gray world, especially a gray workplace, involves negotiating. None of us are born with negotiating skills. We have to learn them. This will help.

Here are five things you need to know to negotiate effectively. They'll help you in all your work-related relationships - with peers, managers, subordinates, customers, vendors, everyone. They'll help you to negotiate better compensation packages, promotions, and even exit packages.

Who knows, they may even help to improve your personal and personal business relationships. After all, so much of family and business life involves negotiating.… Read more

Crises happen. They happen to all companies and to all people. They happen in our personal lives and in our professional lives. By definition, crises bring change, big change. They can change the entire trajectory of your life or your company's future. That's why how we behave in a crisis, how we manage a crisis, is such a big deal.

For example, Yahoo is going through a crisis right now. It's attempting to reinvent itself. Microsoft's bid to buy the company further complicates matters. The way Yahoo's board handles this crisis will determine the fate of the company and its thousands of employees and shareholders. That's a pretty big deal.

One company's crisis can have a ripple effect on others. You might say that Microsoft is attempting to capitalize on Yahoo's crisis. In so doing, the software giant has created its own. Negotiating tens of billions of dollars to acquire a large company and remake its Internet business is definitely crisis material.… Read more

Ever had a bad job before? When you were done working there, did you have the urge to steer others clear of treading the same path of personal destruction? I know I did. At one of my old jobs, people were so angry after layoffs that they started their own anticompany blogs.

For the slightly more level-headed there's JobDud, a site that lets you anonymously rant about how good, or bad an employer is. Like Yelp, JobDud uses a five-star rating and each company gets its own page where user reviews are listed and put together for an aggregate … Read more

In the News.com offices, people have been completely hooked on Guitar Hero. Really, we haven't heard The Scorpions this much since the late '80s. We hear that in some other businesses they play a game called "golf." There's even a rumor that careers are made and broken, and millions of dollars change hands, all based on relationships forged on the "golf course."

It sounds funny to us--a grassy hillside, some sticks, a teeny ball, and plaid trousers. Well, the plaid trousers did cross over to Guitar Hero. But I digress.

Apparently, unable to … Read more

At a company known for pampering staffers on a par with the court of Louis XIV, one courtier employee stands apart from the throngs. Thunder Parley's made a name for himself (his name is, of course, pretty cool to begin with) as resident food critic and connoisseur of The Google's famous culinary innovations. He influences tastes and chefs through his posts to a company intranet and lately, his role on the hiring committee for new chefs. We see a second career as a noted food critic in his future.

Like many of our generation's finest computer engineers, … Read more

One Sunday night, when I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, my dad noticed I was acting a little moody. "What's the matter, sonny boy?" That's what he called me sometimes. I think it's from an Al Jolson song.

"Ah, you know, I've got school tomorrow." I whined. "Weekends are great, but they're too short."

"You know what?" he replied, "I still feel that way about work."… Read more