55.) Technical people are motivated by interesting work.

Geeks drawn to the tech sector are inherently passionate people. They will work obsessively on a project that interests them. They will work longer and harder than any other group of people you've ever worked alongside.  They will be the only employees that you'll ever have to send home at night. What's more, to pursue those projects, they will settle for lower wages than they could command in other positions, work under harsher conditions than they could expect elsewhere, and abandon any semblance of a social life in pursuit of their goal. 

However, the other side of that coin is that geeks in technical positions will quickly grow restless and unmanageable.  The only recourse is to keep technical people intrigued. Present them with new challenges. Allow them room for creative expression. Don't allow their daily duties become routine.

This presents a particular challenge to managers accustomed to dealing with business people. Where business people are focused on overall performance, technical people tend to focus on the task at hand. Where business people strive for personal recognition, technical people seek to expand their skill set. Where business people are interested in the external trappings of a position, technical people are interested in personal exploration.

54.) Technical people respect technical people.

... but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to know everything they do just to get along with them.  That would defy the purpose of having a technical professional.

 If you expect to work smoothly with a technical profession you do need to learn their jargon.  If you expect to manage technical professionals, you need to learn their jargon, then you need learn how to allow them to educate them. The geeks drawn to technical fields are passionate about their jobs, and part of that passion is a love of teaching others what they know.

53.)  Information workers aren't productive for 8 hours straight

The truth is that, for creative types, there is no work day, only a series of moment of productivity. Labor-intensive task, such as factory lines, depend on physical stamina.  Creative jobs, however, rely on mental stamina, which doesn't last for eight hour shifts.

50.)  It’s easier to sell something when you list the faults.


It's would seems to be a contradiction, but your sales will increase when you tell people what’s wrong with what you’ve got. Including if what you’re selling is you and your services. If you don't, your customers' attention will be divided between your sales pitch and their own on-going effort to sniff out the hidden catch in your sales pitch.

On The Value Of Work
"Work for Free or For a Full Price but Never Cheap"

37.) Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

Source: "Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will" by Sash Catanzanzarite, February 8, 2011.

30.) The first rule of business is that everything takes longer than expected.  Everything.

Leave yourself longer than you think necessary, and remember, Scotty only earned the nickname the "miracle worker" by routinely tripling all of his repair time estimates.

27.) If you're not paying for it, you're the product.

We all want stuff for free, but we rarely stop to consider what the hidden costs attach to the things we consider free. Costs like privacy and peace of mind. I lifted this rule from a discussion on MetaFilter on the overhaul of the social aggregation news site Digg last year. The site's redesign had very little to do with improving the user experience and a whole lot to do with positioning users to see content they're intended to see.