Some important things to remember when dealing with humans:
- If people under you on the org chart are being friendly with you, laughing at your jokes, etc., it is partly due to their desire to get ahead in their careers.
- Every person is the hero of his/her own personal struggle. This self perception explains a lot of human behavior.
- If you are managing people and you don't think you can fire someone because your own boss would not be supportive, then you will never succeed as a manager in that company. Find a new boss.
- The more a startup becomes successful, the more it will attract Slytherins and the more hostile it will be to Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. This is not a value judgement about the different houses, just an important reality to keep in mind.
- When hiring, the "weekend test" works very well. Would you want to spend a weekend in the office working alongside this person?
- Be upfront with people about their own personal goals and time horizons. Collaboration can exist when everyone's incentives line up, but that doesn't entail that everyone's incentives will always line up. Being honest about this will make people feel respected.
Trust your gut feelings about people, they are usually right.
Figure out what kind of work culture you want to work in, and do your best to make your job match this culture, or find a new job that is a better match.
Invest in your friendships, and develop habits and hobbies that let you continue to make new friends even once you start to settle down a bit.
Read books like "How to negotiate anything" and "Impro" to better understand the way interpersonal dynamics influence negotiations and the perception of a person's behavior.
If you are a thinker, spend time cultivating the ability to listen to your own feelings and to use your emotions and hunches as valuable input into your more rational decision processes.
Realize that your mind and body are one and that you will be more complete if you treat your body well (food, exercise, sleep).
Leadership is a force, not a title. Regardless of the situation or who is officially in charge, bring leadership to the world wherever you go. This does not mean bossing people around, it can mean many things depending on the context.
edit: not sure why this got downvoted, maybe something I said struck a nerve. I'd be curious to find out what it was rather than just have this downvoted.
- If people under you on the org chart are being friendly with you, laughing at your jokes, etc., it is partly due to their desire to get ahead in their careers.
- Every person is the hero of his/her own personal struggle. This self perception explains a lot of human behavior.
- If you are managing people and you don't think you can fire someone because your own boss would not be supportive, then you will never succeed as a manager in that company. Find a new boss.
- The more a startup becomes successful, the more it will attract Slytherins and the more hostile it will be to Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. This is not a value judgement about the different houses, just an important reality to keep in mind.
- When hiring, the "weekend test" works very well. Would you want to spend a weekend in the office working alongside this person?
- Be upfront with people about their own personal goals and time horizons. Collaboration can exist when everyone's incentives line up, but that doesn't entail that everyone's incentives will always line up. Being honest about this will make people feel respected.
Trust your gut feelings about people, they are usually right.
Figure out what kind of work culture you want to work in, and do your best to make your job match this culture, or find a new job that is a better match.
Invest in your friendships, and develop habits and hobbies that let you continue to make new friends even once you start to settle down a bit.
Read books like "How to negotiate anything" and "Impro" to better understand the way interpersonal dynamics influence negotiations and the perception of a person's behavior.
If you are a thinker, spend time cultivating the ability to listen to your own feelings and to use your emotions and hunches as valuable input into your more rational decision processes.
Realize that your mind and body are one and that you will be more complete if you treat your body well (food, exercise, sleep).
Leadership is a force, not a title. Regardless of the situation or who is officially in charge, bring leadership to the world wherever you go. This does not mean bossing people around, it can mean many things depending on the context.
edit: not sure why this got downvoted, maybe something I said struck a nerve. I'd be curious to find out what it was rather than just have this downvoted.