The 5 dirtiest words in management

A week later, we're pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in our site. With minimal marketing we've had more visitors than anticipated and quite a few sign-ups. It's tough, donning the marketing hat for a geek. You have to almost have an out of the body experience, because in reality, the body you assumed is not the one you're used to in the past 40 years. Nevertheless, it's a great challenge and as I always say to my kids, don't worry about the thousand steps, just take the first one. Like most things, we have had a few hiccups but no catastrophes and I chant the words of a wise monk everyday. He said..."Even the just man falls seven times a day."

On the other side of the coin, Fast Company did an interview with Bill Joy, who helped start Sun Microsystems. The words of wisdom were "Understand the technology, even if you're in management." That to me, is a prerequisite. You simply have to be technology savy if you're leading a technical team or a technology company. Anything less means you'll be setting business goals and making sales pitches that are unrealistic and even downright impossible. Faced with poor management demands, most developers either leave, do a bad job, or take the walk of doom hoping for miracle. Yes, very much a Dilbert moment. Understanding technology and the people who develop them are both necessary ingredients because you will know whether something is feasible as a function and deliverable in the time constraints. You also get to know which developers over and underestimate allowing you to adjust properly. The most important thing of all is that you are able to make customer promises and feature requests that are realistic without taking the entire company on a death march. The 5 dirtiest words in management that will cause instant (usually silent) mutiny is...

How hard can it be?