We finally got a dog. Sparky. His original name was Prince. But I decided you can’t have a prince on a farm. So we changed the name. Sparky is five years old, so he was probably pretty used to the name Prince, but name changing, is of course, normal in our family. (After all, I'm [...]

It’s the time of year when there are a bazillion articles about what gift you should give your boss. The implication is that of course you’ll give a gift. But I think you’re better off skipping it. Here’s why:
1. Gift recommendations are not really recommendations.
When a journalist or blogger (is there a difference?) writes about [...]

I'm always shocked to hear that people don’t like brown-nosing. If I could do it, I definitely would. But as someone who has Asperger's, brown-nosing always looks very difficult. So I have been looking for someone to teach me how to be better at brown-nosing, and finally, I found it.
First, here is research from James Westphal [...]

I am switching up the blog a bit. It's time to take the Brazen Careerist part off of my blog. It's time for the blog to just be Penelope Trunk, and only my company should use the name Brazen Careerist.
We have been saying this in Brazen Careerist board meetings for about five months. The conversation goes [...]

It might be that the only useful thing you ever learned in school (besides how to make small talk at a party) is how to ask a good question.
Most of us didn’t learn that, though. Because it’s so hard to teach. I know it’s really hard to teach because people with Asperger Syndrome don’t understand [...]

There are some things about work that are difficult for even me to write about. These are the issues that I have not quite worked out for myself.  I wonder if I am normal in these areas? Maybe no one is talking about them, but they are thinking still. And if no one else is [...]

The debate continues about whether and when a recession is coming, and what the markers would be. Most of us are in no position to do the analysis ourselves, but you don't need to be an economist to know that if people are talking about recession, you should do some thinking about what you would [...]

This guest post is by Susan Johnston who is 24 years old and blogs at The Urban Muse.
By Susan Johnston – It's easy to get screwed when you're fresh out of undergrad and starting a new job. Nobody tells you this, because it doesn't make a particularly inspiring message for a graduation speech or greeting [...]

Most people stay at a company less than seven years. Most young people stay at a company less than two. So why are companies still set up for people who stay 40 years and climb the ladder? It makes no sense, and frustrates nearly all workers.
Well, all workers who aren't at the top of the [...]

What's the point of baby boomers complaining about Generation Y at work? First of all, it's a cliché, because people over 40 have been complaining about "young people" since forever.
Even worse, it's a losing battle. Generation Y is huge. It's one thing for boomers to verbally squash Generation X — that was no problem. Gen [...]

When young people talk about wanting faster promotions or higher salaries, it's a red herring. What young people really want at work is opportunity for personal growth, but they're scared that you won't be able to give that to them, so they ask for a promotion instead. The problem is that a title change and [...]

It's another excerpt from my book, Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. This is tip #33 : There Are No Bad Bosses, Only Whiny Employees.
Want to deal with a bad boss? First, stop complaining. Unless your boss breaks the law, you don't have a bad boss, you have a boss you are managing poorly. [...]

My book, Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, is available now!
Here is tip #37 from the book: A Long List of Ways to Dodge Long Hours
It's hard to leave the office at a reasonable time of day when your workplace culture centers on long hours. But the cost of not leaving work is high: a [...]

My book, Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, is shipping from Amazon!
Here is tip #21 from the book: Mud Slinging Means You're Losing Ground
If you want people to like you, give them compliments. I know, that sounds like I'm telling you to brownnose. Instead, I'm telling you to find genuine ways to compliment people, which [...]

One of the biggest complaints I hear from employees is that no one is listening to their ideas. In a large part this is not because the ideas are bad, but becuse most employees don't sell their ideas to their company properly.
Selling an idea to an organization requires that you understand how the decision makers [...]

More money is good, right? You're going to be doing your job anyway, so you might as well ask to get paid more for doing it.
But you actually have to do a lot of preparation in order to ask for a raise effectively. The most obvious preparation is to find out what everyone else is [...]

Here's what a bad boss is: Someone who lies, cheats, steals, or touches you after you've told him, in writing, not to. If you have one of these bosses, quit complaining and start applying for other jobs.
All other bosses aren't truly bad — you're just bad at managing them.
One of the most important parts of [...]

I know, I know, I spent a whole post ranting about how almost everyone should not be video blogging. So it's surprising to hear that I'm launching Bruce's video blog here, right?
The reason I love Bruce's video blog is that he is a great speaker, and he has great ideas, and he gets them out [...]

Here's an idea: Stop complaining about micromanagers since you can't change them, and start using them to your benefit. One of the most important workplace strategies is managing up. And one of the easiest types of boss to do this with is a micromanager.
Usually, when I tell people how to manage up, I tell people [...]

Managing up is the best tactic for getting more interesting work, more responsibility, and more sane work hours, because your boss is the one who can give you this stuff.
Some people think managing up is brown nosing, but in fact, a lot of it is about humanizing the workplace. Managing up is about you caring [...]