Re: Self-promo in dangerous times

["Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

mlist -at- ca -dot- rainbow -dot- com wrote:
> the combined company will
> have more than a few tech writers, and as you know, we are
> inter-changeable.    (ahem...)
> I'd sorta like to be one of the retainees.  :-)
>
> In my capacity as not-a-political animal, I'm really at
> a loss as to how to get the message to the right person
> without stirring up a lot of crud that might bury me.

Prepare for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't happen.

Of course, it depends on your personal definition of "worst."  Being laid
off in a controlled orderly fashion is definitely not the worst thing that
could happen to you. Hanging around in a chaotic post-merger company with a
bunch of tech writers playing musical chairs, sucking up to management to
see who is left standing when the music stops, is my idea of "worst."

One perspective: You already know your company has probably lost its
commitment to you, and you will probably be let go at some unknown time in
the future. So every week now is a gift; where you are paid to sit at a desk
surrounded by bandwidth and technology, and management isn't really focused
on what you are doing. So use that time to learn more about the technologies
around you, or reach out and learn something totally different.

Of course, if you are good at the political game, go ahead and play it -
somebody is going to win; it may as well be you.

Mike O.