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Survivor: CSO Longevity

How I've managed to keep the same job for more than a decade

Although most careers shouldn't feel like a war, they invariably come with a few battles, and it's the way we respond that often defines how long we survive. It may feel good to shout, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" but torpedoes sink careers as well as ships.

One mistake I've made and seen others make is sticking to a failed agenda. Sometimes ideas are ahead of their time, and people just arenâ¬"t ready to accept them. Other times an organizational culture just won't accommodate certain changes. These are times when the politically savvy will shelve ideas and shift agendas rather than burn up political capital on no-win situations. Later, when the time is right, you can move on your original agenda.

This happened to me a few years back on a project involving PKI (public-key infrastructure) and digital certificates. Rather than fight a losing battle, I just changed my plans and shelved the project for a couple years.

By the way, I outlasted both of those people who were out to get me. Eventually, other people in the organization realized they just werenâ¬"t doing a good job. At the time, I felt very alone, but since then, people have said, oh yeah, she was evil and that guy was no good. Sometimes, if you just stay in the game long enough, your opponents will go away.

Survival Strategy 3:

Keep Your Friends Close

Another key to protecting your career is building relationships throughout the organization. Allies are always useful when problems unfold, but they can also tell you when others are beginning to plot against you or your agenda. If you know that a situation is brewing you have a better chance of avoiding it altogether.

This is how I knew to shelve the PKI project a few years back. Based on the intelligence I was getting from my allies, it just became clear that the project wasnâ¬"t going to fly. People were digging in their heels to stop it from happening.

Other times, you can take hold of the situation and get others to see things your way. But to do this, you need to know what they're saying in the hallways and manage the spin. If they're saying an idea is

bad because of some specific reasons that you don't believe are valid, you have to be able to counter that.

Say there's a network topology issue youâ¬"re dealing with. Maybe your security people say that if you go with this certain form of network topology, you can serve the business better. Meanwhile, the network engineers have a different approach they want to take. Tech people can be very bigoted toward certain architectural platforms. You have to fight for what you think is right, and part of that is managing what other people are saying about it. You may be able to persuade others to your position, but it's a lot easier to do so if you get to the right people and influence them early, to help shape their ideas.