[follow the big guy 001] Nicholas C. Zakas The best career advice I’ve received

I recently had an interesting discussion with a colleague. We were recounting our job histories and how our, shall we say colorful personalities, could have negatively impacted us long term. The truth is, I was kind of an asshole coming out of college (some
would argue I’m still kind of an asshole, but that’s beside the point). I was arrogant and bitingly sarcastic, a generally irreverent character. I thought I knew it all and was quite proud of myself for it.

【最近我与一同事有一次有意思的讨论。我们回忆了各自所走过的职业历程以及不同个性如何长期消极影响我们的职业。事实情况是，我曾经是那种从大学里走出来的令人讨厌的人（有些人可能会说我现在仍然是那种人，但这是另一回事儿）。当时我很傲慢并且很刻薄，是一个十足的愤青。我自以为我很了解自己的性格并且为这种性格感到骄傲。】

I had a habit of telling more experienced engineers that they were doing things wrong, and despite being right most of the time, I didn’t have the personality to make it effective. During one particularly engaging conversation, one of the senior engineers stopped
and said, in these exact words, “I’m going to f***en beat the shit out of you if you don’t shut up.” I laughed it off because I knew he wouldn’t dare, and only years later did I realize the relevance of that statement: it was actually what he wanted to do.

【我曾经经常指出更有经验的工程师的错误之处。尽管我所提出的大部分错误是正确的，但是由于我的个性问题使得解决这些错误并没有这么高效。比如在一次对话中，其中的一名高级工程师突然恶狠狠的说道，“假如你不闭嘴，我就用屎**把你赶出去。”我只是笑笑因为知道他不敢。一年之后我就意识到，他是真心想做这件事的。】

Since that time I’ve grown up a lot, learned to watch what I say, and treat people with respect regardless of defining characteristics. The sarcasm stays in check while in a professional environment; I let it out to play when I’m with good friends. This self-control,
along with a lot of other invaluable lessons, came to me not of my own accord, but through the careful guidance of the mentors I’ve had along the way. If not for them, who knows if my interpersonal relationships would have short-circuited my career.

【从那时开始我成长了很多，开始学习如何说话，如何尊重人。这种挖苦在职业环境下得到了控制；当我与好朋友在一起的时候，我把它们放到一边。这些自我控制能力伴随着其它无价的教训并非来自自身内部，而是由一路上的人生导师引导的。如果没有他们，我的人际关系将会使我的职业生涯变的很糟糕。】

The truth is that I have been incredibly blessed in my career because of the people I’ve come into contact with. My managers along the way molded a really rough-around-the-edges character into someone I’m proud to be. More than that, because of their influence,
I’m not just a good programmer – I’m a good teammate and a good person. So impactful were these people on my life that I frequently recount their advice to the colleagues that I now mentor.

【因为工作中接触到很多优秀的人，所以我是幸福的。我的经理们一直以来将自己塑造成性格很好的人。我为他们感到自豪。更甚，受到他们影响，我不仅成为一名好的编程人员—-也成为一名优秀团队成员和优秀个人。他们对我的人生影响很大，以致于我经常将他们的建议讲给我所指导的同事们。】

I also find their advice to be universally applicable, so I’d like to share the things I was told that helped me along the way. Of course, some of these are paraphrased since my memory for exact phrases isn’t all that great, but I believe I’ve captured the
important parts correctly.

【我发现这些建议具有普遍适用性，所以决定将它们分享给大家。当然，有些内容是经过改述的（本人记性不大好，不能把每个词都记住），但相信我现在已经抓住了主要思想。】

Don’t be a short-order cook

【不要成为只会做快餐的厨师】

My very first job lasted 8 months because the company shut down. As I was talking with my manager about what I would do next, he gave me this advice:

【我的第一份工作持续了8个月，之后这家公司就关闭了。当跟经理讨论下一步我该做什么的时候，他建议我】

Nicholas, you’re worth more than your code. Whatever your next gig is, make sure that you’re not a short-order cook. Don’t accept a job where you’re told exactly what to build and how to build it. You need to work somewhere that appreciates your insights into
the product as well as your ability to build it.

【“Nicholas，你的价值不只有你的代码。无论接下来的路是什么，确保你自己不是一个仅会做快餐的厨师。不要去接受那些有明确目标并且步骤已经很详细的工作（译者注：以我理解应该是像软件外包那种工作）。你应该去那些赏识你的洞察力以及构建产品能力的公司”】

This is something I’ve kept in mind throughout my career. Simply being an implementer isn’t good enough – you need to be involved in the process that leads up to implementation. Good engineers don’t just follow orders, they give feedback to and work with product
owners to make the product better. Fortunately, I’ve chosen my jobs wisely and never ended up in a situation where people didn’t respect or value my insights.

【我牢记这句话很多年。做代码实现者不够好—-我们应该参与到整个开发过程中。一名好的工程师不仅是按部就班的实现功能，还应该给予反馈，与产品的拥有者一起工作，这样才能构造出更好的产品。很幸运，我的工作选择都很明智并且我从来不会在一家不尊重、不重视我的洞察力的公司待很长时间。】

Self-promote

【自我推销】

My second manager at Yahoo pulled me aside one day to give me some advice. He had been watching my work and felt like I was hiding a bit:

【有一天，在Yahoo的经理将我拉到一边给了我些建议。他监督我的工作，后来发现我有点内向：】

You do great work. I mean really great work. I like how your code looks and that it rarely breaks. The problem is that others don’t see it. In order for you to get credit for the work you’re doing, you have to let people know. You need to do a bit of self-promotion
to get noticed.

【“你工作很棒。我喜欢你代码的风格以及它的连贯性。然而，其他人并没有看到。为了使你现在的工作得到好评，你应该让别人看到你的代码。你需要做一些自我推销来引起注意。”】

It took me a little while to digest what he was saying, but I finally figured it out. If you do good work, but no one knows that you did good work, then it doesn’t really help you. Your manager can back you up but can’t make your case for you. People
within the organization need to understand your value, and the best way to do that is to tell people what you did.

【刚开始我并没有理解他的话，但后来我明白了其中道理。即使你工作很棒，但如果没有人看到你所做的内容，这并没有帮到你多少。你经理能支持你，但不能为你做证明。你组织里的人需要知道你的价值所在，最好的方式就是告诉他们你做了什么。】

This is advice I give to many of my colleagues now. Self-promoting doesn’t mean, “look at me, I’m awesome.” It means letting people know when you’ve hit major milestones, or when you’ve learned something new. It means showing people the work that you’re proud
of. It means celebrating your accomplishments and the accomplishments of others. It means being visible within the organization. The engineer who sits quietly in a corner and just codes away is always a bit mysterious – don’t be like that. A quick email to
say, “hey, I finished the new email layout. Let me know what you think” goes a long way.

【我将这个建议告诉过许多同事了。自我推销并不是说，“看我，我很牛逼。”它意味着让别人知道你的工作有了巨大进展或者让他们知道你学到了一些新内容。它意味向别人展示你所骄傲的成果。它意味着庆祝自己以及别人的成就。它意味着向你所在的组织证明你的价值。坐在角落默默敲代码的工程师总是有一些神秘感—-不要那样。一封简短的邮件，“好，我完成了新邮件的布局。你看看有什么建议吗。”，往往会起到很大的作用。】

It’s about people【“人”比技术重要】

I was very title-driven earlier in my career. I always wanted to know what I had to do to be promoted. During my first one-on-one with my new manager on the Yahoo homepage, I asked what it would take for me to get promoted. His words still ring in my ears:

【在职业生涯的早期阶段，我是头衔驱动型。我总是想着如何做才能被提拔。在雅虎主页上与新经理的第一次一对一会议中，我问需要做什么才能得到提拔。他的话仍然在脑海中盘旋：】

At a certain point, you stop being judged on your technical knowledge and start being judged on the way you interact with people.

【“从某种意义上讲，你应该结束对自己技术的评判，开始关注与人交流的方式。”】

I’m not sure I’ve ever received a better insight into the software engineering profession since that time. He was exactly right. At that point, no one was questioning my technical ability. I was known as a guy who wrote good, high-quality code that rarely had
bugs. What I lacked was leadership skill.

【之后，我没有收到过对软件工程这个职业比这更具洞察力的见解了。他完全正确。在那时，没有人怀疑我的技术能力。我以写高质量，几乎零bugs的代码而出名。我所缺少的是领导能力。】

Since that time, I’ve seen countless engineers get stuck at one level in their career. Smart people, good code, but the inability to work effectively with others keeps them where they are. Anytime someone feels stuck in their software engineering career, I
recount this advice and it has always been right on the money.

【从那时起，我看到无数工程师处于他们职业生涯的瓶颈期。他们聪明，写着一手好代码，然而缺乏有效的与同事高效交流的能力。这将他们困在原地。一旦有人困在他们软件工程生涯的瓶颈期，我都会给他们这个建议。】

None of this matters

【“问题”不是问题】

I went through a period at Yahoo where I was frustrated. Maybe frustrated isn’t the right word, more like angry. I had angry outbursts and was arguing with people constantly. Things were going wrong and I didn’t like that. During one particularly rough day,
I asked one of my mentors how he managed to stay calm when so many things were going wrong. His response:

【我在Yahoo失意过一段时间。可能“失意”这个词并不正确，更像是愤怒。我经常愤怒地与人争论。结果事情变的很糟糕，我自己也不想这样。有一天，我心情非常差，就问我导师如何在面对这么多问题时保持冷静的。他回答：】

It’s easy. You see, none of this matters. So some crappy code got checked in, so the site went down. So what? Work can’t be your whole life. These aren’t real problems, they’re work problems. What really matters is what happens outside of work. I go home and
my wife is waiting for me. That’s pretty nice.

【“很容易。这些问题都不是问题。有这么多垃圾代码混到站点中，致使其崩溃，那又如何？工作并不是你生活的全部。这些不是真正的问题，他们是工作上的问题。工作之外所发生的事情才是值得关注的。我回到家里，我妻子在等我。那才是幸福的。”】

I had moved to California from Massachusetts and had a hard time making friends. Work was my life, it was what kept me sane, so when it wasn’t going that meant my life wasn’t going well. This conversation made me realize I had to have something else going on
in my life, something I could go back to and forget about the troubles I had at work.

【那时，我从马萨诸塞州搬到加州，人生地不熟，很难交到朋友。这样工作就是我的全部，它是我保持正常的寄托所在，所以一旦工作出现问题也就意味着我的生活也出现问题。通过这次谈话我明白生活中需要某项我能够回去然后忘掉工作中遇到的麻烦的事物。】

He was right, once I shifted my mindset and recategorized the annoying things at work as “work things,” I was able to think more clearly. I was able to calm down at work and have much more pleasant interactions with people.

【他是对的，当我调整心态并且将这些工作中遇到的令人恼火的事情重新归为“工作”的时候，我能够思考的更加清楚。我还能够让自己冷静下来与人进行更愉悦的交流。】

Authority, your way

【权威，由你做主】

When I was first promoted to principal engineer at Yahoo, I sat down with my director to better understand what the role entailed. I knew I had to be more of a leader, but I was having trouble being authoritative. I asked for help. Here’s what he said:

【当被提升为雅虎的首席工程师时，我与主管一起讨论这个职位所需要承担的责任。我明白这个职位更应该是个领导者，但是我并不知道如何使自己更具权威性。我请他帮忙。这是他所说的：】

I can’t tell you how to be authoritative, that’s something you need to figure out on your own. Different people have different styles. What you need to do is find a style that you can live with, that makes you comfortable. I can’t tell you what that is, but
you do need to find it for this position.

【“我不能告诉你应该如何具有权威性，每个人的风格不同，你应该自己发掘出来。你应该做的是找到适合自己的风格。我不能告诉你你的风格是什么，但是你应该找到适合这个职位的。”】

I spent a lot of time that year observing people of authority and how they interacted with others. I took note as to how they walked, how they talked, how they dealt with problem situations. I tried different styles before I finally came across one that worked
for me. My style is uniquely me and anyone learning to be in a position of authority has to go through the same growing pains. My advantage was that my mentor clued me about the process up front.

【那一年，我花了很多时间来观察那些有权威的人以及他们与人交流的方式。我把他们走路的方式，讲话的方式以及处理问题的方式记录了下来。我试过许多不同的方式，最后终于找到了能为我用的风格。我的风格只适合我，任何处于权威性位置的人都会经历同样痛苦的学习过程。我的优势是领导一开始就跟我讲明了情况。】

Moving from “how?” to “what?”

【从“怎样？”转到“什么？”】

During a conversation with my manager at Yahoo, I asked what the expectations were with my new position. He answered:

To this point in your career, you’ve answered the question, “how?” As in, we tell you what needs to be done and you figure out how to do it. At this point, though, you need to answer the question, “what?” I’m expecting you to come and tell me what needs to
be done.

【

在与经理的一次交谈中，我问道这个新职位的期望是什么。他回答说：

“到现在为止，你的职业在回答“怎样？”这个问题。即我们告诉你应该做什么然后你想出怎样做。而从这一刻开始，你应该回答的问题是“什么？”。我希望你能够过来告诉我应该做什么。”
】

This is the part where I see a lot of engineers get tripped up, and I would have as well if not for this piece of advice. Switching from “how?” to “what?” is very hard and takes time to develop. It also takes a bit of maturity to be left to your own desires
as to what you focus on. After all, if you can spend your time on anything you want, you are also solely responsible for what you produce.

【我看到许多工程师都在这个部分犯错误。如果没有这个建议我同样会陷入困境。从“怎样？”转到“什么？”是很困难的，并且需要许多时间来发展。你需要对自己所向往的以及所关注的事情有一个比较成熟的认识。毕竟，假如你能够花费时间在任何你想的事情上，你也应该独自对自己所创作的作品负责。】

At Box, we call this “running open loop,” meaning that you do your job with minimal oversight and yet still are making a significant positive impact on the engineering organization and the company as a whole. This is the step where many engineers fail to make
the leap, and I still give this advice to anyone who is trying to get to the next level.

【在盒子中，我们称其为“开环运行”，意味着在最少的监督下你完成工作并且仍然对组织和公司有一个整体的积极影响。就在这一阶段许多工程师失败了，我将这个建议给那些努力想要到下一阶段的工程师。】

Act like you’re in charge

I had just sat through a meeting where I had nothing to say. During my one-on-one with my director, I mentioned that I was just in a meeting where I had no idea why I was there and had nothing to contribute. He said:

【以往开会的时候，我只是坐在那儿并不知道该讲些什么。在与主管的一次面对面交谈中，我提到我只是在开会，并不知道我为什么会在那儿并且也没做什么贡献。他说道：】

Don’t ever do that again. If you’re in a meeting, it’s because you are there to participate. If you’re not sure why you’re there, stop and ask. If you’re not needed, leave. You’re in a leadership position, act like it. Don’t go quietly into a room. Just act
like you’re in charge and people will believe it.

【“以后永远都不要这样。假如你在会议中，那是因为你参加了。假如不确定自己为什么会在那儿，停下来问一问。如果你不需要在那儿，那就离开。你在一个领导的位置，那就表现的像领导。不要静静的走进一个房间。只要表现出你在负责，那么人们就会相信。”】

In that piece of advice, my mentor had reminded me of a lesson I learned while acting in high school: no one knows when you’re acting. If you’re nervous but act like you’re not, then people won’t know that you’re nervous. The same with leadership. The old phrase
fake it til you make it comes to mind. From that point on, I never sat quietly in a meeting. I made sure I only went to meetings that needed me to participate and then I would participate.

【从这个建议里，我的导师使我想起从高中学到的一个教训：没有人知道你什么时候在表演。假如你很紧张但是表现出并不紧张的样子，那么别人就不会知道你很紧张。领导能力也是一样的。一句古语“久演必成真”出现在脑海中。从那时，我从来没有在会议中静静的坐着。我确保自己只去参加那些需要我参加的会议。】

Let them win

I went through a particular period where there were a lot of arguments on the team. I prided myself on ending those arguments with authority. I had a “my ruling is final” mentality, and my manager noticed that and gave me this piece of advice:

【我经历过一段时期，在这段时期团队中有许多争论。我为自己使用权威来结束这些争论而感到很满意。我有一个“我的规则是最终的结果”的心态，我的经理注意到这件事情并且给我建议说：】

I see a lot of arguing going on, and I see you pushing through to win a lot. I know that most of the time you are right, but every once in a while let them win. Pick the things that really matter to you and push for those but let the other things go. There’s
no need to win every argument.

【“我看到你们团队有许多争论，而你经常逼进他们，赢了很多。我知道大部分时间你是对的，但每隔一会儿应该让他们赢。选择那些对你要紧的事情，对这些进行推进，其它的事情让他们赢。没有必要赢取每一次争论。”】

This was one piece of advice I resisted initially. I was right nearly all of the time, why would I ever let someone else win? However, as I had grown to trust his instincts, I gave it a shot. The result: there were less arguments. People didn’t feel like they
had to get one over on me, and in turn, I became better at identifying things I really didn’t care that much about. I stuck to my guns on important issues and let the others ones get resolved by the other party. The intensity of all conversations dropped considerably.

【这是一则我一开始就坚持的建议。几乎所有时候我都是正确的，那为什么应该让其他人赢呢？然而，随着我的成长我开始相信他的本能，我决定试一试。结果是：争论减少了。他们不想要必须赢过我一次了，并且反过来，我能够更好的识别不需要太关心的事。我坚持那些重要的问题，将那些不重要的事情让别人来解决。所有对话的强烈程度都大大的降低了。】

Conclusion 【

结论

】

Looking back at the brash guy I was when I graduated college, my career could have ended up very different. I was seen as a malcontent, a smart but hard-to-deal-with guy who people dealt with because they had to. If it weren’t for the mentors I had along the
way, as well as some humbling failures early in my career, my interpersonal skills (or lack thereof) could have very well done me in. These days, I regularly seek out those who are more experienced than me and ask for advice. I may no longer make big, glaring
mistakes, but I also don’t want to wait for one to happen to seek out the experienced insights of someone I trust.

【回头看看那个刚刚毕业、非常无礼的小男孩，我的职业生涯可能非常不一样。我曾经被认为是一个不满现状，聪明但是很难伺候的人。假如不是因为一路上所遇到的导师以及在职业初期所遇到的一些令人羞辱的失败，我的交际能力（缺乏）会令我疲惫不堪。这些天，我经常找到那些比我更具经验的人并且向他们索取建议。我可能不会再犯一些大的错误，但是我也不会等着一个错误发生然后去找个我信任的人问经验性见解。】

The nearly five years I was at Yahoo were some of the most transformative in my career. I got to work on interesting problems at a large scale, but moreso I was blessed with a series of wonderful managers and other mentors within my organization. I credit those
conversations with turning me into a person that I’m proud of today, both at work and outside in “real life.”

【在Yahoo的接近五年时间是我职业生涯中变化最大的。我工作面对的都是大规模的有趣问题，但是我更庆幸自己能够同一系列非常优秀的经理和导师在一起工作。将我变成现在所自豪的人（无论是工作还是生活上的）的原因是那些对话。】

If I can leave you with one overriding piece of career advice, it would be this: identify someone at your work that is smarter than you in some way (technically, organizationally, etc.) and attach yourself to them. See if you can regularly have lunch or coffee
and pick their brain for the vast amount of knowledge it has. Your career, and maybe even your life, could end up drastically better by doing so.

【假如我能够给你们一条最重要的建议的话，那就是：找到从某一方面（无论是技术上还是组织能力上等方面）比你明智的人，然后“黏”上他。比如如果你们能够定期的一起吃午饭或者喝咖啡，那么就开始挖掘他们脑袋里的大量知识。通过这样做，你的职业生涯甚至你的生活都会变的非常不同。】

Disclaimer: Any viewpoints and opinions expressed in this article are those of Nicholas C. Zakas and do not, in any way, reflect those of my employer, my colleagues, Wrox
Publishing, O'Reilly Publishing, or anyone else. I speak only for myself, not for them.

后记：

伯乐在线导读：原文作者尼古拉斯·泽卡斯（Nicholas C. Zakas）是一位前端大牛工程师，目前在 Box 公司任职，之前是在雅虎将近工作 5 年。在雅虎期间，他是雅虎首页的前端技术主管，并且是 YUI 库的贡献者。Nicholas 编写的技术书有：《Maintainable JavaScript |编写可维护的 JavaScript》、《Professional JavaScript for Web Developers |JavaScript高级程序设计》、《High Performance JavaScript
|高性能JavaScript》、《Professional Ajax》。