Managing A Career
I help you navigate the path to professional success. Whether you're a recent graduate still searching for your place or a seasoned professional with years of experience, the knowledge and insights I share can show you how to position yourself for growth and career advancement.
158
Sept. 15, 2026
Not Every Failure Counts Against You - MAC158
Two people walk out of two different meetings having heard the same sentence: it didn't work. One of them skipped a step in a process the company has run four hundred times. The other tried something the company has never tried. Same sentence, same tone in the room, same quiet adjustment in how each of them gets described in the next talent review.
That's the problem underneath this whole piece: your organization almost certainly cannot tell those two people apart. Not because anyone up the cha
That's the problem underneath this whole piece: your organization almost certainly cannot tell those two people apart. Not because anyone up the cha
157
Sept. 8, 2026
It's Easier to Disappoint Yourself Than Someone Else - MAC157
Two things went on your calendar this quarter.
The first was a commitment to someone else. That meeting, you have never moved it once. When it landed on top of your own doctor's appointment, the doctor got rescheduled. The second was an hour you blocked for yourself — the certification, the analysis you keep meaning to start, the conversation you keep meaning to have. You have quietly moved it four times, and not one person has mentioned it.
Same calendar. Same you. The only difference is who
The first was a commitment to someone else. That meeting, you have never moved it once. When it landed on top of your own doctor's appointment, the doctor got rescheduled. The second was an hour you blocked for yourself — the certification, the analysis you keep meaning to start, the conversation you keep meaning to have. You have quietly moved it four times, and not one person has mentioned it.
Same calendar. Same you. The only difference is who
156
Sept. 1, 2026
Measuring Invisible Work - MAC156
here is a specific moment this episode is built around, and you have almost certainly lived it.
You are writing up your contribution — for a review, a self-assessment, a conversation you are trying to prepare for. You know what happened. You know it mattered. You get to the word saved — "which saved us about" — and you stop. Because the next word is supposed to be a figure, and you do not have one. So you write "a lot of time" instead, and the sentence quietly dies.
That is the failure point.
You are writing up your contribution — for a review, a self-assessment, a conversation you are trying to prepare for. You know what happened. You know it mattered. You get to the word saved — "which saved us about" — and you stop. Because the next word is supposed to be a figure, and you do not have one. So you write "a lot of time" instead, and the sentence quietly dies.
That is the failure point.
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About the Host
Layne Robinson
I've been a software developer for multiple Fortune 500 companies and spent time in the software consultant world, too. The past few years, I made the transition to management and currently lead a team of over 40 developers across the globe. In my 30 years, one thing I've realized is that most managers spend the majority of their one-on-one time focused on project status and not on career development. It's usually left for the individual to figure out how to progress. I have found that I actually enjoy mentoring and coaching and my teams are consistently recognized as some of the top teams in the company.