CNN's list of career gotchas inspired me to come up with my own ones for software services.

Proposals should be done by offshore: Broadly speaking, there are two aspects to any proposal a). The sales pitch comprising the Story, how you want to position vis-a-vis the competition and the value proposition b). The technical approach, timelines ,costs and all the delivery yada yada (usually cut pasted from other proposals). There is nothing wrong in taking offshore contributions for a proposal. In fact all delivery related aspects must be owned and driven by offshore. But unless the guy who is close to the customer moderates and drives important differentiators are likely to get missed out.

The client is wrong: It is human to err. Or is it? In this business, the client is always right and yes, clients are human. There are times when clients make mistakes and the vendor ends up paying a price. Take these as learning opportunities, introspect, and see what you could have done to avoid the mistake. Maybe there was a communication gap that you could have resolved proactively but did not. Understand the client as a person and not just as a 'client'. Cover up for him when he has a slip up,make him look good in front of his boss and don't keep score. You might take a tactical blow once in a blue moon, but you'd end up building a solid long term relationship. I don't mean that one takes anything and everything lying down, but with customers it is important to pick your battles wisely. You cannot win a fight against the customer, you can only fight to win him over.

Saying 'No' to the customer: Never ever use the word 'no' in front of customer. Just go back to the time when you were a little boy and someone said "no' to you. How did you feel? Paralyzed? Rejected? Angry? Now imagine if your child were to say "No" in front of you. You would feel even worse than your child did when you said "no" to her. Outraged, confused, and wanting to punish your child for her impudence. After all, you are more powerful than your child. Now, clients have more power than you do because they sign your paycheck. It is easy to imagine what the word "No" does to the client's psyche. So, what does one do if the client makes unreasonable demands to which you simply cannot say "yes"? Well, reframe the demand as a requirement. If the client says, "I want this project for under $10M" and you are damn sure, it cannot be done for less than $12M, reframe and say "I understand what you are saying. You need a highly cost effective solution that stays within your budget" By reframing the unreasonable demand as a requirement, you are emphathizing with the customer and have turned the emotionally charged demand into a mutual goal that both of you can work towards reaching. Often, the client might be saying what he is saying just because he feels you are taking him for a ride, or because he needs to feel in command. The minute you give psychological air through genuine empathy and a real desire to help, accompanied by the willingness to be transparent, the defenses are down. There is simply no place in a salesman's dictionary for the word "no".

Quality assurance is not my job:  While it maybe true that quality was considered more 'glamorous' a decade back than it is today, the fact remains that if you don't do a quality job with your execution, all the front end sales savvy and consulting magic is not going to work. Quality in execution is and will remain the bedrock of the industry. Quality needs first rate people and quality begins with each employee and ends with her. It cannot be shoved into a corner, into a group or a department. It is everybody's job including that of the salesman who sells. 

If only I had more time: This is a tough industry. Work follows the sun and when you are asleep someone else on the other side of the globe is creating 'work' for you to do when you wake up.


 Stop cribbing about how with a little more time, you could have done a much better job or had a more fulfilling life. It only makes a person look incompetent.