Jason Rosado

In Day 1 of my new life which has me as full-time CEO of Givkwik, I’m feeling a little introspective about the phase I’ve just ended.

If you include internships and summer jobs, I’ve spent 15 years in Corporate America, with a focus specifically on major financial institutions in New York City. I’ve worked for both the #1 bank in the country and the last AAA rated bank in the country (and as a summer intern, I’ve also worked in The White House). I’ve worked in Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, a little bit of Operations, and Product Management. I’ve called on long-standing Forbes 50 clients, as well as start-ups, non-profits and educational institutions. I’ve managed existing products, and built new products. I’ve written press releases, product briefs, and product demonstrations. I’ve developed business plans for projects ranging from $25K – $2 million, managed revenue portfolios of $2 million + and products with revenue of upwards of $.5 million. So I’m feeling a little confident about what I’m sharing here.

Along the way I’ve developed some simple rules for “success” in Corporate America. Here they are. I hope they bring you some insight and benefit. Like all rules, they’re made to be broken. So nothing here is gospel, and take them with a grain of sugar or salt. If they do help you though, please do let me know!

1. Always put it in writing.

Whether it’s a request for a promotion or simply a clarification of next steps. Be the employee who puts together a well crafted email that can serve to provide clarity as to the tasks at hand, as well as next steps. This is also even more important with respect to career development. Put your goals, expectations and concerns in writing and keep it documented. In that way, you’ll never have a he said/she dispute at bonus time, because you’ve left a paper trail.

2. You don’t get what you don’t ask for.

This rule should really be # 1. Make sure you formalize your requests in writing AND make sure you submit them! Don’t be afraid to ask for things, but also hone your skills of “the ask” and prepare against any objections in advance. Do everything in your power to make what you ask for a yes/no answer. In other words, don’t force someone to have to do their own homework in order to make a decision in your favor. Do the homework for them, “the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” As you prepare your pitch document that requests something, illustrate both sides of the decision and the pros/cons of each. Lay it all out for the decision-maker to the degree that he/she truly believes there is no further need for discussion and it is simply a thumbs up or down vote. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of the decision-maker’s interest, commitment and schedule, and who knows then when the decision might be made? This rule also helps when you get to Rule #5, “Minimize surprises.”

3. Learn the rules so you know how to break them, properly. 

There’s a ton of bureaucracy in Corporate America. Sometimes it feels like it’s one endless game of “Cover Your @$$,” and so within that, you have to learn that there are rules and there are ways around the rules. If you simply play to the rules, you’ll never get anything done. Learn the grey areas and learn to feel comfortable in those areas… My motto is “attack the grey area,” before that grey area becomes written in black and white (and set in stone) and then you’re at the mercy of someone else’s plan. If you fail to plan, you end up being part of someone else’s plan.

4. Become an expert in 2 things because one of them, inevitably, will become obsolete.

First there was paper, then there was the web, now there’s mobile, what’s next? Expertise is transitory and temporary. Be that person that is known for always striving to learn new things! This rule is especially true if you are a young employee or new to an environment. When I first started out in banking, my peers generally had 10, 20, even 30 years of experience. It astounded me that some folks had been working in the same company for longer than I had been alive. So in comparison, I could never achieve that experience. However, since the only thing constant is change, and business is a dynamic place, I’ve always looked out onto the horizon for “what’s new” for our business and sought to become an expert in that. With respect to the future of business, everyone’s on the same playing field, especially if it’s a new technology. When I first started in banking, the Internet and .com boom was in full effect. That was what I aligned myself with, so that even though I was only a few years removed from college, I knew and understood things from a technology perspective that a 25 year veteran of banking still struggled to grasp. In that case, then, I became the indispensable expert and the perception of my inexperience became moot.

5. Minimize surprises.

If you document, and document well and keep people in the loop all along the way, everyone wins. This goes for promotions and merit rewards as well. This rule contributed to my promotion to Vice President at JP Morgan Chase at the ripe age of 27 years old. I used it simply. When I first started as an Associate supporting a team of Senior Sales Officers in the Insurance and Healthcare industries, I realized my short-comings with respect to experience. So I went about interviewing my other 5 colleagues on my team, with the simple questions “knowing what you know now, what would you do if you were in my place and looking to learn as quickly as possible?” They, thankfully, were all generous with their answers and insights which I documented fully and converted into a proposed Development Plan which I then shared with our manager. I basically laid it out as such with my manager, “this is what I think I’ll need to do over the next year to justify getting promoted to Assistant Treasurer (the lowest level officer title in the Bank), do you agree?” He proceeded to review the document, actually suggested removing a couple of things and agreed. So, I then went about my business for the remainder of the year completing the plan that I created and voila, I was promoted to Assistant Treasurer by the end of the year. With that success, I simply repeated the formula two more times (from AT to Assistant Vice President, and then from AVP to Vice President). Each time worked pretty effectively.

6. Never underestimate the value of a well-written email sent at the opportune moment.

50 years ago, it was much easier to manage employees. Factory workers all had their work specifically defined, and output per worker was standardized. Managers knew how long it would take for you to do your specific task and so they could more easily manage expectations of your output. In this day and age of the “knowledge worker,” Corporate Americans are struggling to understand how long innovation takes. And so, there is flux as to those definitions. For the worker, who needs to find mental breaks in between his information deliverables, occasional disconnection is vital. All that being said, if you like to slack off, just pick your spots and re-connect with a well documented communique that can make it seem like you worked all weekend. Make it so well written that your manager is inclined to forward it and take the credit for himself. If you get there, then it doesn’t matter that you spent the past hour in the bathroom stall playing “Draw Something.”

7. Good technology makes bad process, worse faster.

There’s a saying, “if you are a hammer, everything else looks like a nail.” With increasing emphasis on technology and innovation in Corporate America, we’re often inclined to try to introduce new technology to “fix” old processes. While I’m all for innovation, what’s important though is to make sure you’re not simply adding an extra layer of complexity to an already damaged foundation. So, make sure that if the current operational process is manual, that the flashy new website or mobile app you’re building also includes a re-engineering of your operations process so that the entire flow provides value, not just the customer-facing piece. Be sure to get to the root of an issue rather than try to gloss it over with window dressing.

8. If it is between your career development and your boss’ ability to go home at a reasonable hour, realize he’ll pick the 5:01 train.

This rule is absolutely critical to managing your own professional development. You have to understand that no one particularly cares about your professional achievements but you. And just like you, your manager is just as preoccupied with his goals and his personal life. Do everything possible to reduce the processes associated with promoting you and advancing your career down to a simple yes/no answer. If you rely too much on your manager taking the extra steps to build the business case for promoting you, you’ll be waiting a long time. Take the extra step to write the business case for him/her and do so in a passive voice that allows your manager to “adopt” your write-up as his/her own if necessary. Many sales processes of any product or idea are based on “cultural decisions,” in that, more than one person makes the decision and the decision occurs in waves across many areas. When you’re looking for a promotion or an expanded role, realize that there are a lot of players involved in that decision: Your boss, your boss’ boss, your peers, HR and other administrative support. At any one point, the decision could be derailed for many reasons. You must realize this and address those areas directly and personally such that by the time your decision arrives on their desk along the timeline, it is also a simple yes/no decision for them, as well.

9. Figure out: “Just do it” versus “Get ‘er done”

My first job out of college was as an Associate at JP Morgan Chase. I was placed in a Development program that placed me in various rotations within their Global Payments and Treasury Services division. After I completed the rotations, I was placed as a junior Sales Associate supporting the Insurance and Healthcare industries. So my first real training as a professional was in Sales and Relationship Management. It was there that I learned this rule. In Sales, you’re expected to be a quarterback, who manages the team of individuals supporting the customer. It’s important not to get caught up in the daily execution of supporting a client, but to see the big picture and delegate as effectively as possible. Sometimes, however, relationship management also requires a rolling up of the sleeves and so that’s why it’s also important to know when that right time to get more involved is. Remember though, if you delegate you had better document as well. It’s important to keep track of what’s going in and who’s responsible. It’s all a delicate balance.

10. Expect to be promoted to the next level, only when you are doing next level work.

This last rule is probably the most challenging. Since we live in a merit based society, and we try to play by the rules of “no surprises,” this rule becomes a challenge. You think to yourself, “well, I’m doing VP level work, so they should promote me.” That’s almost accurate. Basically, you have to understand that most promotions to larger responsibilities aren’t based on a notion that you’ll grow into the role. Most of these successful promotions end up being somewhat anti-climactic, in the sense that if your promotion is justified, then its because you were pretty much doing the work already and the culture surrounding the decision has already acquiesced to this fact, so much so that it’s a fait acompli. So the real trick is to find your way into doing next level work and remind your colleagues and superiors of this fact as often as you can (without being overbearing), and have a little patience.

* * * *

So there you have it. My 10 rules for surviving and thriving in Corporate America. Of course different rules apply to different people, but I’m curious as to what your thoughts are on this topic. Feel free to leave me a note here. I do plan to come back and elaborate on some of these explanations, so stay tuned!

Packing up my things here in our DUMBO apartment, and I came across some old keepsakes. One of them, a quote that I came across many years ago and had posted on my wall when I worked at JP Morgan Chase in my 20s. It’s about as relevant today, as it was back then. The cake on my going-away party last night read Go Get It, J!

You have a choice. You can either get things done or let things happen. Letting things happen is easy. It requires no effort on your part. The problem is, when you just let things happen they will almost never be to your liking.

The other choice is to get things done. That requires your active involvement. It takes effort, as well as focus, commitment, discipline and persistence. Those things sound difficult, and they are. Yet just because they’re difficult, doesn’t mean they’re to be avoided.

When you do what it takes to get things done, you’ll get the results you want. The only way you can get what you want out of life, is to put in what you have. And that is done through your own efforts and actions.

Sure, you can take your chances and just let things happen. You might even get lucky, though few do. Or, you can step forward, put all you have into every day, and get things done. That is the only reliable way to build the life you desire.

— Ralph Marston

Today, I tendered my resignation at the Bank of New York Mellon in order to work full time as CEO of givkwik.com, my startup venture focused on mobile philanthropy. I did so, because I was recently made an investment offer by a Venture Fund along with an invitation to participate in their start up Incubator Program based in San Francisco for 12 weeks, starting later this month.

So, I will soon be living in San Francisco with my father-in-law, Sam Urueta while I work my butt off to make GivKwik a household name for charitable giving. THANK YOU to my loving and supportive wife Pamela Rosado for believing in me and of course, to her dad for helping make this possible.

And to many of YOU, my family, who have encouraged my passion to this very day and beyond. You know who you are!!! I am eternally grateful to YOU!

A next stage of life is about to begin! I’m so excited!!!

As many of you know, there are rampant rumors are that the iPhone 5 will be announced this Tuesday, but I’ve got to register my suspicion against this mass expectation, if only so that I might be able to say I told ya so. And if I’m wrong (which is highly possible) then I’ll register the fact that I’m not very impressed by how they’ve officially announced the upcoming announcement event:

I have a sneaky suspicion that what they announce will be under-whelming. Why? Because I’m surprised the image on the invite for the upcoming announcement is so boring and generic and revealing of nothing. Usually they give a good hint of what’s going to be announced. Like this one, for example, which promoted the advent of the iPad 2:

Or this one which hinted at the pending ubiquity of the iPhone 4 OS:

Am I the only one who thinks the announcement image leaves more than just a bit to be desired? Especially, when compared to the examples of previous images? Add to that, the fact that most BIG Apple announcements have occurred at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco, and this event is at Company Headquarters in Cupertino.

In addition to all this, this Apple announcement has clearly been scooped by oh, just about everyone but Apple. AND if Apple really intended to promote the iPhone 5, don’t you think they would be pulling out some bigger marketing punches than this simple image?

So, if my suspicion proves correct, then I’m willing to bet they might just announce that the iPhone will now be available on Sprint and/or T-Mobile. That’s still an announcement. Still makes the analysts happy (expanded distribution) and if perhaps other rumors are to be believed, then perhaps a new iPhone 4 version, just not the 5.

Either that, or their marketing department is asleep at the wheel…
Before you say it – Yes, I know. I’m in way too deep on this… LOL

I read Douglas Rushkoff’s thought-provoking piece on CNN.com titled “Are Jobs Obsolete?” today and read some critique of the piece, and chose to respond to some on a list serve to which I am subscribed.  Here’s a synopsis of my thoughts on his article:

I think the premise that the reason why our economy is stagnant right now and for the foreseeable future is somewhat sound: By electronifying a variety of tasks that use to be handled by people, we’re sowing the seeds of our own demise, and so we need to figure out how to live better within that premise, so that we can continue to support efficiencies (where economically feasible) yet not simply continue down this path of creating an economy filled with robots, and the people who oil them.

It’s also why President Obama’s big supposed post-Labor Day jobs boost strategy to create more public works projects for all of the out-of-work construction workers may end up being a farce. That will cover MAYBE a million workers, what about the other 14 MILLION?  There are very little manufacturing jobs here any more, they’ve all been off-shored.  So many things rely on information-exchange, knowledge working and services.

How do we get “jobs” back??  Well, at the rate this is all going, you’d have to create an economically feasible reason to bring manufacturers back to the United States to begin with.  So, that means the abolition of the minimum wage and/or the repeal of the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting Slavery), or totally shutting down our trade agreements with other countries and mandate that everything be homegrown.  These are the reasons why jobs have left this country.  It’s too costly to be a manufacturer in this country and have a payroll of all American workers. The same goes for EVERY industry here.

For the record, I am being facetious and for the record, it’s also something I’m NOT AT ALL advocating for.  What I meant by the above paragraph that is that the minimum wage is what makes this country less attractive to corporations like Apple because they’re able to pay (what would seem like to us here in the US to be) “slave labor” wages to workers of other countries.  That, and tax free zones.

I don’t have the real answer, but does it makes sense to use taxpayer dollars to try to attract companies to come back to the States to create jobs but with the incentives to the companies of not having to pay ANY taxes at all while they’re here?  That seems to be the only way that will be possible, and in my opinion its double dipping.

No company in their right mind (other than for nationalistic pride) would bring their operations back on-shore for more cost, more taxes and less profit.  What would happen if they did that?  First, they’d get a ton of press, then slowly their stock price would drop, investors would dump their shares, and they’d probably fall off the markets.

I’m not justifying any of this, I’m just sharing what I think to be true.  To be clear, I’m not advocating for any of the crazy sh– I said would have to happen, I’m just saying that crazy sh– would have to happen in order to have the companies bring back their operations onshore.  The opportunity and ability to offshore is way too enticing, and there’s absolutely zero incentive. The horse has left the barn.

What I think needs to happen (which of course, won’t) is that after public works projects, the jobs bill should go entirely towards education.  Re-purpose the out-of-work knowledge workers who are just looking for their next corporate job.  Get them to become science and math teachers, college counselors and guidance counselors, teacher’s aids, etc.  That should cover another 1-3 million workers, easy.  Also, yes, put other information workers to work securing our borders and immigration system in a reasonable manner (I’m not saying just build fences).

There’s something to be said about companies like Task Rabbit that are breaking down traditional jobs into individualized tasks that are contracted out to the highest bidder. Set up a contractor system, where people can work smaller jobs for the government in short term areas of need.  Have people support health care reform initiatives and beach clean up and FEMA projects, etc. Have people test into government supported ITP-like programs that pay them to learn advanced computer skills (enough to at least make us competitive with India and other developing nations taking those jobs away).  And also create an incentive/points/rebate system complete with mobile app, etc. that incentivizes american consumers to buy locally to get them to consider where things are made, what that means for their economy, etc.

And we’ve intentionally painted our own selves into this corner.  In that admittedly unrealistic realm, the best thing (of the available sh-ttiest options mentioned above that include abolishing the minimum wage and advocating slave labor) for perhaps a short period of time to do is to put severe cramps on Freedom of the Media, especially Financial Media, since the era that we’re living in with respect to transparency towards business reporting etc. is creating this hysteria around whether or not the Dow is up or down in a particular day and what that means for our “economy.”  For heavens sakes, if Steve Jobs’ coughing fit is a a little louder than normal on a particular day, Apple stock goes down significantly.  It’s ridiculous.

We’re information over-sensitive.  We’re living in a country where companies with double digit profit margins STILL impose  hiring freezes because “the street” thinks they could still do better.  How does this make any sense to anyone?!?

We can’t create new “jobs” because our long term economic success depends on our ability to NOT create jobs through the use of media, electronics and robotics.  Our country’s crown jewel company (Apple, again) has followed this business model to a “T” with Foxconn, etc.  So we’re talking out of both sides of our mouths here. It’s like that old PSA about abusing cocaine (I do coke, so I can work longer, so I can earn more, so I can do more coke…)

So, getting back to the earliest point, if we collectively acknowledge this demise and understand our fate, what kind of new society do we create to work successfully within these constraints? This, I believe, is Rushkoff’s point.  How will we survive?  Will we just admire the problem or find new ways to fix it?

Stayed up late last night watching the news on the capture and killing our nation’s Bogeyman, Osama Bin Laden. While I would imagine it is some cause for “relief,” that this era of World History is officially over with his passing, I felt a little queasy watching the video of the rapidly formed “celebrations” in front of The White House and Ground Zero.

Please make no mistake, I hold zero sympathy for OBL and don’t regret his extermination whatsoever, but I am more sensitive to how we as Americans portray ourselves to the outside world. Seeing the celebrations reminding me of this unfortunate video after 9/11 that shook so many of us to the core.

I would prefer that we choose a more somber tone to reflect the passing of this awful man. I would prefer that we continue to focus on the tragedy of war and the failure of civilized society to address its issues without resorting to violence and death as a form of expression and communication. As Ghandi is known to have said, “An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.”

We should not forget the many, many innocent people of all countries, religions and perspectives that had to die in order for some of us to celebrate on this particular day. I would prefer that we not celebrate this day as we would celebrate a triumphant run or hail mary pass into the end zone, but rather consider a more discrete and respectful tone for all those we have lost as victims in the centuries-old wars between religious and ideological extremists.

I ran into Asli Sevinc last night at the ITP Winter Show, and she reminded me that I never posted our Guacamotion Stop Motion Video which Marco Castro and I did for our “Methods of Motion” class.  She was looking for it in order to figure out how to make Guacamole.  Here it is – Enjoy!

Big debates abound regarding the building of a mosque some 3-4 blocks away from the northern most boundary of the Ground Zero site.

There are some who are protesting the very concept of building a mosque close to Ground Zero. A friend of mine sent an interesting article (here) some of whose premise he seemed to support.

Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, supports the concept.

One wonders how close would still be too close? If it were 50 blocks away would this still be an issue? My bet is “probably.”

I’m sure there are plenty who would even argue against a new mosque in Washington Heights as “too close.” As someone who works a block away from 7 WTC and the proposed site location and who Iives nearby, I can’t say that I’m opposed to the building of the mosque.

Politics have welded Islam and terrorism together in the hearts and minds of many in this country. But the events of 9/11 had an effect on the entire world regardless of one’s religion or cultural background.

Allowing the association of religion to extremist acts such as terrorism and military strikes is a double edged sword that hurts both parties.

Rejecting a community’s objective to reclaim their identity near the venue that most influences the world’s perception of said community could mean that the extremist view of that mis-represented community prevails.

The question of danger is moot. Everyone knows that the FBI, NSA, CIA, and IRS will have their bugs and moles all over the place.

What I find more sickening are the vultures who sell photo albums with pictures of the events of that day and the tourists who ogle and buy them. Much worse are the politicians who use 9/11 to tug at heartstrings or inspire fear against the “other.” Or the racists who use the event to further excacerbate their ignorance.

New York is a city of difference, if we continue to push communities away because of their difference and use the Rudy Giuliani approach to diplomacy, New York’s greatest merit will cease to be.

We CAN get past 9/11. That’s not to say we should ever forget it. But there’s a difference between everyone knowing you have a scar and showing everyone you have a scar all the time, every day. More dialogue is better than less any day of the week. Blocking the Mosque is like stifling the dialogue.

If the Muslims in the mosque truly show the best side of their community through their work in the mosque/community center, that could do wonders for the world’s perception of Islam, and perhaps contribute towards a better overall mutual understanding.

Following the logic of blocking the mosque’s creation would be the same as preventing the many Muslim vendors who sell I Love NY t-shirts in the shadow of WTC from performing their daily prayer rituals. It would also mean that the President of the United States and any other elected officials should resist asking God to bless our soldiers before they head to battle.

Round 2 of Exciting vs. Frightening covers the inevitable blending of technology and organisms. Yeah, we all know where this will eventually go but in the meantime, we can watch it all evolve slowly and inevitably.

In this corner: The Skinput project coming from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft promises to turn your body into a touchscreen. Who needs an iPod Touch when you have your own forearm as an input device?

Skinput makes use of a microchip-sized pico projector embedded in an armband to beam an image onto a user’s forearm or hand. When the user taps a menu item or other control icon on the skin, an acoustic detector also in the armband analyzes the ultralow-frequency sound to determine which region of the display has been activated.

I’ve long wondered why at the very least no one’s come up with a simple device holder that fits around the forearm. Actually, Ameya Mhatre did this at ITP last year. Not sure where he’s at with that… but this concept goes one step beyond and throws out the device entirely. You make the call: Exciting or Frightening?

In the other corner, coming from Japan. World renowned home of weird organic integration with technology, comes the “Hana Sukkiri Melody” ringtone which promises to clear your sinuses just by placing the phone near your nose when your phone rings. Now, as a sufferer of sinus allergies and the like, this seems interesting and would certainly diminish my need for Sinex, but then again, this begs the question: how the hell did they think of this? And more, how did they test this ringtone? More from the article here

The Japan Ring Tone Laboratory has some much more sensible-sounding ringtones in the pipeline, including “sleep-promoting ringtone,” “ringtone makes your date,” “crow scarer ringtone,” “ringtone makes your skin beautiful,” and more.

So, whaddya think… which one’s exciting and which one’s frightening. Let me know!

Here’s a new kind of post on recent technological innovations in our wonderfully delightful future-as-present reality. To reflect upon this current day, wherein we finally live most of the future that our ancestors warned us of (1984, for example) I’ll post one thing that’s innovative (and frightening) versus another that’s innovative (and exciting).

Readers can opine on which is better, interesting, etc. I should give credit in advance to my peers at ITP, who often introduce these new finds on our wonderful student email list. These two items come from Ms. Emily Ryan of NoTrustFund fame and Mr. Ari Joseph, of NotTwoMuch.

First up, coming in the Frightening Category. A major reason to find a significant other who simply doesn’t suck, steal your money, or curse at your family members and marry him/her NOW, so as not to engage in what might be the Dating Scene of the near-term future. Because, if you are “single and ready to mingle,” think again, especially if your date has the DateCheck app for your mobile device.

Not only does this harken me back to my days as an undergrad at Wesleyan University, where the DateCheck of choice at the time (rumor had it) were the stalls in the Women’s Bathrooms in the Student Center. It was here that women posted handwritten lists of men to stay away from. Names were added on occasion, some were scratched out. Others were defended or substantiated. Now, a young woman need look no further than their own iPhone to get the “goods” on their potential Mr. Right. Is this exciting or frightening?

And now for our feature in the Exciting category, we have an innovation by those crazy kids (what’ll they think of next) at MIT. The Flyfire is the next generation of multidimensional graphical presentation and they utilize (wait for it…) flying LED helicopters (three words I never even thought of to put together in one sentence).

That’s right, coordinated arrays of little LED lights flying in mid-air to illustrate oh, maybe the Mona Lisa or your next Pepsi ad… Hmm… The possibilities are endless. This is where Lightbrite meets Zero Gravity. Right now, the flying LED helicopters are about the size of a golf-ball. Will they get smaller? The answer, undoubtedly is, yes, of course they will.

But could they get so small that they become the re-animation of a normal display upon which one would watch their video (or video game) entertainment?  Will this technology let me decide where I want my screen to be at any given time?  Like on the ceiling when I’m lying flat on my back or against the walls when I’m walking around the house?  Will it introduce the z-axis in a new as yet physically unaccomplished way for what we know to be 3D imagery today? Is this exciting or frightening?

I would love to hear someone (anyone’s!) thoughts on these matters. Please feel free to post a comment!