Swimming with Asian Sharks - Business Secrets from the Pacific Rim

Trust but Verify

On April 10 we ended up going to CheapElectronics where Mr. Princeton introduced me to Mr. Brain, a long-time friend.  Apparently their grandfathers were friends and their fathers were as well, making their families friends for three generations.  The meeting was actually an interview.  Here Mr. Princeton exercised the principle, trust but verify. If someone claims that he is an expert—in my case, a software expert—find someone you know who is an expert to test them.  I believe Mr. Princeton was trying to see how skilled I was with respect to the best programmer in his world. Another concept I learned from Mr. Princeton was the best-in-the-world concept.  Best in the world does not mean best in the entire literal world, as that's impossible to measure; best in the world means best in your world.  In your network of people that you can influence, the best in the world is among that group, so if I were to come into your group and you didn’t know many programmers, then I could potentially become the best programmer in your world. In Mr. Princeton’s world, Mr. Brain was the best programmer. Mr. Princeton knows and can influence a lot of people and there was no doubt that Mr. Brain was an extraordinary, great technical mind, with an IQ of 157. Mr. Brain started asking me many technical questions and I had no problem answering them because I had experience with most of the software and technologies on a hands-on basis. By this point, I already had six years of consulting under my belt.  It became apparent that this was a test right after the first two or three questions. The unique thing about programmers is that for most jobs, they have to go through examinations.  We are one of the few professions that require you to perform a test at your interview that determines whether or not you can do your job. A lot of other professions ask superficial questions, situational questions, or questions concerning human relations, which, to be honest, are extremely important.  However, in the software world, you need to know how to code, and to be able to prove it on the spot. Mr. Brain's questioning did not catch me off guard because I’ve done more than my share of computer-related interviews. Overall, Mr. Brain was very impressed with my ability and since that meeting Mr. Brain has become a very good friend. Mr. Brain is a shark; he’s extremely talented in his world, and in most of the worlds that with which he comes in contact, and in most people’s minds, he’s the best when it comes to ability to deliver a software solution. I don’t doubt that Mr. Brain is one of the smartest people I know. Mr. Brain had an interesting run with entrepreneurship as well; he started a software development company in Subic Bay, Philippines, and also in Manila as vice president of a company called CloudComputers. The Philippine and Subic Bay team was in charge of delivering a solution that allows you to visualize a large amount of data.  Unfortunately, these companies all suffered due to the fact that they didn't have his full, undivided attention.