document updated 15 years ago, on Feb 17, 2010

When I'm at work, MY TIME IS NOT MINE TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH. Even if I have a really great idea that will clearly help the team, I MUST get management buy-in before I spend time working on it.
- And "I'll only work on it in my free time" is bunkum too. 1) I like to try to blur the line between "free time" and work, and 2) most of the time, your "free time" can be spent doing background tasks that your boss would actually endorse.
If there's a rule that I think I shouldn't have to follow, look around. If I'm the only one who's not following it, then I'm almost certainly wrong. For some reason, I think that something like American exceptionalism applies to me. But it's not true.