The Power of Saying "I Don't Know" - VerticalResponse

Imagine six business colleagues in a meeting and the leader of the meeting says: "Did everyone get the TPS report?" Everyone in the room nods. If you have no clue what a TPS report is and you’re like me, you raise your hand and say, "At the risk of sounding like an idiot, I don’t know what a TPS report is, can you elaborate?"

The leader then elaborates and you see a sign of quiet calm come over all of the people that now know what a TPS report is, because you asked. They wouldn’t risk looking like an idiot or risk showing a sign of weakness, but you actually showed a sign of strength.

In today's ultra competitive work environment, many people feel the need to be "super workers" and have an answer to every question. But, it's not always a good thing if you have people who work for you that are afraid to admit they don't know something, and it's the kind of behavior that can ultimately get you in trouble with potential clients.

I once worked with a guy who was a stereotypical Sales Shark! His problem? He sold whatever the prospect wanted, even if we didn’t have it. One particular prospect asked a ton of questions about our service and instead of saying "I don’t know if we can deliver that, I’ll check on it and get back to you," he said "Yes, we can do that." After closing and signing this pretty big deal, it turned out that the service that our new customer wanted wasn’t anything that we could deliver on. The customer wasn’t happy, which is the worst way to start a business relationship.

In another incident, I was recently on a conference call with someone who was trying to get our business. During the call, I asked this gentleman if he had seen the latest news on a company we were both tracking. He told me that he had, as I heard his fingers frantically scrambling on the keyboard for him to Google it and read it to me. Was I born yesterday? I don’t think so.

Why do people have to pretend to know everything? At my company, VerticalResponse, if we don’t know the answer to a question I encourage people to say, "I don’t know, but let me find out and get back to you with an answer." There is no value in dancing around something that isn’t true just to look good, because in the long run, if you’re wrong, you just look bad.

The Bottom Line: The Truth Doesn’t Hurt
I work in a male-dominated industry, so that’s probably the reason I see it happening with guys more than women. In any case, my opinion is those three little words are not any sign of weakness. Saying “I don’t know” is a sign of strength because it’s the most honest thing you can say.

It’s critical that your people/staff understand that they can actually earn respect by being confident in the fact that they aren’t expected to know every answer to every question. And your company can earn more business as a result.

The Power of Saying "I Don't Know" - VerticalResponse
Column by Janine Popick
February 11, 2010

WCF Security Articles

WCF over HTTPS - Christophe Geers http://cgeers.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/wcf-over-https/ Transport Security(basic)/HTTPS UserNamePasswordValidator ServerCertificateValidationCallback

9 simple steps to enable X.509 certificates on WCF - CodeProject http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WCF/9StepsWCF.aspx?display=Print Message Security(Certificate)/PeerTrust

Securing WCF Services with Certificates.- CodeProject http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WCF/wcf_certificates.aspx Message Security(Certificate)/ChainTrust

How To Configure WCF Security Using Only X.509 Certificates - CodeProject http://www.codeproject.com/KB/webservices/WCFx509Security.aspx TransportWithMessageCredential Transport Security(Certificate) Message Security(Certificate)

WCF certificate authentication under Windows Vista - Windows Live http://romualdas.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DCDC5E439E70339D!1006.entry?sa=894596551 Transport Security(Certificate) PeerOrChainTrust/mapClientCertificateToWindowsAccount

Use Transport Security and Message Credentials - MSDN http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms789011.aspx

WSHttpBinding + Transport Security (Code/Config) NetTcpBinding + Transport Security (Code/Config)

WCF - 2 Way SSL Security using Certificates - Imaya's Blog http://blogs.msdn.com/b/imayak/archive/2008/09/12/wcf-2-way-ssl-security-using-certificates.aspx Transport Security (Certificate)

Thoughts on BasicHttpBinding, Security and SSL - Sajay MSDN Blogs http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sajay/archive/2007/01/05/thoughts-on-basichttpbinding-security-and-ssl.aspx BasicHttpBinding UserNamePasswordValidator TransportWithMessageCredential

Programming WCF Security - MSDN http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms731925.aspx

Improving Web Services Security Guide - patterns & practices http://wcfsecurityguide.codeplex.com http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648360.aspx wsHttpBinding Message Security Certificates

Certificate Authentication - MSDN Forum http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/wcf/thread/4e12a513-ba7f-485d-93a7-2f093f1ccd8d

Misc http://webservices20.blogspot.com/ http://wcfsecurity.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=How%20Tos

Books

http://www.readprint.com/

Free online books library for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast.

http://webdesignledger.com/freebies/10-free-online-books-for-web-designers

10 Free Online Books for Web Designers | Freebies

http://www.infoq.com/resource/minibooks/domain-driven-design-quickly/en/pdf/DomainDrivenDesignQuicklyOnline.pdf

7 Freely available E-Books/Guides I found essential for .NET Programmers and Architects http://amazedsaint.blogspot.com/2010/09/7-freely-available-e-booksguides-i.html

Seth Godin: Validation is overrated

If you're waiting for a boss or an editor or a college to tell you that you do good work, you're handing over too much power to someone who doesn't care nearly as much as you do.

We spend a lot of time organizing and then waiting for the system to pick us, approve of us and give us permission to do our work.

Feedback is important, selling is important, getting the market to recognize your offering and make a sale--all important. But there's a difference between achieving your goals and realizing your work matters.

If you have a book to write, write it. If you want to record an album, record it. No need to wait for someone in a cubicle halfway across the country to decide if you're worthy.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/06/validation-might-be-overrated.html

Pearls Before Swine: Expectations

Calvin: People's attention

Web Design:: Wireframe/mockup

http://www.infoq.com/news/2010/06/agile-wireframes

http://www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups/desktop#download

http://www.wireframeshowcase.com/

IIS7: SSL Certificate binding issue

Problem

I recently tried installing a certificate into IIS7 on an new Windows 2008 server at work. The import went well but when I tried to bind a site to use the new certificate I got a dialog box with the following message

There was an error while performing this operation.

Details:A specified logon session does not exist. It may already have been terminated. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070520)

Solution

You have to check the "Allow this certificate to be exported" box when you import the certificate file to certificate store

Source

http://blog.freakcode.com/2009/02/iis7-certificate-binding-issue.html

SSIS: Unable to execute web service task

del.icio.us Tags: TECH,SSIS

Error Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Tasks.WebServiceTask.WebserviceTaskException: Could not generate the proxy for the specified Web service. The following errors were encountered while generating the proxy: Source file 'C:\Windows\TEMP\xyz.cs' could not be found . No inputs specified

Solution Make sure that the account that the job is running under (the proxy account) has permissions to C:\Windows\TEMP.

Source http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/sqlintegrationservices/thread/3249cb4e-00ea-419b-be90-d47394630673

WebDesign:: Icon Sources

del.icio.us Tags: Icons

Graphs http://graphs.nicer2.com/

Default Icon http://www.defaulticon.com/bellocc.php?u=http://www.DEFAULTiCON.com/assets/defaulticon.zip

http://wizzart.at/stylekit/#http://wizzart.at/stylekit/Welcome.html

C#:: Code Factory

Split string in equal sized chunks

private IEnumerable<string> SplitIntoChunks(string text, int chunkSize) { int offset = 0; while (offset < text.Length) { int size = Math.Min(chunkSize, text.Length - offset); yield return text.Substring(offset, size); offset += size; } }

source: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1632078/split-string-in-512-char-chunks-c

Find the Date for the Start of the Week?

public static class DateTimeExtensions { public static DateTime StartOfWeek(this DateTime dt, DayOfWeek startOfWeek) { int diff = dt.DayOfWeek - startOfWeek; if (diff < 0) { diff += 7; } return dt.AddDays(-1 * diff).Date; } }

source: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/38039/how-can-i-get-the-datetime-for-the-start-of-the-week

Chained null checks and the Maybe monad - CodeProject

OLD string postCode = null; if (person != null && person.Address != null && person.Address.PostCode != null) { postCode = person.Address.PostCode.ToString(); }

NEW public static TResult With<TInput, TResult>(this TInput o, Func<TInput, TResult> evaluator)     where TResult : class     where TInput : class {     if (o == null) return null;     return evaluator(o); } string postCode = this.With(x => person)                       .With(x => x.Address)                       .With(x => x.PostCode);

source: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/maybemonads.aspx

C# Puzzlers http://streaming.ndc2010.no/tcs/?id=E915B78B-D9B7-4CE9-96DA-2B794391AD2F

WCF Client Error:: Can't find method: 'Boolean System.IdentityModel.Selectors.SecurityTokenRequirement. get_IsOptionalToken()'

Scenario: All of a sudden, all your WCF client projects stop working with the above error

Cause: This was due to a different version between System.ServiceModel.dll and System.IdentityModel.dll.

Solution: It can be solved be installing the following Quick Fix:

Win7 / Win2008 R2
KB-article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976462
Installer: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/KB976462

Windows Xp/2K3/Vista/Win2K8
KB-article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976394
Installer: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/KB976394

Comics:: This is ME

Internet Procrastination at its absolute finest

Comics:: Calvin & Hobbes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

C#

• How to - Check if a class is derived from another class

typeof(DerivedClass).IsSubclassOf(typeof(BaseClass)) http://stackoverflow.com/questions/457676/c-reflection-check-if-a-class-is-derived-from-a-generic-class

• Article - Parameter passing

http://rapidapplicationdevelopment.blogspot.com/2007/01/parameter-passing-in-c.html

 

Great Movies!! But No Repeat Value..

• Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi
• Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
• Johny Gaddar

Comics:: Herb & Jamaal

English::

Chiaroscuro

PritishNandy 09 June 2010

Yesterday was awful, remembering the Bhopal trauma, a story I had covered with grief and anger. This morning, the rains washed it all away.
Every grief we feel is so quickly replaced by beauty, joy, hope. I guess this makes life so magical. This chiaroscuro of pain and delight

chiaroscuro
A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same colour

However, my own painting that Salman has no magnanimously displayed is so esoteric, that even I don't know what exactly it is

Confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle

SQL Server

SQL Server 2008 - Trouble exploring databases node with newly created user. Grant new user rights for each of the databases with no rights http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/details/424329/the-server-principal-testuser-is-not-able-to-access-the-database-msdb-under-the-current-security-context https://www.orcsweb.com/blog/desiree/the-server-principal-a-is-not-able-to-access-the-database-b-under-the-current-security-context-microsoft-sql-server-error-916/ http://blogs.msdn.com/b/euanga/archive/2006/05/04/585513.aspx

How to identify your SQL Server version and edition? SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY ('edition') http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321185

How To: Reset Identity column in SQL Server DBCC CHECKIDENT('Customer', RESEED, 0) http://geekswithblogs.net/TakeNote/archive/2007/11/30/117258.aspx

List All the Tables for All Databases sp_msforeachdb 'select "?" AS db, * from [?].sys.tables' http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/04/26/sql-server-list-all-the-tables-for-all-databases-using-system-tables/

SQL Documentation BI Documenter - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee335714.aspx SQL Doc - http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/sql-tools/database-documentation-using-sql-doc/ Code project - http://www.codeproject.com/KB/database/sqldoc.aspx

Error: Saving changes not permitted Menu >> Tools >> Options >> Designers >> Uncheck “Prevent Saving changes that require table re-creation http://sqlserverpedia.com/blog/sql-server-bloggers/sql-server-–-fix-management-studio-error-saving-changes-in-not-permitted-the-changes-you-have-made-require-the-following-tables-to-be-dropped-and-re-created-you-have-either-made-changes/

SQL Server Performace

Tip of the Day #5 (SQL Server memory usage) http://blog.colinmackay.net/archive/2008/07/20/2996.aspx

SQL Server queries with DMVs for examining bottlenecks *** http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/tutorial/SQL-Server-queries-with-DMVs-for-examining-bottlenecks

Using COALESCE to Build Comma-Delimited String

http://www.sqlteam.com/article/using-coalesce-to-build-comma-delimited-string

Download details: Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Advanced Services http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=B5D1B8C3-FDA5-4508-B0D0-1311D670E336&displaylang=en

SqlMag article: SQL Server 2008 Express Editions http://www.sqlmag.com/article/sql-server-2005-express/sql-server-2008-express-editions.aspx

Silverlight:: Get User Name

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1176566/get-current-windows-user-name-within-silverlight
  
• Silverlight Windows User Identity Name
  
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1176566/get-current-windows-user-name-within-silverlight
  
• http://forums.silverlight.net/forums/t/10809.aspx
  

Silverlight

Cynergy

http://www.cynergysystems.com/blogs/page/rickbarraza

Watermark Textbox

http://www.solutionbot.com/2010/06/02/silverlight-watermark-textbox/

Silent installation

http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2010/03/25/using-sllauncher-for-silent-install-silverlight-application.aspx

Duplex pooling

http://www.lightstreamer.com/demo/Silverlight_StockListDemo/

Comet

http://cometdaily.com/2009/10/23/concrete-comet-examples/

RIA & MVVM

http://wildermuth.com/2009/12/15/Architecting_Silverlight_4_with_RIA_Services_MEF_and_MVVM_-_Part_1

VS 2010 Binding Builder Feature

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wpfsldesigner/archive/2010/06/14/how-to-enable-using-the-binding-builder-in-wpf-and-silverlight-applications.aspx

Customize Splash Screen

1. Custom Loading Screens in Silverlight *** http://pagebrooks.com/archive/2009/02/19/custom-loading-screens-in-silverlight.aspx

2. SilverZine Tutorial - Splash screens and Loaders in Silverlight http://silverzine.com/tutorials/splash-screens-and-loaders-in-silverlight/

Bind ComboBox with DataGrid

ComboBox in DataGrid - Manish Dalal's blog *** http://weblogs.asp.net/manishdalal/archive/2008/09/28/combobox-in-datagrid.aspx

Defining Silverlight DataGrid Columns at Runtime - Scott Morrison - Site Home - MSDN Blogs ** http://blogs.msdn.com/b/scmorris/archive/2008/04/14/defining-silverlight-datagrid-columns-at-runtime.aspx

Custom Controls

Creating a Silverlight Custom Control (LinkLabel control)- The Basics http://www.silverlightshow.net/items/Creating-a-Silverlight-Custom-Control-The-Basics.aspx

Combo Box

Rapid Access Key Selector Behavior for ComboBox and ListBox *** http://gallery.expression.microsoft.com/en-us/RapidAccessKey

Use Styles for an editable Silverlight ComboBox **** http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2008/11/05/silverlight-editable-combobox-using-styles.aspx

Download details: Microsoft Expression Blend Software Development Kit (SDK) for Silverlight 4

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=d197f51a-de07-4edf- 9cba-1f1b4a22110d

Telerik Blogs > Server-side paging, sorting and filtering for your Silverlight DataGrid http://blogs.telerik.com/blogs/posts/09-01-21/Server-side_paging_sorting_and_filtering_for_your_Silverlight_DataGrid.aspx

Telerik Recruiting Application

http://blogs.telerik.com/blogs/posts/10-04-08/silverlight_recruiting_application_wrap-up_and_source_code.aspx

Expression Blend templates, Part 1 – Understanding templates http://expressioniq.com/?p=60