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I don't know about you, but I've experienced job burnout, and it isn't pleasant.

In case you're not acquainted with this somewhat poorly understood phenomenon, burnout is sort of a workplace version of depression. You know, you used to whistle while you worked, and now you'd rather get a root canal than get out of bed to go to work.

Burnout is bad news. If you're not aware that your work stress and frustration have reached the boiling point, you can find yourself in a near-constant state of irritability or anxiety. You might end up doing things you'll later regret and damaging your career or your personal life.

In addition to high-stress jobs like emergency workers, air traffic controllers, and doctors, I was surprised to find that high-tech professionals are prone to burnout, according to a number of studies.

There are three things you need to know about burnout: how to recognize it, what to do about it, and how to avoid it.

How to recognize burnout
This is not rocket science. If you complain about your boss or have an ongoing feud with the jerk in the cubicle next door, that's not burnout. If you used to enjoy or at least tolerate your job, but now you're constantly stressed and frustrated, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight, then you're probably experiencing burnout.

If you recently took a swing at your boss, then you've been there for a while.

What to do about burnout
Again, not rocket science. It's like peeling an onion. First, take a vacation. That's right; you have to try this old standard first. Get some perspective, and see if that helps. Try to determine the source of your stress, and change it--transfer to a different group, ask for a raise, whatever.

If that fails, then get out. I'm not kidding. You can figure out what went wrong and psychoanalyze yourself later. There's just too much at stake. Find yourself another job, take a break, if you can afford to--whatever it takes. Just get out. Get some distance and perspective, put yourself back together, and start over.

How to avoid burnout
Avoiding burnout usually comes down to recognizing the source. If it's an individual or a one-off thing, then it's probably not going to become a chronic problem. If it's a company, then switching companies might do the trick. If it's your profession, then it's time to consider a different one.

Times of crisis often lead to the discovery that you might be on the wrong path. Sure, it's tough, especially if you've put a lot into your career, but it happens. What's worse: changing careers or being miserable for the rest of your life and ending up a bitter old person?

Bottom line
Burnout happens. It happens in high-stress jobs, and it happens in the high-technology industry. Sure, your job is important. But your career and your personal life are more important. Staying in a job where you're burning out may earn you a few paychecks, but it may cost you far more in the long run.

Quick, by a show of hands, how many of you have workplace stress? Almost everybody, great.

Now, how much of that stress do you think is self-imposed? What, no hands?

Well, I'm not surprised, but you may be in for a shock.

You see, most people make their own stress. Why do they do it? How should I know? I'm not a shrink. I'm just here to tell you that a lot of it is self-imposed.

Why can't we all just get along? Because it doesn't work that way. There are lots of reasons why folks don't get along. There are cultural differences, gender differences, style differences, all kinds of differences. And that's just the beginning.

According to a number of studies, at least 10 percent of the U.S. population has some sort of personality disorder. That includes depression, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, to name a few. That can't help.

In the workplace, it gets even worse. There are bullies, jerks who want to stab you in the back, and folks you just plain don't like. My personal favorite are people who are passive aggressive--they openly agree to something and then do the opposite. ... Read more

Over the years, I've noticed something lots of techies have in common--they like things to be black-and-white. Sorry if that offends you, but in my experience, it's true.

Unfortunately, the real world is gray. Like it or not, living and thriving in a gray world, especially a gray workplace, involves negotiating. None of us are born with negotiating skills. We have to learn them. This will help.

Here are five things you need to know to negotiate effectively. They'll help you in all your work-related relationships - with peers, managers, subordinates, customers, vendors, everyone. They'll help you to negotiate better compensation packages, promotions, and even exit packages.

Who knows, they may even help to improve your personal and personal business relationships. After all, so much of family and business life involves negotiating. ... Read more

Crises happen. They happen to all companies and to all people. They happen in our personal lives and in our professional lives. By definition, crises bring change, big change. They can change the entire trajectory of your life or your company's future. That's why how we behave in a crisis, how we manage a crisis, is such a big deal.

For example, Yahoo is going through a crisis right now. It's attempting to reinvent itself. Microsoft's bid to buy the company further complicates matters. The way Yahoo's board handles this crisis will determine the fate of the company and its thousands of employees and shareholders. That's a pretty big deal.

One company's crisis can have a ripple effect on others. You might say that Microsoft is attempting to capitalize on Yahoo's crisis. In so doing, the software giant has created its own. Negotiating tens of billions of dollars to acquire a large company and remake its Internet business is definitely crisis material. ... Read more

A few years ago, I spent three months between jobs.

It wasn't by choice; I ran a company that filed for bankruptcy along with hundreds of others when the tech bubble burst. It took awhile to find a new job. I made the best of it and built a greenhouse.

I had never had so much fun. But when it was done, I got bored. Not only that, but my wife wasn't used to having me home. I took pleasure in hanging around the house and annoying her, but it got old after awhile.

Finally, I faced the fact that I missed working. I know that sounds crazy, but I did. ... Read more

Before I began writing this post, I googled "the ends justify the means" and got 204,000 results. The volume of philosophical discourse that's gone into analyzing the implications of the phrase is staggering.

Frankly, I think it's all a bunch of pseudo-academic crap. It's never acceptable to breach moral, ethical, or legal boundaries to achieve some perceived greater good. But I didn't always think that way. ... Read more

What do a world renowned chess champion and a Mickey Mouse-loving entertainment executive have in common?

They both believe that successful entrepreneurs must put fears of failure aside in order to achieve their goals.

On Thursday, chess champion, political activist and Russian presidential candidate Garry Kasparov and the former Walt Disney CEO and chairman Michael Eisner presented their views in front of a packed house at the World Business Forum at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Kasparov, who in 1984 became the youngest chess champion in the world at age 22, said the key to success is not being afraid to make pre-emptive and aggressive attacks on your opponent. He emphasized what he called the "attackers advantage," in which the opponent with control must maintain control by continually striking back.

He cited Apple CEO Steve Jobs as an example. After the company saw great success with its iPod Mini product, Jobs stayed ahead of competitors by introducing the iPod Nano, a more compact version of the popular music playing device.

"Steve Jobs didn?t have to go to the United Nations for permission for a pre-emptive strike," Kasparov quipped. "He just did it. In business every attack should be pre-emptive."

But being aggressive also means learning that you often fail.

"The 'attacker's advantage' only comes to those who aren't afraid to make mistakes," he said. "We all suffer from self-doubt, even me. I've lost many times in my life, and I still agonize over each one. Failure is inevitable. You just can't be too content with it and must work harder the next time to get it right."

The sentiment was echoed by Eisner, who was head of Walt Disney for 21 years. He said that companies should not punish failure. Instead, they should embrace it and learn from mistakes. He described how he and his executives often sat around during what they called Gong Show sessions where they would toss out absurd ideas and concepts. The worst ideas were "gonged".

Out of these brainstorming sessions, Eisner said occasionally new and creative ideas sometimes blossomed. He also emphasized the importance of embracing the inevitability of failure in the new era of the Internet, where technology and access to worldwide communications is changing entire industries.

Eisner, who was forced out of Disney in 2005, is involved with a number of Internet entertainment start-ups through his investment firm, Torante Company. The company has launched the digital media studio Vuguru, which has had some success with its online series Prom Queen.

"We had a tolerance for failure at Disney, a so-called old-media company," he said. "But I think this tolerance has an even more vital role in Internet companies that are having such a wide-scale impact on entertainment today."

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word salesman? A pushy insurance or car salesman with no self respect? Those nice people who accost you the second you walk into a clothing store? Or maybe the folks you can never find at Home Depot.

Wait, I bet you think salespeople were put on this planet to babble endlessly and waste your time until you're ready to hang yourself just to make it stop. But you can't do that, so instead you give in and buy whatever it is they're selling.

Did I get that right?

Well, guess what? I don't care if you're an IT professional, a musician, a consultant, a CEO, a recruiter, an engineer, a doctor, an accountant, or a professional athlete. You're also a salesperson. That's right, we're all in sales. You, me, your boss, your lawyer, your spouse, your kids; everyone's in sales.

You see, from time to time, each of us is called upon to sell something. It could be a product, a service, a plan, an idea, a creation, a story to a judge or jury, or even oneself (presumably for a job, not into slavery). And more often than not, it's actually very important that we succeed. I don't know why; that's just the way it is.

It's hard for me to imagine anyone being successful in life without having the ability to sell when necessary. And yet, we think of it as something unsavory or even unethical. Not only does the idea fill some people with disgust, fear or self-loathing, but to make matters worse, most people aren't even good at it. ... Read more