Classic fluff

 Here's a recent ZDNet article: 10 ways to make your boss love you

This is pretty must a classic fluff piece. Filled with specious comments and even contradictory.

"Simply doing your job isn't enough anymore..." 

Huh? My job is to bring in more money than I cost my employer (i.e.: to provide profits). If I continue to provide direct profits for my employer how am I "not doing enough"? 

"...- you have to make sure your boss knows how well you're doing it." 

No really? Wait a second, isn't it my boss's job to know how well I'm doing? If my boss doesn't know how well I'm doing and I don't know how well I'm doing, am I actually doing my job? 

If you and your boss don't know how well you're doing then you have problems way beyond these tips. 

If you really dig into these tips, most of them are your job. 

#1: Make your boss look good

Your job. 

#2: Do more with less 

#9: Automate it 

IT is automation. Automation is fundamentally "doing more with less". 

#3: Be positive, proactive and professional 

#5: Get back to basics 

Be professional = Behave as if this was your profession = Do your job 

#4: Talk the talk 

"Speak the language of the business...Make sure you are seen as involved in activities that lead to revenue generation" 

Language of the business = Your job 

Generating revenue = Your job 

#7: Stay informed

 Welcome to IT. 

#8: Become a collaborator 

Your job in IT is to solve other people's problems. Failure to collaborate is a failure to do your job.

#10: Be special 

"If your existing skills don't match up with the needs of the business then make sure you develop some news ones."

Does this quote even make sense? If your skills don't match up with the needs of the business, what the heck are you doing? I mean *your job* is to meet the needs of the business, but if you don't have the skills to do that what the heck are they paying you for? 

So like I said, the piece is really fluffy. Basically tells the reader to do their job.