Use Noncompete Agreements To Help Protect Your Business From
A Bit about the author:
Once I was out of college and working in the corporate world as a Software Developer. I had just bought and installed the software [my company had developed] on my home computer and found out that [had signed] a NonCompete Agreement that [would] prevent me from working for a competitor for 2 years.
This piqued my interest and I began to investigate the legality of such agreements in the state of New York. I soon found the 'Surcey V. Mack' court case which, in addition to answering this question, became a part of my 15 minutes of fame, at least in the software developer community.
Soon after, I wrote the story and this is it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Use NonCompete Agreements to Help Protect Your Business
| by | Kevin B. Hoffman
Introduction
When Richard Ming was offered the head of Software Development position at a new company, [Private], he was ecstatic. Richard had worked hard and tried to get ahead; he had just been offered a promotion. But he was concerned about what he would do if he got the job leading the software development team; his free time was limited, and his days were filled with work.
The current teamleader was other ex-employee of the company which Richard had recently joined. Ricky said he would transfer the information, but he would first need to check with the owners; they were not answering their phones.
Over the next several months, Richard tried to talk with the owners. However, they would not answer their phones. Finally, Richard had a small meeting with management and one of the owners. It was only a small meeting; and Richard felt uncomfortable with their lack of communication. Ricky was still the leader of the programmers, and Richard felt that he should be able to give him a heads-up.
The meeting did not occur at company headquarters or in the main office. It was held in a small side room on the lower level of an office building, an odd meeting location for a developer who was the chief of his department. . . .
This story is the best, ever. It was written to be good. It was written to be entertaining, relatable and fascinating to read, while having a meaningful message. Yes, this is a fiction story but it was written to be true, in the sense that it is a reflection by the author, of relationships that have happened to him.
Who is the author?
I? My name is Kevin Hoffman, and I have been a software developer for an organic foods software company for the past 4 years. To help me put myself through college, I worked at a local retailer in the computer dept.
In junior year of college, I interned at the company I'm working for currently. I know...'far fetch'; but it's true.
I began to get interested in the software industry; but I did not want to go to school for software development; no, I wanted to get a business degree. It was then that I found out that a software hiring season was coming when they were hiring for departments. I put on my resume that I was experienced and passionate about software development, and got the job.
For the next four years, I worked hard, excelled and learned a lot; the company sponsored my college tuition. My department just got a new boss; he was promoted from within the company, but had no real experience as a manager.
The perspective we have for this is that software development is a service; we are service people. We provide services for the other health and food industries, but it is all very tightly interconnected.
One day, Ricky, our department head, called me in so that he could submit a proposal. He wanted to put me in charge of a software development department. I was shocked and surprised; I had made it big. Not only that, but Ricky asked me to put together a NonCompete Agreement that would protect him from my leaving. I was stunned and surprised, but I accepted the position.
After a few months, Ricky was gone! He was gone! I couldn't believe it; he just left!
Soon, I was called on the carpet and told that Ricky had been fired; he was working for a competitor of ours. I almost gasped.
Conclusion
Yes, I know what you are thinking, it is fiction. It is not actually true. But the general concept is; a developer is offered the opportunity to have management responsibilities, and are brought into management too early, because they have done a good job.
Often, these developers are offered power, but they are not mature enough to handle it.
Developers that are in management roles, who are not quick enough to fire their first program manager, can be a liability.