April 2, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Try To Be More Inefficient
April 3, 2008 at 2:20 am
But, that would mean a computer bod actually trying to comminucate with the outside world.......
Not ...... talk ........ computer ......... speak ...............
Nnnaaaaarrrrgggggeeeee!!!!! Can't ......... cope .............
[internal error. Please re-boot]
;):w00t::hehe:;)
April 3, 2008 at 2:48 am
There is a technique called Mangement by Wandering Around (MBWA). It was a big favourite at Hewlett Packard. I have found it to be most useful. As a DBA it is important to have an understanding of whatever business you are working in, especially if you are writing a report and you do not know the difference between a Grommit and a Cleat.
April 3, 2008 at 4:26 am
:Wow:
nice topic... technology is ever changing... but the personal skills developed this way will always pays.
my two cents here.
April 3, 2008 at 7:03 am
Sidebars and random discussions of off topic issues even non work related can be more informative and become extremely work related very easily when you work in an office of dorks like most of us. From a management perspective you learn so much more about your groups functional and disfuntional aspects. They also are not thinking you are watching them when you come around often. If you see your boss often you no longer go 'crap, boss on deck!' Regular communication with your peers aids in your own brainstorming and thinking adventures. If you are arogant enough to say you know it all and can write perfect code\script\documentation then i scoff at you. The power of a group of programmers\dbas\technical writers is that each of them bring something different to the table.
I have learned more from our sidebar discussions than i have from some of the weeklong training courses. I have also learned more from sidebards with instructors than i have from the rest of a training session.
Never corner yourself into your own cube. It gets very lonely 🙂
April 3, 2008 at 7:53 am
Zoë Braven-Giles (4/3/2008)
But, that would mean a computer bod actually trying to comminucate with the outside world.......
Riiight. Like that's going to happen! Seriously that's why some of us guys don't get dates. We never get up enough stuff to even ask. This is one of the reasons that I attack low self esteem.
Oh wait. You were being funny. :blush:
ATBCharles Kincaid
April 3, 2008 at 7:53 am
When I first started working at this company, ISS was the traditional ivory tower from the 1950s. Analysts analyzed, programmers never saw the light of day and outside of the analysts, no one ever spoke with the customer (customer being defined as anybody who used ISS services, whether internal or not). ISS was also isolated from the business with all the members sitting in one area.
The group I joined (outside of ISS) was formed in the business to counter those problems. We sat in the middle of the business and, therefore, were intimately involved in what was happening. If only through osmosis our understanding of the business far exceeded the 'professionals' in ISS.
Now, virtually all of us are part of IT and, once again, removed from the business. However, a lot of the current members of IT were involved with the business directly over the years so the relationships are closer and the communication lines more open.
As a rule, the friendlier and more open the lines of communication between IT and the business, the better the quality of work performed by both. There is plenty of side conversation and, at least in years past, more business was accomplished on the stoop over a smoke than ever happened in a conference room or anywhere else. And those get-togethers were NOT limited to smokers.
The same is true within IT. As an example, our group maintains very close ties with the network support folks, frequently stopping by just to chat for a moment or two. It makes a huge difference when your a** is in a sling and you need some help, or when you are planning a roll out and need some help figuring out port assignments or you are simply curious about the network configuration and why it works the way it does.
Whatever the approach, Steve is right that while they may be viewed as inefficient, those side conversations, et cetera, are many times the most valuable pieces of communication that occur within a company simply because they build and cement personal relationships. And if you think about it, the same could be said to apply to this forum...
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Buy the ticket, take the ride. -- Hunter S. Thompson
April 3, 2008 at 8:03 am
Dave Sanders (4/3/2008)
There is a technique called Management by Wandering Around (MBWA).
About. Management by Walking About. If you say it that way the folks east of the East Coast (Good day, Brits.) will understand it. 😀
Supposedly created by Ford. I don't think that it actually started with him but he made it famous. Demming picked up on it and taught it in Tokyo. He encapsulated it as part of teaching that there is a corporate culture and that the workplace is a micro-cosim of society in general.
ATBCharles Kincaid
April 3, 2008 at 8:13 am
Steve, you always hit the nail on the head! (And then the rest of us come along and keep pounding away at it.) 😀
Some of the best business information I've gotten comes from the lunchroom, while we're waiting in line for the microwaves. A "hi, how's your day" conversation can quickly turn into a rant from a user about some issue that's been bothering them for ages - aka "an opportunity to problem-solve". In one instance I was able to assure the user that a problem was in fact being worked on, as well as take their concerns into the team meeting for that project. Turns out a supervisor wasn't passing some problem reports up the line... Talk about two or three birds with one stone! (Oh no, it's the Audobon society - it's just a metaphor - put the tar and feathers down - auuggghh! :sick: ! )
In my view, a smart manager does MBWA, and encourages his people to do similar things - Programming By Walking Around? :hehe: I like seeing my boss coming, because it means I can bring up any pressing issues, or find out what's new that may impact the group. (Okay, sometimes we just vent to each other, too.) It certainly makes the work environment more enjoyable when you're reaction is "Oh good, there's my boss" rather than "Oh crap!"
Steph Brown
April 3, 2008 at 8:19 am
Very Zen-like philosophy Steve 🙂
April 3, 2008 at 8:37 am
Thanks and this is definitely one of those areas that you can't measure, you can't put a metric to it, but it's the most valuable time you get with your peers.
April 3, 2008 at 8:41 am
So how do you do this with people that work remotely or if you work remotely?
April 3, 2008 at 9:01 am
Michael Valentine Jones (4/3/2008)
So how do you do this with people that work remotely or if you work remotely?
MSNMessengerLive, GoToMeeting, internal newsgroups (what, your company does not run their own UseNet server?), internal forums. It's tougher but not impossible.
ATBCharles Kincaid
April 3, 2008 at 9:09 am
I feel the more I know about the people I work with, the better I can respond to the requirements. Silos create so many problems; real issues are not discussed; solutions are proposed rather than problem definitions; existing solutions are ignored out of ignorance, or turf protection. IT is RARELY "the business," not that there isn't value and competitive advantage, just that we are here to support something. The more we know about the environment and the people in it, the better we can do the things we are expected to do! I've always felt it was important to listen at the help desk, figure out what is causing the pain, and tried to look at the solutions from the support perspective, as well as from the end-user perspective.
April 3, 2008 at 9:28 am
It is hard to sell a technical solution to people who do not know you, have no reason to trust you, and all they hear out of your mouth is geek speak. If we try to understand what and how they are doing things we can help. And being Help brings friendship and partnership. On a rare occasion it may even bring chocolate.
Getting to know your user and speaking their language is vital. Great article!
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
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