February 8, 2020 at 12:00 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Personal Power
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
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February 9, 2020 at 5:27 am
Great editorial, Grant.
Here's a supporting true story from my time at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).
My manager, Bruce, and I were meeting in his office. My colleague, Rich, burst into the room and ranted that "Gordon [Bell, Senior Engineering VP] is making a stupid mistake". Bruce asked, "Have you told him?". With a smile on his face and relief in his voice, Rich said, "No, I'll go ask for a meeting with Gordon right now” and turned to leave the office. Bruce cautioned, "Not so fast, Rich. You have a right, perhaps even a duty, to inform Gordon that he's making a stupid mistake. Then Gordon has the right to be an informed fool."
February 9, 2020 at 1:23 pm
Thanks. This is a tough lesson to keep in mind. I forget it from time to time, even at Redgate.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
February 9, 2020 at 5:02 pm
If you are not one of the ones the powers that be listen to then study those who are listened to.
Being right is no substitute for your message being listened to.
February 10, 2020 at 1:32 pm
I get the sentiment about personal power, though on an initiative like GDPR and CCPA compliance. "Institutional Power" is going to be required. It doesn't matter how much passion you have, compliance to these regulations require people (you can't do this alone) and money (you can't do this for free). People will have to do things that make their day to day harder (or at very least different from before and that may as well fall in the category of impossible for many) and organizations will have to spend money.
We can do our parts and raise awareness and we can be the ones to beat a drum about the impending implications once these laws reach our regions (and they will, California for better or for worse sets a lot of the tone and agenda for technology in the U.S.). We do have a duty to raise awareness, make meaningful changes in our areas and to evangelize, but is ultimately the responsibility of leadership to steer the ship. I like the way Bruce from Mr. Maclean's anecdote put it about the informed fool.
If you're raising awareness, coming up with reasonable strategies and plans (not just complaining) and you still feel like you're rocking the boat but only the life boat on a cruise ship, you may want to put that life boat in the water and get in, because that ship is headed for an iceberg and if your lonely voice is the only one raising the alarm and no one is listening, well we know how that ends.
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February 10, 2020 at 2:55 pm
An individual with no institutional influence can still influence the institution by proxy. Identify closest person to you who does have influence and invite them for lunch. Explain to them the problem and your proposed solution. The trade-off is that you may not get any personal credit, but at least your concerns will be addressed.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
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