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Training the Boss
Well, I am only a part-time worker now. I have cut back so I can spend some more time developing my career.
Consequently, I need to ensure other people at work can handle minor issues in my absence. this shouldn't be an issue, I have been steadly gearing the system to be able to cope without my role.
********
"alright", says the Boss, "you have been very busy documenting everything, you can explain to me how it all works. It will be a good test of your documentation"
"Oh, and teach me too" puts in the Manager
"Better teach someone else too" decides the Boss, "How about the new guy, how do you pronounce his last name?"
"Good idea, didn't he say he had some IT experience on his resume?" says the Manager
"I think so, but could have been Cattle Yard experience for all I know" says the Boss.
everyone nods, we will do this on Monday we all agree.
"And one more thing" says the Boss "Can we label everything"
"I have labelled everything" I say, pointing at the label on the pheripherals around him 101z, ph102...
"No, I mean with names, like 'tserver', so we know what they are" explains the Boss, "I will buy a labelling machine and you can label eveything", he directs his conversation now to the Manager "There was a thing with a card in it in the server room, and I didn't know what it was"
********
So this should be exciting, plus I get to label things (oh yay!, "not the technical labelling silly, we want fun names"), kind of makes me think of kindegarten, when there were labels on everthing 'blackboard' 'chair' 'desk' 'window'......
Lets hope the new guy had IT experience not cattle yard experience, eh?
Actually seriously, I am excited, it will be a good test to see whether I have made the system simple enough, and it is nice to have the boss take an interest...(would have been nice if you had taken the time to look at all those macros I wrote that save you thousands of dollars a year....but who am I to complain).
Aussie Chick
Monday, February 16, 2004
So what? what's all this? your diary ftped to JOS erroneously?
Jeez, what's up with you people? o you honestly think we care about your day to day, mundane and tasteless business? Sanity check: we absolutely couldn't care less!
Cosmo Kramer
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
What's next? your papa's XP box got infected with Mydoom worm and you'd like to let the whole world know what went wrong?
This is a software engineering/management forum. Not a funkygeek'sdiary.blogspot.com!
Capice?
Cosmo Kramer
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Your probably right, I didn't summarise very well (and I definetly do have a tendency to ramble on!!
I am interested in the take of management stepping down and wanting to have the ground-level stuff explained to them. My experience so far has been that I am left alone to do my own thing, I take it seriously, and try to avoid to many conversations with management.
However general consensus among the IT/Programmer population is that management are fairly incompetant (at least not too many people come out singing management praises). They have a tendency to want to change things without really really understanding what is going on.
And I would have expected things like this to get delegate to a compentent individual with the time to spend on it, rather then bosses with very little time on there hands.
Generally if I do post a topic, I open it with an experience to invoke tales of other peoples experiences, it makes for good reading and good advice etc.
Aussie Chick
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"So what? what's all this? your diary ftped to JOS erroneously?
Jeez, what's up with you people? o you honestly think we care about your day to day, mundane and tasteless business? Sanity check: we absolutely couldn't care less! "
She's one of the few people with interesting things to say around here, and she's contributed more than 10 times as much to this board as you have (so says usabilitymustdie, anyway). Besides, picking a fight with the hot geek chick isn't going to endear you to most geeks.
(disclaimer: I do not know for a fact that aussie chick is hot. In the absence of any evidence, though, I'm going to continue assuming she's drop-dead gorgeous).
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Thanks, you made me feel better, I thought I had lost my status as that nice cool chick in town.
Thought that all my niceness and (mostly) intelligent comments were ignored, and I was being ripped to shreds for one erroneous post, being sent out to the boondocks for one fe paux...
Aussie Chick
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
While I certainly enjoy reading just about everything you post here, you and Philo are my top two picks for "people who ought to have their own blogs because most of what they say is insightful or entertaining."
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Yeah, Cosmo, you picked the wrong person to attack. Maybe you don't follow JOS much.
Aussie Chick, you should write up your experiences sometime: "Intelligent person has to deal with accountants - a real story."
Aussie bloke
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"So what? what's all this? your diary ftped to JOS erroneously?"
actually Ive been following aussie chicks posts with a lot of interest.
(and a faintly mellow wish that I was still so young and enthusiastic about programming and clients and things)
"This is a software engineering/management forum. Not a funkygeek'sdiary.blogspot.com! "
wow, Im finding it hard to think of a post more directly relevant to a software forum than one that deals with software training, management and accountants.
Why dont you post an example of the kind of post youd like to see cosmo? Ill read your thread with real interest...you sound like a real hardcore kind of programming guy, with heaps of anecdotes about your work and no doubt some real insights into various specialised areas...why dont you share :)
FullNameRequired
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
2nd vote for Aussie Chick posts. I like Philo et al too, but their posts aren't nearly as cute ;)
I hope, AC, that you have managed to negotiate a sensible hourly rate for helping them on the half days when you're not supposed to be working. You know. For all those "just a quick call to ask..." interruptions.
There's a great Dilbert cartoon about this where Alice does exactly what you have done - works half days for pro rata salary and agrees to help out at other times if necessary. Dilbert says "so basically you negotiated a 50% salary reduction?".
Justin
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Aussie Chick - The new place I work has an upper level manager who will sometimes get involved in the nitty gritty. Before everyone groans (my first reaction), he does this for his own personal enrichment and it seems to have the effect of making him smarter, getting him in the trenches with the little guy, giving him some level of excitement on what he used to do. The key factor of course is he is a good listener and makes suggestions based on valuable experience - neverr demanding we go in a certain direction because of his ego.
m
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
>a sensible hourly rate for helping them on the half days when you're not supposed to be working. You know. For all those "just a quick call to ask..." interruptions.
Nothing too flash, but minimum 1hr pay, even for the 10min interruptions....Its okay I don't have an ADSL line, and I am logged on all day, phone calls never get through...
But I have to find that cartoon, I will give it to my boss tomorrow!!
Aussie Chick
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
>neverr demanding we go in a certain direction because of his ego
I think we have less of an ego problem in our workplace, (well maybe that is what it is), more of a 'too many cooks' situation. I have thrived of late being able to just hole up with my list of things to do and just get through them, do things the way I think best.
When I actually have to get involved with other people I generally don't offer to many suggestions, my experience is that they are torn to shreds for ridiculise reasons "I don't like that font", "I don't like the way you italise the page number" kind of stuff....
I hate the idea of having worked for the past year on this stuff and then have them point out all the meaningless things that they don't like.
Aussie Chick
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"Its okay I don't have an ADSL line, and I am logged on all day, phone calls never get through... "
AC, hon, life is too short for dialup connection.
Just my 2 cents.
cosmo kramer
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"Just my 2 cents."
I wouldn't even give you that for it :)
seriously cosmo, either contribute something interesting or bugger off will you? your spoiling my breakfast.
you honestly think we care about your two cents? Sanity check: we absolutely couldn't care less!
Capice?
FullNameRequired
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Leave cosmo alone. He's alright too.
Aussie bloke
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"Leave cosmo alone. He's alright too."
the only time I even noticed one of his posts and hes attacking AC for hers....maybe hes alright too, but its kind of hard to tell from this angle.
He _really_ should try making some interesting posts of his own instead of adding worthless comments to posts made by people with something interesting to say.
FullNameRequired
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
"He _really_ should try making some interesting posts of his own instead of adding worthless comments to posts made by people with something interesting to say. "
Oh God I so needed your timely advice. Get a life loser!
cosmo kramer
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
" Get a life loser!"
:) OK
FullNameRequired
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Personally I'd much rather read something like this than another outsourcing thread.
It is quite common to have names for equipment rather than cryptic codes, AC, that's the (only?) reason for DNS for example.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
>It is quite common to have names for equipment rather than cryptic codes, AC, that's the (only?) reason for DNS for example.
I know, the bloodbank calls there plasma machines 'fred', 'barney' and 'wilma'.
But I find it much easier to cross reference when the code is something meaningful. I know straight away that the 104z machine is much older then the 121z machine.
So I suppose when you look at it that way, my system has its downsides afterall.....*grin*
Aussie Chick
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
AussieChick > You.
Hmm, nah.
AussieChick > JoS.
:-}
blackmesa
Thursday, February 19, 2004
what? I am very confused about what you meant by that (and curious!!)
Aussie Chick
Saturday, February 21, 2004
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