LAMP - Professional advice

[X. Benedict]

Good point. How in the hell is he supposed to roll a 35?

Or .35

[stuckincincy]

A managerial position should be coming open soon where I work.

Go for it.

 

In no particular order...except #1...

 

These are a few items of a practical nature, from a boss that has been bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated too many times to remember.

 

1. Don't take the job unless you are strongly assured - in writing - that you will be the one evaluating your employees for promotion, more $$$, etc. Without that, you will be sniffed out as powerless. They will be able to lift their legs on you and whine to those up the ladder. Don't assume such can't happen, even with buddies of long standing.

 

But if you do seek the job after assuring #1...

 

2. Don't use cabal like Lumburgh type and "The Bob's". Part of the job is clear communication.

 

3. Never have a closed-door meeting with a female. Even if dev/null/ is a female. Sorry, folks. Guilty until proven innocent of sexual harassment is the law of the land. Equality under the law doesn't apply here. But if it is reported to you - document it and don't sit on it. Relate it to your superiors, in writing.

 

4. Document good/bad employee actions for when performance review time rolls around. Don't just jot down the bad stuff.

 

5. G*d help you if your outfit has flex time. The boss (you) has to show up early. You may end up having to stick around for a long time to make sure the 10 AM crowd doesn't bolt out 5 minutes after they watch you leave the parking lot. Never allow tardiness and poor attendance to fester. Never.

 

6. I'm all for funny repartee, but keep one's sarcasm and the bon mots to a minimum. They suffer a magnified level of mis-interpretation in a boss-worker relationship.

 

7. Cultivate good relationships with the bosses and workers in skilled trades, facility maintenance, shipping/receiving, manufacturing, and security if your workplace has such. I cannot over-emphasize this.

 

8. Defend your employees against outside attack - which usually comes from other departments. Your worker's action may be as wrong as wrong can be, but it's up to you, the boss, to take heat. Possibly they let unfortunate words slip and some shark wants to make hay on their innocence. Perhaps they are schemers or plotters themselves. No matter - you can wring their necks later. Loyalty is a two-way street.

 

9. A handy phrase when one of your workers isn't following orders..."Look - my actions are accountable to my superiors. Your actions are accountable to me.".

 

10. If you get goodies from vendors and suppliers, don't hog them. Pass most of them along to your workers.

 

11. Raise h*ll with the vendors and suppliers if they try to wine 'n dine your workers without your approval and knowledge. It's not an issue of losing some freebies for you - attempts at influence peddling are part and parcel of business. Finely honed amongst legislators, I might add. The boss - at least in theory - wears a certain ethical and moral mantle.

 

12. Don't dress like a slob. Clean fingernails, combed hair, tie. Florscheim shoes. No T-shirt that says "Anger Management Classes Piss Me Off!" or some such. Keep a sport coat in your office. Keep your vehicle half-way clean. You may sometimes end up being the chauffeur.

 

13. Never insult or belittle clerical staff. Bring doughnuts in for them on a monthly basis. Many crap on such folk, and treat them like dirt under their feet. Don't do that - if you do, prepare to be hung out to dry when your neck is in jeopardy...and you will deserve it. This is another critical point.

 

14. Learn a bit about your employees', and your support staff's personal life. This is just a simple expression of the value of having amicable relations among co-workers. An honestly-felt good morning, a chat about how the garden is growing are pleasantries shared and enjoyed by all.

 

15. You may confided in about some personal crises. Be a good listener. It's no time to make declarative statements like I am currently doing. This can be a very dicey thing - and can leave one on an island of indecision. Nothing prevents you from having an informal "name no names" conversation with the head of the HR Department, however - they see a whole lot more of such than you ever will. Seek help if needed. If you're the boss, you gotta watch out for your folks. It goes with the new stripes on your sleeve.

 

16. Brain-storming sessions really work. Never assume one person has all the answers, including yourself. Be sure to clobber the worker who tries to intimidate the group. No exceptions to this rule.

 

17. Train well, your replacement who will be the boss when you move up - including about corporate intrigue.

 

18. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

 

19. Remember - always respect your elders, and beg benefit of their experience.

 

 

That's all I can think of at this moment.

 

Good luck, dev!

[DC Tom]

14. Learn a bit about your employees', and your support staff's personal life.

 

...but not too much, particularly if they're really, really weird like I am.

[stuckincincy]

...but not too much, particularly if they're really, really weird like I am.

 

Just enough to maintain day-to-day amity. Office plots, background chatter, this camp vs. that one etc. are definitely part of the fun.

[Fezmid]

5. G*d help you if your outfit has flex time. The boss (you) has to show up early. You may end up having to stick around for a long time to make sure the 10 AM crowd doesn't bolt out 5 minutes after they watch you leave the parking lot. Never allow tardiness and poor attendance to fester. Never.

I've always thought that if an employee is getting their job done, who cares what hours they're in the office? If someone is consistently working only 6 hours/day, chances are they're not getting their job done. On the flip side, if someone's working 12 hours/day, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're 50% more productive than the 8 hour/day guy, they might just take longer to finish their work.

 

I hate people who punch a timecard when you're a salaried employee.

CW

[/dev/null]

\My Documents\Spreadsheets

~/My Documents/Spreadsheets

[Fezmid]

A business is served by being available in full force to the public during normal business hours. What if a customer shows up (they are the ones that fork over the $$ that makes the whole thing work) and Fez is the guy with the info to meet that customer's demand, but Fez is not yet in or has left for the day? If I'm the customer, I may move my business.

 

Have you ever been miffed at an eatery or gin mill that didn't open up as promised, as usual? A garden shop that said "sorry...the fellow who knows about that won't be in until 10 AM".

 

The 6 hour or 12 hour job done/not done stuff is a question for internal management. One better put the good - and full - staff out there for your customers. The huge public sector need not worry about such. Their job is assured every April 15th and the first Tuesday in November.

 

The day your outfit has to shuffle feet as to why this or that asset isn't at the 9 AM table will be remembered...and spread about.

 

I am gaining insight as to why more and more IT work is being farmed out overseas. As some insist about Japanese vs. American cars...better value for the buck, less labor cost in the product. And when I want them, they are there.

Well first of all, the IT that I do doesn't interface with external customers directly. You have customer reps that handle that, find out the requirements, and then bring them to the IT group to figure out how to implement. Based on your "Have you ever been miffed at an eatery or gin mill that didn't open up as promised," comment, I'm guessing that you don't really know how IT works. You're thinking of it as a restauarant where people walk in and expect a service to be performed, whereas in reality the stuff runs in the background. I worked a 34 hour shift just a couple of weeks ago to get a server fixed for Re/Max, but I never once spoke to anyone at Re/Max, our rep handled that.

 

If I have a 9am meeting, then being at the meeting is part of "getting my job done" and I obviously have to be there. If someone runs into a problem they can't handle, I'm on call 24x7x365. Again, all part of getting my job done.

 

The IT offshoring fiasco is best left for another thread, but I'll just say that a lot of companies are reconsidering what they're sending off because they're realizing it's not quite the cost saver they thought it would be.

CW

[ExiledInIllinois]

Go for it.

 

In no particular order...except #1...

 

These are a few items of a practical nature, from a boss that has been bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated too many times to remember.

 

1. Don't take the job unless you are strongly assured - in writing - that you will be the one evaluating your employees for promotion, more $$$, etc. Without that, you will be sniffed out as powerless. They will be able to lift their legs on you and whine to those up the ladder. Don't assume such can't happen, even with buddies of long standing.

 

But if you do seek the job after assuring #1...

 

2. Don't use cabal like Lumburgh type and "The Bob's". Part of the job is clear communication.

 

3. Never have a closed-door meeting with a female. Even if dev/null/ is a female. Sorry, folks. Guilty until proven innocent of sexual harassment is the law of the land. Equality under the law doesn't apply here. But if it is reported to you - document it and don't sit on it. Relate it to your superiors, in writing.

 

4. Document good/bad employee actions for when performance review time rolls around. Don't just jot down the bad stuff.

 

5. G*d help you if your outfit has flex time. The boss (you) has to show up early. You may end up having to stick around for a long time to make sure the 10 AM crowd doesn't bolt out 5 minutes after they watch you leave the parking lot. Never allow tardiness and poor attendance to fester. Never.

 

6. I'm all for funny repartee, but keep one's sarcasm and the bon mots to a minimum. They suffer a magnified level of mis-interpretation in a boss-worker relationship.

 

7. Cultivate good relationships with the bosses and workers in skilled trades, facility maintenance, shipping/receiving, manufacturing, and security if your workplace has such. I cannot over-emphasize this.

 

8. Defend your employees against outside attack - which usually comes from other departments. Your worker's action may be as wrong as wrong can be, but it's up to you, the boss, to take heat. Possibly they let unfortunate words slip and some shark wants to make hay on their innocence. Perhaps they are schemers or plotters themselves. No matter - you can wring their necks later. Loyalty is a two-way street.

 

9. A handy phrase when one of your workers isn't following orders..."Look - my actions are accountable to my superiors. Your actions are accountable to me.".

 

10. If you get goodies from vendors and suppliers, don't hog them. Pass most of them along to your workers.

 

11. Raise h*ll with the vendors and suppliers if they try to wine 'n dine your workers without your approval and knowledge. It's not an issue of losing some freebies for you - attempts at influence peddling are part and parcel of business. Finely honed amongst legislators, I might add. The boss - at least in theory - wears a certain ethical and moral mantle.

 

12. Don't dress like a slob. Clean fingernails, combed hair, tie. Florscheim shoes. No T-shirt that says "Anger Management Classes Piss Me Off!" or some such. Keep a sport coat in your office. Keep your vehicle half-way clean. You may sometimes end up being the chauffeur.

 

13. Never insult or belittle clerical staff. Bring doughnuts in for them on a monthly basis. Many crap on such folk, and treat them like dirt under their feet. Don't do that - if you do, prepare to be hung out to dry when your neck is in jeopardy...and you will deserve it. This is another critical point.

 

14. Learn a bit about your employees', and your support staff's personal life. This is just a simple expression of the value of having amicable relations among co-workers. An honestly-felt good morning, a chat about how the garden is growing are pleasantries shared and enjoyed by all.

 

15. You may confided in about some personal crises. Be a good listener. It's no time to make declarative statements like I am currently doing. This can be a very dicey thing - and can leave one on an island of indecision. Nothing prevents you from having an informal "name no names" conversation with the head of the HR Department, however - they see a whole lot more of such than you ever will. Seek help if needed. If you're the boss, you gotta watch out for your folks. It goes with the new stripes on your sleeve.

 

16. Brain-storming sessions really work. Never assume one person has all the answers, including yourself. Be sure to clobber the worker who tries to intimidate the group. No exceptions to this rule.

 

17. Train well, your replacement who will be the boss when you move up - including about corporate intrigue.

 

18. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

 

19. Remember - always respect your elders, and beg benefit of their experience.

That's all I can think of at this moment.

 

Good luck, dev!

 

 

Obviously you are not talking about the federal gov't...

 

Where they break every single one of your well thought out rules... Note number 9 especially, where only the peons (like myself) are the only one's accountable...

 

Can I have you come in and give a training session to the Corps of Engineers? Bring a baseball bat, you may need it...

 

[stuckincincy]

Well first of all, the IT that I do doesn't interface with external customers directly. You have customer reps that handle that, find out the requirements, and then bring them to the IT group to figure out how to implement. Based on your "Have you ever been miffed at an eatery or gin mill that didn't open up as promised," comment, I'm guessing that you don't really know how IT works. You're thinking of it as a restauarant where people walk in and expect a service to be performed, whereas in reality the stuff runs in the background. I worked a 34 hour shift just a couple of weeks ago to get a server fixed for Re/Max, but I never once spoke to anyone at Re/Max, our rep handled that.

 

If I have a 9am meeting, then being at the meeting is part of "getting my job done" and I obviously have to be there. If someone runs into a problem they can't handle, I'm on call 24x7x365. Again, all part of getting my job done.

 

The IT offshoring fiasco is best left for another thread, but I'll just say that a lot of companies are reconsidering what they're sending off because they're realizing it's not quite the cost saver they thought it would be.

CW

 

 

Fez, I wish to apologize to you for my uncalled-for rant.

 

I was very much out of line. I've had 2 very frustrating days trying to get in touch with a person about a property assessment dispute, and additional bout of phone tag regarding a medical building...and I wrongly put my frustrations into words befitting a child with diaper rash.

[Fezmid]

Fez, I wish to apologize to you for my uncalled-for rant.

 

I was very much out of line. I've had 2 very frustrating days trying to get in touch with a person about a property assessment dispute, and additional bout of phone tag regarding a medical building...and I wrongly put my frustrations into words befitting a child with diaper rash.

 

No problem - I wasn't upset about your post at all, just chalked it up to a difference in opinion.

[/dev/null]

thanks for all the advice.

 

but i didn't get it

 

got the standard, thanks for applying but we went with someone with more experience banter. and already the new boss (above the position i was going for) and the guy who got the position are leaning on me for help.

 

i've got no hard feelings tho. career wise it would have been a good promotion, but from a day to day perspective its stepping into a deep hole which is already knee deep in stojan.

 

the guy that did get is a good fit, so I don't feel slighted or stepped over. he even pulled me aside and wanted to make sure i was cool with it. some of the other techs weren't happy with the choice tho. they have no problem with the guy and have confidence in him, but they all thought i should have gotten it.

 

anyways, it was worth a shot. and i got my name out there for future "upward mobility"