Re: Cary's book

Robert,

Well said. I think the problem goes farther back than just us sitting in our cubes. I hate to stereotype, but there is some truth in saying that 'geeks' tend to be somewhat introverted, where many in management are somewhat extroverted. This year's IOUG-A Live was a great example. Here we all are, the best and brightest in the world of Oracle, walking the halls, having intense conversations. In the midst of it all, a pharmecutical sales convention starts sharing our hallways. Talk about polar opposites! It reminded me of high school with the 'serious' students and the popular crowd. Is this any different than work? Especially those people who work in non-IT companies. We all focus on training, OCPs/OCMs, etc, but how many of us have taken a corporate communication class or engaged a business/personal coach?

As for management, I've had great ones and god-awful ones. One manager tore me a new one because I explained that one of our systems was 5 minutes behind the others (in explaining the entries in a log file). I've also had ones that would step up to bat for you, even when they could easily justify the opposite. You have to figure out the political landscape, find the mines in the battlefield and step carefully.

We can no longer sit in our cubes, writing complex C programs, laughing at the foibles of 'damagement' and 'lusers'. We have to find a way to integrate ourselves into the business. It's not that you have to agree 100% with what is done. If you are going to disagree, do so respectfully and with proper reasoning and documentation. Communication is composed of two pieces, what you say and what the other person hears.

As for the geek work, there will always be places for those who excel at something. More appropriately, they will have a place if they can make their skills relevant. This requires understanding the bits and bytes, AND being able to put that into the context of the business need. I've enjoyed the past few years really exploring UNDO, but it is really irrelevant in the business world I live in. What is relevant here? Well, that's my next big project. I'll still be hacking away at Oracle, learning how it REALLY works, doing things that they say should/could not be done. But my goal is to make myself more proficient in a skill that will benefit the organization.

My $0.03 (I'm a little long winded today...)

Daniel Fink

Freeman Robert - IL wrote:

> Mladen, this is not directed specifically at you, but you have raised
> something in my mind that often just irritates the heck out of me.
>
> I often hear the term Damagement, damagers, etc... and I understand it, and
> have had more than a few occasions where a damager has killed me....
> Management is far from perfect, and I've met a number of managers who
> deserve to be kicked in the back side and sent out on the street.
>
> Yet, I often also wonder how much of this is OUR OWN FAULT. How many IT guys
> have I met that are way to passive, more than content to sit in there cubes
> and blame management, when the fault, at least in part, lies squarely with
> them. More than I can count. Lack of communication, lack of passion for ones
> own work, lack of vision, contentment in not understanding the big picture,
> the "I'm not paid to do this" syndrome or the "It's not my job" POV all in
> my eyes lead to as much failure as management. The guys who will not get
> their lazy behinds out of their chairs and go TALK to someone (other than
> the really good looking blonde down the isle) deserve to have their head
> chopped off as much as the manager they can't stand.
>
> I've met so many who will sit in meetings and let managers say STUPID
> things, never correct, never interject and so the cycle of stupidity is
> perpetuated. Sure, there may be cultures that foster this type of behavior,
> but I see it in cultures that are quite open too.
>
> Bottom line is that we have to refuse to be silent. We must go out and take
> a stand, and take some risk. We must LEARN about more than how Oracle works,
> we must learn how the business works. Those who do this are the successful
> ones, and my observation is that I rarely hear them cussing management. This
> is usually because, they either change the world around them, or they move
> on to a place where they can be effective.
>
> My opinion, YMMV,
>
> Robert

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Author: Daniel Fink
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