Management 101 pt3

I should add, latest part of management dictat is; well first a tiny bit of history ...

We have countless jobs up for grabs at the moment and two of the guys I supervise are applying for some of them. That's the history ... the dictat is:

"They can't ask you to be their referee, it has to be the head of the building they work for."

Oh right - so if I want a reference, I'm allegedly not allowed to go to the people who ...

• know me best
• know my work best and
  
• will definitely be on my side

but then I've come to expect this kind of crap and guess what, I'm not paying it any attention. I didn't sign up for this, it isn't in my contract and they can't make me.

It's been a while since

...............................................................................last I posted.

Why? Well things have been kind of nuts. The family have been ill - one after the other, one of my wife's reli's died and in general I've been very busy with work, two job interviews and other things.

This doesn't stop work being the usual randomn chaos I've grown used to, but enough of them, I have no desire to talk about them right now. What I will say is that they have pushed me too far, which has caused me to decide that enough is enough. It's time I moved on. I'm 41, I have no real desire to change my career direction - again - but when one gets to the point where stress starts to affect what you do, or should I say the idea of stress as I'm not 100% sure I know that I have experienced stress yet, close though. Anyway, I digress, it has come to the point where instead of just looking at the jobs, I have actually begun to apply for them.

So, just over a month ago I go for this interview. It wasn't billed that way and I was told a pre-requisite would be an MCSE, I don't have that but I do have a few MCP's, but they still wanted to "have a chat with me". Anyhow - weird part is that the owner of this company used to be one of my clients way back when I still worked for Computacenter which was weird. She hasn't changed - still the same air of superiority and way too much makeup, but I still like her and used to get on with her. End result is I have "this chat" for an hour or so and she says I shall leave it up to my technical man to decide. Well he walks in and does a "When Harry met Sally" over my CV and the fact that what I do meets all their needs and they can see a use for the extra stuff in the future.

I walk away thinking the job is as good as mine. However, the wife has a gut feeling - usually this is wind - but after a few days thinking I come to the same conclusion. For better or worse I'll stick it out at my current place as this job doesn't seem quite right. Two weeks later I enquire as to the outcome and get told they are doing a round of interviews and I'll know sometime soon. After another two weeks I get the "Dear John" letter - yup, they turned me down because "I didn't meet one of their prerequisites", namely the MCSE. So I fire off a polite thank you via eMail and wonder why I was put through a wasted two hours and 60 miles journey when they knew I didn't meet this prerequisite.

No surprises that they haven't bothered to reply. Seems my wife's gut feeling was right all along - she didn't want me doing a 60 mile daily commute.

Onto interview number 2. This one so different. A colleague initially found the advert, then the company contacted me anyway because they "had my CV on file" - I've never believed that line until now though :) Long story short, I attend and there's a panel of 4 (should have been 5, but one was sick) as they have 16 jobs up for grabs this time around ..... I thought the interview was pretty weak by my own standards but I ended up having to return the following day with my passport, as employment law now requires employers to determine your right to work in the UK

Main contact says thanks for dropping in and can he give me some feedback - sure .... tells me I had "an excellent interview" and that they are considering me for one of two posts and which one would I prefer. I think I managed to fudge that enough without burning my boats on either ..... still, should find out today, tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

One thing I have remembered though - is that how very different private business is to public. Here I am, barely two weeks after initially writing in waiting to hear if I get the job or not. Were this my current employer, they'd not even have got an advert to HR yet .......... Anyway - the post is local, so still only a 6 mile commute in total and if I get the job I really want, I'll be able to climb back on my bike and restore my health as well as save the planet a little.

I'll let you know .................

Musings ....

I've been toying with the idea of creating a newsletter with techy stuff in it. Things like neat gadgets, cool finds on the web, reviews of products and even the odd bit of tech support.

Why, well in very short NNT has decided to end its 'free' edition. Now I disagree with the owners assertion that "It is patently unfair to ask a minority of subscribers to the Premium issue to continue to subsidize publication of the Standard issue to a much larger subscriber database." as this is the way the majority of web based products such as theirs work. And, may I add, continue to work. See LangaList and Support Alert as two examples of fine writing and content that provide a free and a subbed version.

Also NNT's owners state "As Bob Dylan’s music aptly sings “These Times They Are A-Changin’.” Nothing is free – someone always pays." Well, I have to agree here but the point is that you need something to draw the subscribers in. And I've been a free member (ah ha I hear you say, here's his whinge as he's no longer getting the freebie) for 2 or 3 years and in all that time it has never excited me or encouraged me enough to want to pay up. The other two examples I offer above - Langa List and Support Alert are excellent - free or paid. As it happens I pay for both of these and the reason I do is because their free content was enough to entice me to wonder what I was missing out on. Plus they have their attitude to life better balanced in that they realise they have to attract new members somehow. Tell me .... who's going to be attracted to NNT at $12 a year when they don't know what they are getting. I've been sent a sample copy and frankly it adds a fw more words to the free version and an editorial. Well gee.


If you want to spend $12 - then spend it at Langa. Or for $10 Gizmo's Support Alert is excellent. Both newsletters have different markets they appeal to but both are excellent value whereas NNT has been consigned, sadly, to my bit bucket. It could have been a great read but in all that time I think I clicked on one link directly from the newsletter.



All that said - I wish them well and hope they continue to see it work for them. So, this has prompted me to think ...

• Can I do the same?
  
• Do I want to do the same?
• How often?
• How do I do teh research?
• Do I offer a "premium" version as well?
• and so on .....

But these are my issues and ones I shall investigate thoroughly over the coming weeks. Until next time I scribble.

Somebody like me .... revisited.

Hmm. After the 'dressing down' of two weeks back I've had to attend the source of my discomfort - a particular place of work .... so I followed this up a week afterwards with my immediate line manager and asked him had he "heard anything". Yes he says with a laugh ...... they said you were a' very nice person and that technically I knew my stuff' - well knock me down with a Juggernaut ..... but and here's the crucial bit as far as I am concerned. I haven't changed my attitude or the way I treat this particular place - I guess I was ever so slightly more careful with the words I used butonly marginally so.

Long time work colleague and not o long time friend, Little G, left for pastures anew yesterday. I wish him all the best as he's a young man on the edge of his career taking off - he could and should go far. What was weird is that whilst the most folks I've ever seen turned up for the traditional farewell speech from the manager - even the top dog himself was there - it was very muted. By that I mean it had a surreal atmosphere as if it wasn't happening and instead it was yet another bizarre dream. Once again though, the top dog declined to say a word and left it to the big boss. But then this is what I've come to expect of our management - no direction, no guidance and we only find things out by accident. When I challenge this I'm told that "all management team minutes are available to all". Well exscuse me, but I simply don't have the luxury of time to go and look at minutes of a meeting that, on the whole, don't affect me.

What ever happened to managers disseminating information? I realise it is up to me to drive my career and training desires but when they don't tell me something to the expense of my current role - is that my fault? Perhaps I see management in this rosy view of the top dog tells his immediate juniors their tasks and passes on all info they receive and then these immediate juniors do likewise and so on ...... plus we have an internal mail system which gets clogged up with other management stuff, so why not a bit more?

Somebody like me ....

It takes all sorts and I really thought there was only one. My big manager .... as I tend to refer to him. Big in that he is physically quite large and big in that he's deputy in charge of IT .... anyway, my xml feed today produced this gem - I quit - and I have to say that apart from the specifics of the industries, the location and the sex then this article so rang true for me.

Today I was torn the proverbial new one! But it was just a re-hash of an incorrect assumption made by said boss almost two years ago. What made it worse was that my line manager stuck the blade in and twisted a bit as well. I guess the difference between the article and myself is that I have long since given up trying to win anyone in management over ... instead, I do my job, I do it well and I enjoy it. However, today has re-confirmed a lingering thought at the back of my head .... time to get up and get looking. There are jobs out there that are better and I just need to start the process rolling.

Enough said ......

Staff happenings ....

It would seem churlish for me to go on criticising my management when in excess of 150,000 people have losy their lives in a disaster the likes that none of us have probably ever seen before ...

However, it does make me wonder at the minds of some folks .... 150,000 plus dead and some of us continue as if nothing has happened. I guess in some way most of us have been affected in one way or another or know somebody who knows somebody ... but lets bereal. We are OK, we are safe .... the only the real thing to think about is what can I do to help? When I say "I" that includes anyone who may read this blog.

I applaud the 7 BT engineers who have freely offered to go and help rebuild communications infrastructures as they will have to live rough for weeks ... I too want to go, but whilst I could offer my physical self I don't have any unusual skills that are required. Yes I am a good network engineer, but I do believe they are a long way from worrying about "surfing the web" or somesuch.

I am appalled though at the fact that a lot of Americans are trying to draw some form of comparison bewteen their self-stylised 9/11 and the devastating earthquake in Asia. Get a grip people, and here I realise the ire of Americans will bear down on me, the two happenings are miles apart in experience and bear no resemblance other than the tragic loss of life in both cases.

On the flip side, work has been interesting in that I mostly have not been there. Took a few days off for Christmas and after having slipped on teh ice that has turned into a few more - which is why this journal has been quiet for so long ... so new managers (if you like the title then who am I to argue) and old members of staff finally getting out .... so long G, I will miss you despite your moods at times :)

Management 101.b

It seems they don't learn. Job advertised internally only and to a closed circle of 5 personnel. 1 immediately decides no way he'll get the job, another decides he doesn't want the hassle (apart from other stuff) and tells big boss this, only to get a diatribe about making "the biggest mistake of his career". I, being one of said 'closed circle', also decide I don't want the grief - plus I have a job at that salary grade and more opportunities in it so why the need to interview for less prestige?

Do management call it off? Do they also advertise more widely, or even external? Hah - what do you think? Anyway, job has now gone to one of the two remaining "candidates" who, we all know, is the least qualified and least capable of doing the job ...... hmmmm, interesting times ahead!

gMail

What did we ever do without gMail? Well me anyway.

The little competition I ran last month to win my last "gMail invite"attracted precisely zero entries which doesn't surprise me as this is a fledgeling blog and I haven't advertised it anywhere. So I awarded the invite to .... [FX:trumpets fade] ... myself ... Yay!

OK, time to get on and do the things that must be done.

Looking for a job?

Then join the queue. I want a new job but I don't need one. The one I have serves me well and has provided me opportunities I wouldn't normally have got - however its longevity is never something I envisaged. Which brings me to my point .... I always believe (and may be totally wrong) that employers look suspiciously upon people who "job jump". Put it this way, were I an employer then I'd be suspicious of someone who changed their job, say every two years. My first thought would be .... we'll get two years and then they'll be gone. Plus I've always been brought up to be loyal but loyalty can be stretched to the point where the relationship breaks down - that happened with my first employer in the world of computing. Since my 5years with them, I have done 9 with my next, 6 and a bit with my current and a blip for 18month between them. That one was the single biggest mistake of my career - I went on promises that simply never came true and consequently I didn't have any guilt breaking my contract or the T&C's of it.

What say you? Is job jumping every two years or so OK? Or is the long term "stick it out no matter what" the preferred route? Or lastly, does the current employment climate negate both of these and it's every man or woman to themselves?

Management - How not to 101

The BIG boss has been at it again ... if anybody, ever, wants a lesson in how not to do it then please contact me and we can discuss my fee for passing on my knowledge .

Myself, I never wanted to be a manager and have fallen into supervisory work more by default than by anything else and currently have 7 people that I am "responsible" for. It's actually quite fun as these 7 guys are good eggs who work hard and want to get on in life .... or maybe I'm just blessed?

Just a short note tonight ... but my trusty Psion 5mx is on its way to being sold ... just over 5hrs left for it on eBay and it is doing well. It's replacement - a palmone tungsten T2 is proving to have a high fun quotient as well as being very useful (of course).

Anyway - just enough time to say Happy Anniversary Dad.

eNewsletters

..... of whatever variety - be they additional extras to mainstream publications, tips & tricks or purely an expression of online content delivered to your inbox - why do the vast majority of them presume that we all want to know the ins and outs of America and its voting practices and that we should all be urged to vote. I challenged one of these online e-letters recently when it reminded me, AGAIN, not to miss my chance to vote. In short I asked why it had to detract from its main message and keep reminding me - a non US person about their upcoming elections. And before you ask, I did it politely .... got a pleasant answer that basically said tough and if I didn't like it to unsubscribe.

Really, I ask, what is so difficult about identifying that I am not from the US? The eMail address I use is quite clear on where I am based and it can't be that hard for these alleged intelligent people to create more than one variant of their newsletter. They do it to differentiate between those who support them and those who don't ......

OK - today's moan over.

Quick question ....... how do you write the word eMail? And why?
Do you use:
email
eMail
e-mail
e-Mail
EMail
or some other variant?

Friday ....

So, another one rolls around and no surprise the weather people got it wrong again - and there's me being grand fireworks master tonight as well. One hopes it won't be a damp squib.

My faith in eMail support has been restored though. Two companies - LogAnalytics and Preloved.co.uk - both responded to a query within one day, whereas it took DABS almost two weeks and a threat to invoke my rights as a shopper to get the appropriate response. Let me put it this way - never ever shop at Dabs unless you can guarantee you won't need support of any kind - I recently purchased a headset, a nice and innocuous item you might think. Well it works fine, but it was supposed to come with a voucher to give me credit on the Skype system. You guessed, no voucher. Anyway I finally got a response to say that they have approached the manufacturers - in the meantime I did precisely that and got a code for myself direct from Plantronics (which was unexpected). Final word on this - Dabs might be cheap and there is a reason for it, be warned.

Time to go and do my sunshine dance and become pyromania^H^H^Hpyrotechnics master. Mu ha ha.

Firewalls and stuff ....

It's interesting to note, at least to me, that most of the application software I end up using is top notch stuff that doesn't seem to get widespread reviews or plaudits. What they do get though is always good. Recently my favourite personal firewall (that I also use) has had a facelift to version 2.5 and it looks better than ever.

I am of course referring to Outpost from Agnitum - they also do other bits and bobs such as trojan scanners ... anyway, go see for yourself and decide and hey, don't just take my word for it .... see here and also here. I, of course, have no affiliation to these sites or to the software house but I have been a user since version 1.0 (difficult to understand for beginners or even intermediate users) and since the release of 2.5 it is really starting to come of age. Whatever, if you have broadband you owe it to yourself to have a good firewall and don't just fall for the flash packet and schmaltzy advertising. Go out and investigate it .... Oh yes, one should add, that along with my AV, my Adware scanners (yes, plural) and my trojan /keylog scanners I have managed to keep my home system free from nasties - not that they haven't tried ...

What else .... well, I am really starting to get to grips with how I want to use my gMail account and have so far invited 6 friends - all accepted - BUT I still have one left. Now, no begging letters, but I am willing to give this... yes I said give ... to the writer of the most entertaining, which doesn't always mean funny, eMail received in the next two weeks. So, mini-comp, closes November 22nd 2004.

No 1 son is moaning about his PC constantly crashing and have "I done anything to it" well unless he means my removing the acres of adware he managed to infest it with within 10 days of me finally getting the internet to his PC, then no, I've done nothing . Sometimes a rebuild is the only answer and it is going to server a two fold purpose. 1. He can do the rebuild and learn about it first hand and 2. After my lecture on internet "safe surfing" he should be more aware of what he's doing ....

Be happy ....

OK - bug out time ... but get them eMails rolling.

MsSt (Hons) Master of Stupidity ....

Ok - so you want to hack off your staff in one easy lesson, then I guess you need to talk to my management! They've become experts at prevarication and mastered the art of staff annoyance.

Their latest trick is to change the access to vital parts of the building without actually informing staff that this has happened and then putting their heads up their collective arses when challenged as to the reasons why and to what end. It's not that I object to the change or to the fact that they may even have reasons that are valid. What I do object to is that they haven't bothered to advise anyone of the "new rules" and in reality had I done a similar thing without proper paper work and change control documentation then I'd expect to be torn a new one! Proverbially speaking of course.