Surviving blindness
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Paul Watson wrote: How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company? I've been doing it for almost 17 years... :| Actually it's really only been the last 3-4 years where we've become truly blind. Before that we stumbled around in an ever increasing fog. I give us another 1-2 years if the trend continues. Mike Mullikin :beer:
Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. - David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Mike Mullikin wrote: I've been doing it for almost 17 years... How on god's green earth do you survive that? What mental potion do you use? Mike Mullikin wrote: I give us another 1-2 years if the trend continues. And you are in no position to make them see?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Chris Austin wrote: I developed an entire theory on things like this and how to get by with little stress. I called it "Marginal Compliance." It is far to silly to go into. Please share some thoughts - sounds interesting :)
I knew it would end badly when I first met Chris in a Canberra alleyway and he said 'try some - it won't hurt you'..... - Christian Graus on Code Project outages A moment of silence please. A programmer's best friend has passed beyond that great exception in the sky.... - Mark Conger on "The coffee machine has died"
Megan Forbes wrote: Please share some thoughts Ok, you asked for it. I'll try. But, like I said, it is silly. Preface: Before getting into software I was a “Process Engineer” working on a new chip manufacturing technology. As part of my job I traveled roughly 90% of the time doing process development at customer (Intel, Ti, Sony, Samsung…etc) sites. The core idea behind “marginal compliance” is that it is too rough (stress) emotionally to keep fighting the “Good Fight” on management’s or the customer’s terms. So, marginal compliance attempts to take a more relaxed and strategic approach. Plus, it is lots of fun. Lesson One: Play to their vanity. Every customer / manager wants to feel important and smarter than you. Use this to your advantage to get things done. Example The Problem: At a customer site in Seoul, SK in ’98 I was attempting to fix a “recipe” for their (silicon) wafers. However, the customer had their own ideas as what should work and would not allow me to change the parameters I knew would correct the “recipe.” The Solution: I realized that the customer clearly thought he knew more than me. So, I decided to play to this. I simply named a new “recipe” after the customer and one after myself and saved them on the system. I intentionally made his recipe inferior to mine while making mine far from optimum. During testing the customer became attached to his namesake and desperately wanted it to best mine. So, he began copying the parameters from mine to his after I left for the day. However, each morning I modified mine to make it closer to optimum. This went on for about a week until the customer ended up with the optimum “recipe” he had previously refused to test. There are more lessons like “Confuse them with color” and “Smile”. It is pretty long winded but, I have used the techniques several times on bosses and customers and managed fight the “Good Fight” without stressing out too much and often placing the stress on them. Chris Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
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How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company? You just have to. You keep your mouth shut, you prey the next redundancy letter doesn't have your name on it, and you get on with it. You find yourself relying on the community feel of CP, smoking more ciggies (just to get out of the office) and making far more coffee then can possibly be good for you.
Dylan
"In meetings, the person who is least competent usually does the most talking. Talking is a direct substitute for competence, at least in the minds of other people. Five minutes after you leave a meeting, you won't remember what anyone said but you will remember who did most of the talking. Withing a day your mind will translate that into a notion that the talker was unusually knowledgeable" - Scott Adams, Dilbert and the way of the weasel
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Mike Mullikin wrote: I've been doing it for almost 17 years... How on god's green earth do you survive that? What mental potion do you use? Mike Mullikin wrote: I give us another 1-2 years if the trend continues. And you are in no position to make them see?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: How on god's green earth do you survive that? What mental potion do you use? I've always been the type where my family and life outside of work was the most important. My career is simply a means to an end. I enjoy my work as much as the next guy, but would also be perfectly happy to win the lottery and retire immediately. This worked fine when the company was moving in a fog. About 3.5 years ago, at the same time upper management went completely off the deep end, my family had a crisis. My mother was diagnosed with an untreatable cancerous brain tumor. Our lives revolved around hers for 5 months until she died. Five days later my father died when his heart stopped. Loosing both parents in less than a week tends to change a person. I was living in a fog for most of a year. Today my family (wife and kids) and our time together is beyond value to me, work has taken even more of a backseat. Paul Watson wrote: And you are in no position to make them see? I've tried and tried until blue in the face. We are currently run by pure marketing/sales types who haven't got a clue. They're currently on a kick where they think we need cheerleading when we really need a sound business plan and tools to execute it. Mike Mullikin :beer:
Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. - David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
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How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Replace "company" with "life" and ask Darwin when you see him.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
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Paul Watson wrote: How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company? You just have to. You keep your mouth shut, you prey the next redundancy letter doesn't have your name on it, and you get on with it. You find yourself relying on the community feel of CP, smoking more ciggies (just to get out of the office) and making far more coffee then can possibly be good for you.
Dylan
"In meetings, the person who is least competent usually does the most talking. Talking is a direct substitute for competence, at least in the minds of other people. Five minutes after you leave a meeting, you won't remember what anyone said but you will remember who did most of the talking. Withing a day your mind will translate that into a notion that the talker was unusually knowledgeable" - Scott Adams, Dilbert and the way of the weasel
Dylan Kenneally wrote: You just have to. You keep your mouth shut, you prey the next redundancy letter doesn't have your name on it, and you get on with it. You find yourself relying on the community feel of CP, smoking more ciggies (just to get out of the office) and making far more coffee then can possibly be good for you. And that is a life?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Replace "company" with "life" and ask Darwin when you see him.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
David, going out on a limb here, but you seem just a wee bit depressed today. I don't have any ready suggestions or helpful hints (except those involving sharp objects... and i've learned my lesson there), but if it's any comfort, i feel like shit, and my day's just starting...
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Shog9 Life seems pretty easy when it's from my easy chair And you're burnin up inside and no one cares...
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Replace "company" with "life" and ask Darwin when you see him.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
David Wulff wrote: Replace "company" with "life" and ask Darwin when you see him. Shog is onto something... you must have enough Pounds to get a flight down here to sunny SA for some R&R. Will do you wonders and put the vice of life back into you :-D
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Dylan Kenneally wrote: You just have to. You keep your mouth shut, you prey the next redundancy letter doesn't have your name on it, and you get on with it. You find yourself relying on the community feel of CP, smoking more ciggies (just to get out of the office) and making far more coffee then can possibly be good for you. And that is a life?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: And that is a life? Not necassarly. For me work is just something I have to do. I try not to equate my happiness to work or the work enviroment or become too emotionaly involved with the job. I know a lot of people may disagree but it keeps me smiling and laughing. :) Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
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Paul Watson wrote: And that is a life? Not necassarly. For me work is just something I have to do. I try not to equate my happiness to work or the work enviroment or become too emotionaly involved with the job. I know a lot of people may disagree but it keeps me smiling and laughing. :) Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
Chris Austin wrote: I know a lot of people may disagree but it keeps me smiling and laughing While I do disagree with the whole seperation of work and "life" I do believe more strongly in "Whatever works for you." So if it works for you then more power to you Chris :) I put a lot into my work (not just pride in getting a job done but many other facets), so I cannot remove it emotionally from my thoughts and life. So for has worked for me, feeling a bit shaky now but I just need to generate some direction I reckon :)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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David Wulff wrote: Replace "company" with "life" and ask Darwin when you see him. Shog is onto something... you must have enough Pounds to get a flight down here to sunny SA for some R&R. Will do you wonders and put the vice of life back into you :-D
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: You must have enough Pounds to get a flight down here to sunny SA for some R&R. They'd never let me leave the country - they need me on the inside to keep the immigrants out. Paul Watson wrote: do you wonders and put the vice of life back into you Can I have that in writing witnessed by a High Court magistrate? Today has been, and will be for the remaining five and a half hours, unbearable. But tomorrow, hopefully, I'll wake up with some of that enthusiasim for life that's been evading me recently and that I so sourly miss. I live in hope.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
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David, going out on a limb here, but you seem just a wee bit depressed today. I don't have any ready suggestions or helpful hints (except those involving sharp objects... and i've learned my lesson there), but if it's any comfort, i feel like shit, and my day's just starting...
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Shog9 Life seems pretty easy when it's from my easy chair And you're burnin up inside and no one cares...
Shog9 wrote: David, going out on a limb here, but you seem just a wee bit depressed today Am I that transparent even in my writing? :~ Yes I have been feeling like shit day today for no apparent reason: I just woke up and felt depressingly depressed. I figured it must be my period today in another dimension where I go by the name Davina and get to wear a bra during the week too. Either that or I finally realised that eactly one year ago today I woke up at exactly the same time and went through exactly the same pointless routine, and the realisation that I can put money on the same being true in 365^n days time. Shog9 wrote: but if it's any comfort, i feel like shit, and my day's just starting... They have a TGIF, so I guess there must be an OFIM. Hope you day was better than mine was.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
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Shog9 wrote: David, going out on a limb here, but you seem just a wee bit depressed today Am I that transparent even in my writing? :~ Yes I have been feeling like shit day today for no apparent reason: I just woke up and felt depressingly depressed. I figured it must be my period today in another dimension where I go by the name Davina and get to wear a bra during the week too. Either that or I finally realised that eactly one year ago today I woke up at exactly the same time and went through exactly the same pointless routine, and the realisation that I can put money on the same being true in 365^n days time. Shog9 wrote: but if it's any comfort, i feel like shit, and my day's just starting... They have a TGIF, so I guess there must be an OFIM. Hope you day was better than mine was.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
David Wulff wrote: They have a TGIF, so I guess there must be an OFIM. They do, though it's called "The Library" for some unknown reason. They serve rather good Long Island Ice Teas there... David Wulff wrote: eactly one year ago today I woke up at exactly the same time and went through exactly the same pointless routine, and the realisation that I can put money on the same being true in 365^n days time. Hmm, that's about where i am. Seems to be caused by staying at a job or residence for more than 2yrs at a stretch... Isn't rational though, more of a cop-out reason that gets latched onto when my own apathy becomes too lazy to come up with valid reasons for making me apathetic. Hope you feel better tomorrow...
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Shog9 Life seems pretty easy when it's from my easy chair And you're burnin up inside and no one cares...
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David Stone wrote: Actually, our company has vision What is it, how is the vision bought into by the likes of you and who drives this vision?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Actually, we're a title insurance company, so our vision isn't about technology. The department vision is to assist both our IT staff and occasionally help the production people. I'm currently the only real programmer...the other is getting out of programming and into the marketing technology side. So because of the size of the department, I pretty much just work on apps that help the IT guys, like ASP.NET bug-tracking software and change management stuff. So the vision that my dad(boss) puts forward is bought into by me because I like doing the stuff, like working with the IT guys more than the other nondeveloper and the guys in the marketing technology division, and like getting paid. :-D
I don't know whether it's just the light but I swear the database server gives me dirty looks everytime I wander past. -Chris Maunder Microsoft has reinvented the wheel, this time they made it round. -Peterchen on VS.NET
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How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company? Take advantage of the vision package in your insurance plan.:rolleyes: BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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How, of those amongst you that do, survive working in a visionless company?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Megan Forbes wrote: Please share some thoughts Ok, you asked for it. I'll try. But, like I said, it is silly. Preface: Before getting into software I was a “Process Engineer” working on a new chip manufacturing technology. As part of my job I traveled roughly 90% of the time doing process development at customer (Intel, Ti, Sony, Samsung…etc) sites. The core idea behind “marginal compliance” is that it is too rough (stress) emotionally to keep fighting the “Good Fight” on management’s or the customer’s terms. So, marginal compliance attempts to take a more relaxed and strategic approach. Plus, it is lots of fun. Lesson One: Play to their vanity. Every customer / manager wants to feel important and smarter than you. Use this to your advantage to get things done. Example The Problem: At a customer site in Seoul, SK in ’98 I was attempting to fix a “recipe” for their (silicon) wafers. However, the customer had their own ideas as what should work and would not allow me to change the parameters I knew would correct the “recipe.” The Solution: I realized that the customer clearly thought he knew more than me. So, I decided to play to this. I simply named a new “recipe” after the customer and one after myself and saved them on the system. I intentionally made his recipe inferior to mine while making mine far from optimum. During testing the customer became attached to his namesake and desperately wanted it to best mine. So, he began copying the parameters from mine to his after I left for the day. However, each morning I modified mine to make it closer to optimum. This went on for about a week until the customer ended up with the optimum “recipe” he had previously refused to test. There are more lessons like “Confuse them with color” and “Smile”. It is pretty long winded but, I have used the techniques several times on bosses and customers and managed fight the “Good Fight” without stressing out too much and often placing the stress on them. Chris Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
I thought that was the sort of thing you meant. I love this stuff - and use it all the time. However, it is unusual to come across a male who has mastered the art. :) You should think about writing an article on it actually - would be cool! :cool:
I knew it would end badly when I first met Chris in a Canberra alleyway and he said 'try some - it won't hurt you'..... - Christian Graus on Code Project outages A moment of silence please. A programmer's best friend has passed beyond that great exception in the sky.... - Mark Conger on "The coffee machine has died"
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Actually, we're a title insurance company, so our vision isn't about technology. The department vision is to assist both our IT staff and occasionally help the production people. I'm currently the only real programmer...the other is getting out of programming and into the marketing technology side. So because of the size of the department, I pretty much just work on apps that help the IT guys, like ASP.NET bug-tracking software and change management stuff. So the vision that my dad(boss) puts forward is bought into by me because I like doing the stuff, like working with the IT guys more than the other nondeveloper and the guys in the marketing technology division, and like getting paid. :-D
I don't know whether it's just the light but I swear the database server gives me dirty looks everytime I wander past. -Chris Maunder Microsoft has reinvented the wheel, this time they made it round. -Peterchen on VS.NET
David Stone wrote: so our vision isn't about technology No companies vision should be technology. Not even Microsoft's, IBM's or even dev tool makers. Technology is an enabler, the vision is increased efficiency, productivity, easy of use etc. Making peoples lives better. Any company that focuses on technology and not users is IMO doing it wrong.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaChristopher Duncan wrote: Which explains why when Santa asked, "And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?" I said, "A life." (Accesories sold separately)
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Dylan Kenneally wrote: You just have to. You keep your mouth shut, you prey the next redundancy letter doesn't have your name on it, and you get on with it. You find yourself relying on the community feel of CP, smoking more ciggies (just to get out of the office) and making far more coffee then can possibly be good for you. And that is a life?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: And that is a life? Nope. But what can you do? Plans are a brewing, and I will get myself out of this mess, but for now: code 'n' prey. :((
Dylan
"In meetings, the person who is least competent usually does the most talking. Talking is a direct substitute for competence, at least in the minds of other people. Five minutes after you leave a meeting, you won't remember what anyone said but you will remember who did most of the talking. Withing a day your mind will translate that into a notion that the talker was unusually knowledgeable" - Scott Adams, Dilbert and the way of the weasel
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Paul Watson wrote: And that is a life? Nope. But what can you do? Plans are a brewing, and I will get myself out of this mess, but for now: code 'n' prey. :((
Dylan
"In meetings, the person who is least competent usually does the most talking. Talking is a direct substitute for competence, at least in the minds of other people. Five minutes after you leave a meeting, you won't remember what anyone said but you will remember who did most of the talking. Withing a day your mind will translate that into a notion that the talker was unusually knowledgeable" - Scott Adams, Dilbert and the way of the weasel
Dylan Kenneally wrote: Nope. But what can you do? Plans are a brewing There we go, you are doing something, well done. Most people just code 'n' prey and hope they win the lotto or God hands them a miracle.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaChristopher Duncan wrote: Which explains why when Santa asked, "And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?" I said, "A life." (Accesories sold separately)