10.29.07
Posted in Career at 11:14 AM by Jeff
There are a lot of things that go into making a good supervisor, but what really makes a supervisor great? From the view of a developer there are three characteristics that makes the difference between good supervisors and great supervisors.
1. Great supervisors are approachable. When a developer has a question or problem he wants to be able to talk to his supervisor about it. No one wants to tell their authoritarian short-tempered boss that they wont meet the next deadline. However, if the supervisor is approachable then he will not only know about the missed deadline before hand, but will also be able to help the developer get back on schedule.
2. Great supervisors are knowledgeable. Having a supervisor that is knowledgeable about the technology being used, the customer’s business, and the software development process is a very valuable asset to a project team. I am not saying a supervisor needs to be a master of software development. But if a supervisor is able to follow the higher level project planning conversations, then they will be an added benefit to the team.
3. Great supervisors allow developers to do their job. This means that a supervisor will facilitate certain things so that the developers don’t have to worry about them. For example, developers don’t care about the project budget. So why make developers deal with the budget? This also entails making sure the developers have the necessary tools at their disposal and either have the project requirements or know where to get them.
Are there any other characteristics that make a good supervisor become a great supervisor?
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10.18.07
Posted in Career at 8:27 AM by Jeff
Multitudes of companies across the globe are thinking about or trying to achieve a paperless office. The benefits of storing everything electronically include accessibility from multiple locations, and storage in a central location.
Currently my office is trying to move as much as possible to electronic storage. I have been heavily involved in a number of these efforts. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have piles of paper on your desk? Wouldn’t it be convenient to be able to find any form or document you needed for work on your company’s intranet/web site?
However, with a large portion of the work force not computer literate is this idea feasible? Will companies force all employees to become computer literate so they can avoid using paper?
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10.08.07
Posted in Career at 11:09 AM by Jeff
Today, I did something that no one (at least no one working for my current supervisor) has ever done. I asked for a performance review. Needless to say, he was quite shocked.
My supervisor’s reply was, “Alright, but remember…you asked for it.” Then he walked away silently. Of course, I had no idea whether he was being serious or joking until I saw the review. The performance review listed Meeting or Exceeding Expectations in every category. Evidently, he was very happy with my work.
You might be wondering why I asked for a performance review. Well, I like to know how my work is measuring up to the standard. I would especially want to know if, for some reason, my work was below par because then I could do something about it.
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08.13.07
Posted in Career at 12:37 PM by Jeff
As it turns out, there are a lot of people interested in Generation Y. This is partially due to Generation Y’s effect on the workplace. Recently I read an interesting article about the positive ways Generation Y is influencing the working world. Here is what it said.
- They do not like meaningless work. Members of Generation Y “are more educated than any generation in history” and don’t want to waste their time doing meaningless work. They have a need to feel that their job is “contributing to the world at large”. Restructuring so that everyone does a little photocopying, coffee making, etc., was suggested to solve this.
- “They won’t play the face-time game”. They feel that they should be judged less by amount of time spent at work and more by the quality of their work. Flextime might be the right step to make everyone happy.
- They don’t care about rank. Members of Generation Y are team players. A title is just a title, and that doesn’t matter to these team oriented workers.
- “They have no desire to bother with someone they don’t like.” Because most Generation Y members “change jobs every two years” they have no patience for jerks. “Companies are having to dump jerks quickly or risk losing their ability to recruit and retain Gen Yers.” There is research showing that putting up with a jerk in the office costs the company a lot of money.
Personally, I see these changes as positive. The changes will be gradual over time, but should help everyone in the work force enjoy their job more and create a better work-life balance.
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08.01.07
Posted in Career, Finance at 4:02 PM by Jeff
One of my co-workers is set to retire at the end of this week. After 30+ years working at the agency, he secretly gave his two week notice. During the last department meeting his retirement was announced publicly.
When asked at the department meeting for words of advice, he said “Delayed gratification is great.” We all knew what he meant. The delayed gratification of investing money over a long period of time. He talks about it all the time.
Later that day, I ran into him in the hallway and asked him a few questions. Here is how it went.
Q. Do you have any more advice for a young guy like me?
“Save. Max out your TSA.”
TSA stands for tax sheltered annuity, like a 401k or 403b. Most companies (with the exception of my own employer) match all or part of the employee’s contributions to their TSA. That is free money!
Q. I do save. What else should I do?
“Save more! You can never save too much. It’s all about delayed gratification. Spend less now so you can have a lot more later.”
Of course this is my abbreviated version of the conversation, but you get the point. Delay gratification by saving for the future. The last comment he said while walking away was classic.
“Oh, and don’t get married or have kids. That will help a lot!”
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