May 11, 2011 at 9:28 am
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
If you have a NetFlix account, then watch a Clint Eastwood western movie for inspiration. You tell the townpeople how it's going to work from this point forward. Just for kicks, get yourself a cowboy hat and wear it to work.
Yee-haw, giddy-up. I like that idea.
May 11, 2011 at 9:34 am
Kenneth Wymore (5/11/2011)
One thing you can do from a training perspective is to sign up for as many free webinars as possible and post them on your outlook calendar as meetings so others won't bother you as you watch them. I have been doing this for a couple of years now as a way to get familiar with numerous SQL Server and BI topics. It still works out better for my employers compared to sending me to a class for multiple days in a row because I am still available for most of the day and there is no cost to them. Usually people see that you are busy and don't try to schedule a meeting during the same time (usually...).I also usually spend the first 30-45 minutes every day reading through SQL articles (usually SQLServerCentral, MSSQLTips and whichever other ones catch my eye). I have even gotten to work 30 minutes early just to ensure that I have my "training" time if I suspect a busy day of real work ahead of me. This is my time to invest in my future and I try to get this 30 minute window in every day even if it means eating lunch while catching up or staying a little late. I consider it worthwhile.
I agree that we database developers and admins need to spend 1/2 hour every day reading articles, participating in forum discussions, or tinkering around with a side project for the same reasons that fire fighters and soldiers need to put in time with drills and weight lifting exercises. We must insure that we're staying in shape and can rise to the occasion, whatever or whenever that is.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
May 11, 2011 at 9:36 am
WolforthJ (5/11/2011)
It is amazing how ingrained in the culture of IT the idea of always being ready to quit is. Steve's expression of it as the first thing you need to do when put into a no-win situation is one of the more honest expressions of it that I have seen. It makes me wonder if there is a forum for managers where they discuss how to deal with high turnover rates. My guess there is there isn't one.
I'm not sure this is ingrained. Most of the IT people I've known in my two decades in this industry never want to leave a job. They are always worried, however. I think that in the last 20-30 years, employees have had to think about themselves, and view themselves as self-employed with a contract. Being ready to quit/get terminated shouldn't affect your job. You still proceed as if you will keep this job for the next 5 years, but it's a safety net I'd recommend for a professional these days.
I would love to see more managers being intelligent in how they deal with employees, but it seems we "assume" most people know this and rarely train managers at all.
May 11, 2011 at 9:39 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/11/2011)
WolforthJ (5/11/2011)
It is amazing how ingrained in the culture of IT the idea of always being ready to quit is. Steve's expression of it as the first thing you need to do when put into a no-win situation is one of the more honest expressions of it that I have seen. It makes me wonder if there is a forum for managers where they discuss how to deal with high turnover rates. My guess there is there isn't one.I'm not sure this is ingrained. Most of the IT people I've known in my two decades in this industry never want to leave a job. They are always worried, however. I think that in the last 20-30 years, employees have had to think about themselves, and view themselves as self-employed with a contract. Being ready to quit/get terminated shouldn't affect your job. You still proceed as if you will keep this job for the next 5 years, but it's a safety net I'd recommend for a professional these days.
I would love to see more managers being intelligent in how they deal with employees, but it seems we "assume" most people know this and rarely train managers at all.
Ya I've had this happen last year. The boss basically wanted to terminate me at the same time the new guy walked in the door. I caught it early but it still wasn't fun.
Oh ya and then he withheld the payment for 2 months.
Nice folks :crying:.
The good news for all of us is that he's now retarded retired and his kids have taken over. So things should run better now.
May 11, 2011 at 9:41 am
WolforthJ (5/11/2011)
So it makes sense if the company pays for your education but makes you sign an agreement that you will stay for a set time.
I thought that was illegal?
No one can force you to stay at a job. The agreements that I have seen (and signed) say that if we spend this $5k on your training, you agree to pay back a pro-rated portion over the next year if you leave. I've seen friends that had longer agreements (2 years for $15k+). I've also had an agreement like this for relocation. If I left inside of a year, I had to pay back some of the relocation.
It's fair, and I'm surprised how put-off so many employees are. The company wants to invest in you, they just don't want to pay you to get a new higher, paying job. If you do, just pay the money back. If someone offers you 10k more a year, is paying back $3k a problem?
I did this with my relocation. Wasn't happy, looked for another job, told the new jobs I wanted a "signing bonus" to start of $3k to pay back relocation. A few agreed, a few didn't. It doesn't hurt to ask.
May 11, 2011 at 9:43 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/11/2011)
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
If you have a NetFlix account, then watch a Clint Eastwood western movie for inspiration. You tell the townpeople how it's going to work from this point forward. Just for kicks, get yourself a cowboy hat and wear it to work.Yee-haw, giddy-up. I like that idea.
Eastwood never herded cattle or followed orders. He was the guy the townspeople called in as a last resort for... "trouble shooting", and he wasn't inclined to stick around after the job was done. 🙂
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
May 11, 2011 at 9:50 am
Kenneth Wymore (5/11/2011)
One thing you can do from a training perspective is to sign up for as many free webinars as possible and post them on your outlook calendar as meetings so others won't bother you as you watch them. I have been doing this for a couple of years now as a way to get familiar with numerous SQL Server and BI topics. It still works out better for my employers compared to sending me to a class for multiple days in a row because I am still available for most of the day and there is no cost to them. Usually people see that you are busy and don't try to schedule a meeting during the same time (usually...).I also usually spend the first 30-45 minutes every day reading through SQL articles (usually SQLServerCentral, MSSQLTips and whichever other ones catch my eye). I have even gotten to work 30 minutes early just to ensure that I have my "training" time if I suspect a busy day of real work ahead of me. This is my time to invest in my future and I try to get this 30 minute window in every day even if it means eating lunch while catching up or staying a little late. I consider it worthwhile.
FYI, if you can get to it, set up a search on Twitter for "Free SQL" and you'll be overrun with more webinars than you can possibly attend. I have an archive on TwapperKeeper for that too, so you could check that occasionally. There's a fair amount of junk, but it's worth it for the rest.
---------------------------------------------------------
How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
May 11, 2011 at 9:56 am
Eastwood never herded cattle or followed orders. He was the guy the townspeople called in as a last resort for... "trouble shooting", and he wasn't inclined to stick around after the job was done.
Seems to me he took a lot of orders in Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) :smooooth:
May 11, 2011 at 9:57 am
Things I have come to accept over time:
- If I depend on my organization to take care of my technical skill set and level of competence and they don't and then later they decide they don't need me, it is not the organization that will suffer, it is me and my family.
- Therefore, I will not depend on the organization to determine my technical skill set and level of competence. I am responsible for it.
- If I am asked to do something I'm not capable of doing *right now* I will communicate the truth about my abilities and knowledge in order to set expectations. While this may do little good in the long run from a "dealing with the organization" perspective, it's important to realize that my manager and my manager's manager are people and my poor performance, regardless of the reason, will put them in the sling, too. If they know what they're asking is beyond my ability at the present time, they have the information they need to try and communicate upward to set expectations as well as prepare contingency plans. This is what I would want a worker to do for me. Therefore, I should do it.
- If I am asked to do something I'm not capable of doing *right now* and I'm willing to do it, then I need to plunge head first into it, because dragging my feet doesn't do any good. Waiting for the organization to come around doesn't, either. See the first two realizations.
- If I am asked to do something I don't want to do, I had better be in a position to just walk away, or I'm going to do it. Therefore, just like with keeping my skills and competence up, I need to set myself up where walking away is a viable option.
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
May 11, 2011 at 10:01 am
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/11/2011)
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
If you have a NetFlix account, then watch a Clint Eastwood western movie for inspiration. You tell the townpeople how it's going to work from this point forward. Just for kicks, get yourself a cowboy hat and wear it to work.Yee-haw, giddy-up. I like that idea.
Eastwood never herded cattle or followed orders. He was the guy the townspeople called in as a last resort for... "trouble shooting", and he wasn't inclined to stick around after the job was done. 🙂
Yeah, I'm not Eastwood, but I can dream 😛
May 11, 2011 at 10:11 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/11/2011)
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/11/2011)
Eric M Russell (5/11/2011)
If you have a NetFlix account, then watch a Clint Eastwood western movie for inspiration. You tell the townpeople how it's going to work from this point forward. Just for kicks, get yourself a cowboy hat and wear it to work.Yee-haw, giddy-up. I like that idea.
Eastwood never herded cattle or followed orders. He was the guy the townspeople called in as a last resort for... "trouble shooting", and he wasn't inclined to stick around after the job was done. 🙂
Yeah, I'm not Eastwood, but I can dream 😛
I always wanted to be him in "Any Which Way But Loose". Never quite sure though which one was the sidekick, him or Clyde.
---------------------------------------------------------
How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
May 11, 2011 at 10:16 am
Being ready to quit/get terminated shouldn't affect your job. You still proceed as if you will keep this job for the next 5 years, but it's a safety net I'd recommend for a professional these days.
That's really key, and on the management side, the job market, i.e. facts about available alternatives or relatvie pay should not affect how an employee is treated. I get that you were making a statement about taking care of yourself first.
May 11, 2011 at 10:22 am
I would definitely be curious to see if there was a management forum on how to deal with high turnover. It seems that a lot of IT employees aren't sticking around as long as they used to. I have talked to a number of people who are at companies where turnover is high and the way that managers address the matter seems to vary widely. Sometimes the ways they address it don't even make much sense (ignoring the turnover, for example).
May 11, 2011 at 10:48 am
JP Dakota (5/11/2011)
Eastwood never herded cattle or followed orders. He was the guy the townspeople called in as a last resort for... "trouble shooting", and he wasn't inclined to stick around after the job was done.Seems to me he took a lot of orders in Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) :smooooth:
That was one of his earlier gigs. He wasn't answering to anybody in High Plains Drifter (1973). :satisfied:
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
May 11, 2011 at 11:05 am
K. Brian Kelley (5/11/2011)
Things I have come to accept over time:...snip...
I agree with all of that. In the end, each of us are responsible for our own development. Both as professionals and as people. If we rely on someone else to do either for us it's not likely to end well. It's also very important to be realistic with what we can handle. There have been a number of times I've been tossed a problem and been up front about the fact it's totally new to me and will take a while to get my hands around. Fortunately I've had bosses that are understanding about that and have given me the time.
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