April 3, 2008 at 9:29 am
Nope, I'm sure it's Walking "Around". I though a Walk-About was an Australian Aborigine rite of passage ?
I hadn't imagined that going down to the shop floor entailed discovering my spiritual ancestry and returning after an unspecified period with my perceptions radically altered. Oh, No, wait a minute, that is generally what DOES happen !
I don't think we should be too precise, it's the same technique, we don't want to confuse our colleagues in the Southern Hemisphere 🙂
April 3, 2008 at 9:44 am
Dave Sanders (4/3/2008)
There is a technique called Mangement by Wandering Around (MBWA).
So agree with both Steve and Dave!
Additionally: do something for other people first. Or offer to help them. Or just listen to them, you may even not say anything, but they will remeber "the woderful conversation they had with you"
Regards,Yelena Varsha
April 3, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I have been a software development consultant and the skill of being able to walk around and talk non-geek speak with others was highly prized by management. It means that you will be able to build a rapport with the clients and they will keep coming back to you with work. I now work as a developer for a research and development company and everyone here walks around talking to various members of their own departments and others. It really helps to get different perspectives on the business. I guess I have been lucky in my work environments!
Cheers,
Nicole
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
April 3, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Michael,
That's definitely a struggle and after working remotely for 4 years, I'll say that it's hard. Prior to the Red Gate sale, I spoke 3-4 times a week with Andy, usually about business, but lots about just life, his issues at work, things I'd seen in the news, etc. We debated and argued about lots of things. We still do that, but probably once a week. We also got together probably twice a year, making sure we had at least a day before or after a conference, to talk about business.
With Red Gate, it's slightly more complex because of distance and time zones. We have a weekly meeting on the phone, which is good for keeping in touch, and the call usually includes some joking, social chat. We do have email, which is good, but it's not as good as the face to face. We met last summer in the UK and recently in Denver for 3 days. We'll also spend some time at TechEd and PASS, and potentially one other date.
April 3, 2008 at 3:52 pm
It is an excellent point. Thee are so many things best accomplished informally. It is how humans work.
---
Timothy A Wiseman
SQL Blog: http://timothyawiseman.wordpress.com/
December 6, 2012 at 2:23 am
I quite like to cross reference users opinions of systems with managers opinions of systems. Users often really appreciate being asked and can have differing opinions of systems from managers.
There's is no better way of doing that than when you are nipping into their room to get some milk for the coffee.
December 6, 2012 at 3:39 am
As we all know, there's a big difference between being efficient and being effective. Maintaining and building relationships with the people you're trying to help ensures the service you provide actually does what is wanted, and is not just an efficient irrelevance.
The spin-off benefit, though, is that you quickly become known as someone who knows other people. That means people start to ask you who they should go to in order to sort something out; in effect, you become something of an introduction agency, and I can't think of a better way of keeping on top of what's going on in the business. Once you can do that, your effectiveness and efficiency soar together.
Semper in excretia, suus solum profundum variat
December 6, 2012 at 7:10 am
Communication is over rated when you work with Klingons....
December 6, 2012 at 10:48 am
majorbloodnock (12/6/2012)
As we all know, there's a big difference between being efficient and being effective.
Yes there is. In the immortal words of Peter Drucker:
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." If you don't know what that means then I can't help you.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
December 6, 2012 at 11:27 am
Personally, while I think it is definitely beneficial to be "cordial" to the people you work with, I would not go so far as to say that you need to be "friends" either. I try to keep those two things separate at the work place, and there are several good reasons why:
1. Work can become an unprofessional environment. Too much chit chat and not enough focus on the job can get you and your "friend" in trouble. Man, I have seen this one in action over the years. "Friends" tend to lose this important perspective at work many times.
2. Ironically, having a "friend" in the office stand up for you can actually garner resentment from others. Co-workers may feel that you are getting preferential treatment you don't deserve. Another good reason I have seen a lot of in the work place in the past, particularly between manager/employee.
3. Getting a little too close with someone at work can mean they know just a little bit too much about you. "Friends" tend to drop their guard around other "friends", it's just human nature. Do you really want your coworkers to know about your demons or struggles? I know I don't. I knew a person once that told a "friend" at work he was in AA. Real bad move...
4. Last but not least, if you think someone is your "friend" and it turns out not to be true, you could easily become the victim of sabotage or backstabbing from someone you trusted. Been there, done that. Got the T-shirt too.
I keep it cordial, keep it professional, but I keep work and social separate. I typically am not personal friends with people I work with. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
December 6, 2012 at 11:30 am
Charles Kincaid (4/3/2008)
Michael Valentine Jones (4/3/2008)
So how do you do this with people that work remotely or if you work remotely?MSNMessengerLive, GoToMeeting, internal newsgroups (what, your company does not run their own UseNet server?), internal forums. It's tougher but not impossible.
Make sure that you have reasonably fast connection and a good camera.
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