A Different Diversity

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Jeffrey
lots of M&M candies

Superficial diversity

Diversity in the workplace isn’t just about people, backgrounds, ideas and knowledge. Nor is it also just about inclusion.

Let’s talk about server operating systems (OS).

We all know that having multiple server operating systems (Windows, Solaris, RedHat, AIX, SCO, Ubuntu, HP-UX, etc.) in your organization is horribly inefficient: you need an army of talent to deploy, support, update and manage all these different OSs in your enterprise. With a single operating system, the organization is able to save on licensing costs, implement a single deployment process, reduce support and administration headcount and utilize a limited toolset to patch, maintain and upgrade that single operating system.

And yet, having only a single OS can be risky.
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Posted in System Administration | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A case for condensing fix/test cycles

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Jeffrey
Black Box Model

Black Box Model

A while back I posted on the strategy of changing only one variable at a time when working to resolve an incident and determine root cause.

I’m amazed at how much discipline it takes to implement this simple strategy. If you’re truly interested in determining the sole root cause, this is the best way to go. But, as as Mike Plant so correctly pointed out, it’s not the fastest method for debugging.

Speed sometimes needs to be sacrificed.

Here’s a non-programming example:

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Top Posts and Commenters for April 2011

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Jeffrey

201104 - Wordle-dot-net

Word Cloud provided by wordle.net

In case you missed one or more of these, here are this blog’s top ten posts based on traffic during the month of April 2011.

Much to my surprise, the Emacs versus vi post remains on the top. The longest “Average time on page” post was Virtual Lunches? Perhaps readers were “lingering at the table”!

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Virtual Lunches?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Jeffrey
Picnic table sign (D5-5a)

Let's have lunch

Joel Spolsky takes on an important topic in his post today on lunches and I share with him a firm belief in the value of intentionally sharing a meal. It can be an important tool in your work-life balancing act. It can help you transition to leading a team from being a team member.

And it is particularly valuable in sharing ideas and growing trust. Building a team-friendly environment is an intentional act and “lingering at the table” can be a vital part of that.

What about virtual?

But what about your virtual team? Continue reading →

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Connect in some way

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Jeffrey
Carabiners Connecting

Connect

I’d already been heavily involved in Unix/Linux for nearly twenty years by the time I found myself assigned as the leader/manager of the Windows Engineering team.

Even some of my closest colleagues scoffed when they heard the news. How could I ever be successful without deep Windows knowledge? How could I ever gain their trust after promoting Unix/Linux solutions for so long? The previous manager didn’t have much technical Windows knowledge either and the prevailing theory was that they needed a Windows giant who could rally them around being hardcore Windows Engineers again, not some guy from Unix Operations.
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Posted in Leadership, Management | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Work-life balance

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Jeffrey
rough teeter totter image

Moving into balance requires effort

Work-life balance may not always be completely obtainable. But it will never start to tip the way you want unless you take charge of making some changes yourself.

The graphic I chose for today shows a teeter totter wobbling in just one axis but the truth is that work-life balance has a multitude (of axes), just like life.

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Posted in Other Thoughts | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Top Posts and Commenters for March 2011

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Jeffrey
Word Cloud provided by wordle.net

Word Cloud provided by wordle.net

In case you missed one or more of these, here are this blog’s top ten posts based on traffic during the month of March 2011.

I didn’t blog as much in March as I did in February, but I was surprised at how the word cloud changed in one month.

I have a slate of posts lined up for April, so keep an eye out for them! Continue reading →

Posted in Other Thoughts | 4 Comments

In their cube

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Jeffrey

Seth Godin’s post on Empathy sat me down to pound out this post on something I did frequently while managing IT Teams at a previous employer. Very simple but unconventional.

I’d sit at their desks.

That might sound creepy, so let me explain.

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Posted in Management | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Innovation within the boundaries

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Jeffrey
Picture Frame

Where are your boundaries?

Did you know that Steve Martin plays the banjo? He’s releasing his second bluegrass album and starts a concert tour next week. In his WSJ interview with John Jurgensen, he gives us this moment to think about innovating within the boundaries.
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All I Really Need to Know (about management) I Learned From my Toddler

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Jeffrey

Over the years I’ve learned quite a lot from being my toddler’s Dad. Here are some of the things I’ve been able to adopt and put into practice in my role as a leader and manager of technical people.

Ask open-ended questions
Asking a Yes/No question almost always will elicit a Yes or a No for answer.
When you’re after the details, ask an open-ended question.
Treat everyone differently
Each of my children developed differently from all the others. Not all the rules and techniques could be applied equally.
Your employees aren’t cookie-cutter either.
Work is play
When you’re a toddler, your job is to play. It’s also true that “in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.”1
Why can’t we incorporate some play into our work tasks? Encourage it and help your employees make it possible. This doesn’t mean your employees won’t take their jobs seriously; it does mean that they’ll start bringing their whole person to work for you.

Continue reading →

  1. Mary Poppins ↩
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