Management Bits and Tips

Observing people maturing in their profession I found these signs of overqualification visible when a person:

- Becomes more proficient with foundational issues in contrast to specific minutiae.
- Spends more time on specific issues due to the accumulation of the deep foundational knowledge in the respected discipline.
- Delivers less from the current job requirements, for example, an architect as a builder.
- Starts reading and thinking a lot.
- Publishes a seminal book.

I would be grateful if you comment on above and share other signs you see.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com - 

Downflooring / upflooring could be the mild version of downsizing, promotion or demotion, depends on the office space plans for your next office move. It could also mean nothing if staff streaming is rotational, as mathematicians say, div rot S = 0 or it might say which employee team or a functional unit is important if streaming was done relative to some non-movable office. It might also mean team compression, to minimize staff gradient, like mathematicians say, grad T = 0.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

“… those people who are really good at what they do and yet are at the bottom of a management hierarchy have a power that no one else in the hierarchy has. They can’t be demoted.” 

Robert Glass, Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering

Understanding and overcoming resistance is one of the tasks of a manager. A public performance (transcript) of the manager is different from an inner transcript and the same can be said about transcripts of engineers. I now recall that in one of my previous companies I worked for, a senior engineer was telling one recently hired junior colleague in a private setting (canteen) to always tell VP of Engineering how he loves the work. I recently became interested in analysis of managerial domination and of various forms of hidden resistance and stage performances of subordinates and internal pressures they experience. Doing my research I stumbled across this book on Amazon and bought it:

Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts

The book is written in almost jargon free style and highly recommended as a stimulating and refreshing read to remind about additional perspectives on relations inside teams and engineering organizations, between customers and their relationship managers (inverse domination). 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

If you move to work in another country it is always useful to read about local workplace norms, redundancy regulations, various employment acts and other smart knowledge. If you happen to be the native of that country then you should prefer to read such books as well. More than 8 years ago when I moved to work in Ireland I bought this guide (one of the previous editions):

Working And Living In Ireland

Today I was visiting a local bookshop and browsing the bargains section where I found this book written by the same author and immediately bought it. “Exit” chapter is recommended to read during the current turbulent times in Irish economy.

Smart Moves at Work in Ireland

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

A definition: 

This is a people manager who abdicates and becomes one of former subordinates to increase customer satisfaction in crisis times when no head count is available.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com - 

Some people learn strategically to enhance their skills horizontally on a hiring landscape. When hired they assess what is a common knowledge and skills in the given industry or industry segment. Typical example is mastering C++ programming and its features up to C++ standard. Another example is learning Windows internals to enhance debugging skills if the company develops Windows software. Sometimes strategic learning stems from the desire to gain deep insights or to be a better contractor or a technology expert. Other people learn tactically, for example, the hiring company product internals. Some people take balanced approach. Some do not learn anything but this is another story, see my previous post about process parasites.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

The title of this post employs an operating system metaphor for a team member as a thread in a process (team).  I recalled this morning a book that I was reading 3 years ago and dug it from one of my dark dusty office corners:

My Job Went to India: 52 Ways to Save Your Job (Pragmatic Programmers)

I think it is relevant in this economic downturn if you replace India as an empty set or empty string: My Job Went to ”".

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

To look at your salary expectations from a new angle I recommend at least to read the description of the following book that I “wrote” and published:

Salary Figures: A Codebook of Expectations

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

A book can serve the role of CV but a CV can serve the role of a book. Elaborating on this idea I decided to publish my old CV (1987 - 2003) as a book and as an example of a person with CV-writing obsession like I had 5 - 8 years ago. Book details can be found here:

Forthcoming CV as a Book

Front cover of my CV

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -

Yesterday in a local Dun Laoghaire bookstore I stumbled upon this book:

Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t and Why: 10 Things You’d Better Do If You Want to Get Ahead

Initially I hesitated but finally bought it. I wasn’t disappointed when I started reading it that evening. This book finally puts an explanatory system around career promotions and it really fits well with my observations in 15 companies I worked for during past 15 years. This doesn’t mean that I changed the company ever year The longest relationship with a company was 7 years and my current relationship with Citrix approaches 5 years. I just worked for some companies in parallel or just for a few months. This book also teaches some important vocabulary such as:

• - future value
• - a smooth handoff within the window of opportunity
• - optimization of the outcome of the staffing change

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -