Archive for the ‘Customer Relationship’ Category

Hidden Transcripts

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
“… 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

Buy from Amazon

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 -

Customer Relationship Martyr

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

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

Expectations, expectations…

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

I found this book in a local bookshop a few months ago and now I recommend it to everyone dealing with customers, either internal or external:

Managing Expectations: Working with People Who Want More, Better, Faster, Sooner, NOW!

Foreword was written by Gerald Weinberg.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ ManagementBits.com -