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Can a Manager Be a Techie and Survive?
theodp writes "Some say that good managers should not be technical at all. Over at Computerworld, 'C.J. Kelly' takes a contrarian position, arguing that managers should keep their hands on the technology. The ability to tell the difference between fiction and reality, says Kelly, is priceless." From the article: "If you don't know the difference between fiction and reality, you've got a problem. By being technically informed while managing people and projects, no one can blow smoke up my skirt. I can tell the difference between a lame excuse for a delay and a legitimate reason why something can't be done." Where do you fall on this issue? Is it nice to be able to flim-flam the boss once in a while? Or is the valuable input of a boss with a technical background worth the occasional all-nighter?
I remember hearing this story from some senior engineers I worked with about 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure that it's true.
They were all working hard down at Cape Canaveral getting ready to launch a satellite (an old HS-376). The boss came by and asked how things were going and one of the guys said that they were stuck on a problem and needed some parts. The boss eagerly got involved because this was something that he knew he could handle. They sent him to Radio Shack (Titusville) and had him ask for some polarized resistors. He took it in stride and did not get too upset when he came back (red faced) without them. It must have been very humbling for him.
JSL
You've heard the expression about people "being promoted to the level of their own incompetence"?
Yes indeed, "The Peter Principle", from Dr. Laurence J. Peter's 1968 book of the same name. Technically, this has nothing to do with some managers being dicks but in practice it does seem that way.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
sPh
Say what ? You hire techies who have girlfriends ?
Why ? Why take the productivity hit when there's such a massive pool of talented geek labour* that is never going to have this problem ?
*large parts of it reading right here...
from back in the days of vacuum tubes, when the new guy would be sent to Supply with orders to pick up a Fallopian tube.
If you're anything like my boss then you take the side of which ever company's sales team has paid for the most expensive lunch and totally ignore your technically savvy staff.
There is such a thing as a free lunch if you work for the government of your neighboring state.
No no no, _married_ is the best of all worlds.
:-) ]
Not only are they (for the most part) not going out looking for it, but the fact that the other half _is_ local (and waiting for them at home) actually seems to make them more likely to want to pull all-nighters.
[ me, cynical, nah !