Back in the olden days ('96) I worked for a software company and had a lively discussion with the COO and the CEO. At this point only "select" employees could access the Internet because they were scared about wasting time.
My points to these very successful guys were:
1. Why do we care if people surf around during the day? Shouldn't their managers be focused on work done versus time spent? It is a heck of a lot easier to manage by the clock versus understanding what work should be accomplished, setting appropriate deadlines and holding people accountable. This is not the employees fault it is lazy management.
2. There is no way to know what people may learn while surfing the net, even sites like slashdot can add knowledge and therefore help the company:)
3. A software company employees knowledge workers, there is no clock on these types of workers. When I loose sleep overnight and finally get some rest but wake up with the answer to a problem... Should I book my time in bed to the project?
Companies need to treat professionals as professionals, manage the work and not the clock, expect the best and guess what... you will get the best.
My youngest son is a new freshman at Kent State. He wanted a Mac, I got him a Mac and well... one for myself too. When comparing my MacBook to my ThinkPad running Linux (or my office machine running Linux), I look forward to heading home not only for the beer but to use my Mac. Steve Jobs understands that things need to just work, period, they need to be straight forward and easy to use and great design is important. The Mac just works.
As soon as my company moves from the red to the black, I'm investing in MacBooks for my entire staff. I'm no zealot, I'm a business man. I want my people to be productive and I want my people to enjoy their work. After spending a few weeks getting used to the interface, I honestly believe that my people will enjoy using their computers. The really amusing thing is that I really like MS Office on the Mac a hundred times better than on Windows. Entourage is actually pretty cool (when compared to Outlook or dEvolution) and after learning it I love it.
When choosing whether to move the company from XP to Vista or just to a Mac, if I can pull it off financially, Mac it will be and Vista will never make it in the door.
Slashdot Mirror
Back in the olden days ('96) I worked for a software company and had a lively discussion with the COO and the CEO. At this point only "select" employees could access the Internet because they were scared about wasting time.
My points to these very successful guys were: :)
1. Why do we care if people surf around during the day? Shouldn't their managers be focused on work done versus time spent? It is a heck of a lot easier to manage by the clock versus understanding what work should be accomplished, setting appropriate deadlines and holding people accountable. This is not the employees fault it is lazy management.
2. There is no way to know what people may learn while surfing the net, even sites like slashdot can add knowledge and therefore help the company
3. A software company employees knowledge workers, there is no clock on these types of workers. When I loose sleep overnight and finally get some rest but wake up with the answer to a problem... Should I book my time in bed to the project?
Companies need to treat professionals as professionals, manage the work and not the clock, expect the best and guess what... you will get the best.
As soon as my company moves from the red to the black, I'm investing in MacBooks for my entire staff. I'm no zealot, I'm a business man. I want my people to be productive and I want my people to enjoy their work. After spending a few weeks getting used to the interface, I honestly believe that my people will enjoy using their computers. The really amusing thing is that I really like MS Office on the Mac a hundred times better than on Windows. Entourage is actually pretty cool (when compared to Outlook or dEvolution) and after learning it I love it.
When choosing whether to move the company from XP to Vista or just to a Mac, if I can pull it off financially, Mac it will be and Vista will never make it in the door.