And exactly what part of the American Dream are you talking about? The two party political system? The "trickle down" effect? Japanese interment camps? Manifest Destiny? Slavery? (You knew that one was coming. And yet, you act as though you didn't think of it before.)
I don't care what you think the American Dream is or was. We're talking about a new dream, a dream about who we are and who we want to be. We're not going to leave for the New World, you're just going to have to arrive by staying here.
There can be no doubt that Katz is blathering on here, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. You've just heard it so much you're tired. Me too. It's hard not to repeat your self when explaining something the second time when you're right the first time. We aren't the only ones reading slashdot; maybe that article wasn't written for us. Talk about arrogance. The alternative is to be silent. So, good choice, Jon.
The real fool believes not that Microsoft is bad, but that it is irreplaceable. A million college dropouts could have done it. And you can be sure they would have done it differently.
And don't tell me what the consumer wants. I know; I'm one of them.
This is an excellent topic. I have read the top 10 replies and have to say I am a bit surprised. All the advice seems very sincere and honest, certainly. The common theme was basically this: relax. Yes, people will see you differently because you are different, but that can be justified many ways, even though it's sometimes hard to accept. And, I agree with that.
I got the distinct impression, however, that no one really thought you had a legitimate complaint. Here is the skinny. The problem isn't that no one likes your (youthful) ideas. The problem is that no one likes your perspective.
Try this premise: to say, "experience matters," is to say, "experiences are known to change one's perspective." So, how do your co-workers' perspectives differ from yours? This is not very hard to answer. They've learned to "bottom line." The bottom line perspective is all about placing blame; who will be guilty for this or that failure (i.e. lost revenue). They're not rejecting your ideas; they just do know how to say, "That's a great solution to this problem, but we're not interested in good solutions, we need to sell something."
Well, that's a minor exaggeration. Your co-workers certainly think their ideas are good solutions. But, they are good solutions relative to the bottom line perspective, which youths typically do not comprehend. It's not myopia, really; it's focusing on the core problem. Your company, however, is trying to bring in revenue. This is not the same thing. So, your not really arguing about which idea is better, your arguing about which perspective is better, and that is even more important.
I just moved to industry, and one thing is clear. The culture (perspective) is based on guilt. People love to joke about getting fired for mistakes or costing the company money. They constantly laugh about how the customer has hired us to do a job and then rejects our help. Ha! That's so funny. It's just hilarious that we do hours of paperwork because our customer wants us to stream line the process but won't approve any of our procedural changes. My company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the software system for tracking problems and "requests" from our customers. It keeps three time stamps for every entry, but we can't get a list of requests based on the comparison of two time stamps. What's the point of recording the data if you can't run reports! Here's why: because the software is expensive, and we can charge our customers accordingly. An inadequate argument is that we receive "support" with commercial software like this. Then why doesn't it work? Well, here's why: "Support" doesn't mean it works. It means that if it ever broke down completely, we would just get to blame the software manufacturer, and recoup damages in a lawsuit if necessary. That's why we pay.
Do you want to know the secret to getting your ideas accepted? Just run the numbers. Subtract cost of materials and man-hours from the savings. This is why nothing changes; the math is too daunting to even being. Changing that function name has no cost benefit the day after you wrote it, but after decades of of complaints, and a thousands of hours lost due to syntax errors, you'll give both index fingers to re-live that fateful day of coding. In College, the vast experience of your professor is more than enough reason for you adopt a disciplined style or process. Now someone is asking you to demonstrate how making a spelling correction will bring in more revenue.
So, don't feel bad! You must take responsibility for your ideas and your perspective that defines them. You are arguing that one perspective is better than another. (Don't worry. This a well grounded principle. There are no absolutes, there is only perspective.) If it is the better perspective, then make no concessions; but in the end, it's your boss' decision. If it's not the best perspective, you will be compelled to change. Either way, you don't have to feel bad.
But, aside from all of that, don't forget the PC term of the last decade: diversity! If your boss wasn't interested in your perspective, then he would not have hired you. You were chosen, and now you need to contribute. And, arguably, it's not your job to bottom line, you were hired to focus on the problems. Your ideas are making a difference, indubitably, even if you don't know how.
Slashdot Mirror
And exactly what part of the American Dream are you talking about? The two party political system? The "trickle down" effect? Japanese interment camps? Manifest Destiny? Slavery? (You knew that one was coming. And yet, you act as though you didn't think of it before.)
I don't care what you think the American Dream is or was. We're talking about a new dream, a dream about who we are and who we want to be. We're not going to leave for the New World, you're just going to have to arrive by staying here.
There can be no doubt that Katz is blathering on here, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. You've just heard it so much you're tired. Me too. It's hard not to repeat your self when explaining something the second time when you're right the first time. We aren't the only ones reading slashdot; maybe that article wasn't written for us. Talk about arrogance. The alternative is to be silent. So, good choice, Jon.
The real fool believes not that Microsoft is bad, but that it is irreplaceable. A million college dropouts could have done it. And you can be sure they would have done it differently.
And don't tell me what the consumer wants. I know; I'm one of them.
I got the distinct impression, however, that no one really thought you had a legitimate complaint. Here is the skinny. The problem isn't that no one likes your (youthful) ideas. The problem is that no one likes your perspective.
Try this premise: to say, "experience matters," is to say, "experiences are known to change one's perspective." So, how do your co-workers' perspectives differ from yours? This is not very hard to answer. They've learned to "bottom line." The bottom line perspective is all about placing blame; who will be guilty for this or that failure (i.e. lost revenue). They're not rejecting your ideas; they just do know how to say, "That's a great solution to this problem, but we're not interested in good solutions, we need to sell something."
Well, that's a minor exaggeration. Your co-workers certainly think their ideas are good solutions. But, they are good solutions relative to the bottom line perspective, which youths typically do not comprehend. It's not myopia, really; it's focusing on the core problem. Your company, however, is trying to bring in revenue. This is not the same thing. So, your not really arguing about which idea is better, your arguing about which perspective is better, and that is even more important.
I just moved to industry, and one thing is clear. The culture (perspective) is based on guilt. People love to joke about getting fired for mistakes or costing the company money. They constantly laugh about how the customer has hired us to do a job and then rejects our help. Ha! That's so funny. It's just hilarious that we do hours of paperwork because our customer wants us to stream line the process but won't approve any of our procedural changes. My company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the software system for tracking problems and "requests" from our customers. It keeps three time stamps for every entry, but we can't get a list of requests based on the comparison of two time stamps. What's the point of recording the data if you can't run reports! Here's why: because the software is expensive, and we can charge our customers accordingly. An inadequate argument is that we receive "support" with commercial software like this. Then why doesn't it work? Well, here's why: "Support" doesn't mean it works. It means that if it ever broke down completely, we would just get to blame the software manufacturer, and recoup damages in a lawsuit if necessary. That's why we pay.
Do you want to know the secret to getting your ideas accepted? Just run the numbers. Subtract cost of materials and man-hours from the savings. This is why nothing changes; the math is too daunting to even being. Changing that function name has no cost benefit the day after you wrote it, but after decades of of complaints, and a thousands of hours lost due to syntax errors, you'll give both index fingers to re-live that fateful day of coding. In College, the vast experience of your professor is more than enough reason for you adopt a disciplined style or process. Now someone is asking you to demonstrate how making a spelling correction will bring in more revenue.
So, don't feel bad! You must take responsibility for your ideas and your perspective that defines them. You are arguing that one perspective is better than another. (Don't worry. This a well grounded principle. There are no absolutes, there is only perspective.) If it is the better perspective, then make no concessions; but in the end, it's your boss' decision. If it's not the best perspective, you will be compelled to change. Either way, you don't have to feel bad.
But, aside from all of that, don't forget the PC term of the last decade: diversity! If your boss wasn't interested in your perspective, then he would not have hired you. You were chosen, and now you need to contribute. And, arguably, it's not your job to bottom line, you were hired to focus on the problems. Your ideas are making a difference, indubitably, even if you don't know how.