RE: Gettin' Engineers to trust you and this Darn Economy

["Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com>]

::: When I interviewed here, I 
::: asked the CTO, CEO and Business Dev. Manager their 
::: definition of a Technical 
::: Writer. Their answers confirmed that they respect this 
::: position. They still 
::: do - it's the "Indians" that think I'm a secretary.

Have you run this by the "Chiefs"? Have they done anything to lay down
the law with the developers? Else, if the developers are still acting
this way, play their game for now and call them on any errors in the
process or documentation. Make sure you have buy-in from your "chiefs"
before doing this. It's not allowing them to do your job for you, rather
it's a lesson learned the hard way.

::: Topic #2: Our CEO just sent out an email a few days ago asking for 
::: volunteers to delay their paycheck! <Now, bring your jaw up 
::: to your mouth!> 
::: Isn't that awful? However, he just purchased a million 
::: dollar home in the 
::: hills, is playing a round of golf right now with the 
::: partners and on and on. 
::: So, on top of not being respected, my paycheck might bounce.

I've seen it. It sucks, and it should be enough to get you to start
looking for another job just in case. At least polish up your resume. As
for the house, well, his money is his money - if he has it, it's his to
spend. Unless he's borrowing from the company (which I doubt but is not
impossible), he earned the money and can spend it however he sees fit.
As for golf, well, that's what you do. Deals get made on the course.
He's entertaining partners - getting them to relax so he can comfortably
talk shop. It happens all the time, and is more or less an accepted
norm. If not the golf course, then another place and another activity.

::: Before I get flamed, the reason that I'm still here at all 
::: is because it 
::: doesn't seem that much easier anywhere else, and they let 
::: me telecommute as 
::: much as I want (I live an hour away).

Don't know why anyone would flame you. I do suggest you start being more
visible though (don't telecommute as much as you used to) if you feel an
axe might be dropping soon.

::: Q1/ Is anyone else experiencing this sense of unsureness in 
::: your company's health?

LOL! Of course! The economy is just starting to get better, which means
many companies are still caught in the undertow... Money is starting to
flow more, but we haven't seen the last of this current period of
layoffs and closings...

::: Q2/ How can you be firm about showing engineers that you 
::: can do the work, 
::: (just give me the darn specs) without causing more problems?

Do it and do it well. There's no other way.

B I L L   S W A L L O W
Information Design & Development Professional
tel/fax: 518.371.1867    bill_swallow -at- yahoo -dot- com
List Owner: HATT, WWP-Users, InFrame
Co-Moderator: SingleSourcing-Mgmt
WebWorks Wizard     Editor of InFrame Magazine



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