It seems we’ve hired on a passive-aggressive cleaning crew at the office . . . Every morning this week, I’ve come in and my wastebasket is under the desk in front of my chair, instead of under the desk to my right where I always keep it. I appreciate that they empty it before moving it, but where am I supposed to put my legs if there’s a wastebasket right in front of my chair? Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Work
Need a Boost?
We’re wordsmithing a confirmation email that we send out to new members of our association. One problem I have with it is that we talk about our mission being to “enhance the quality of nursing care” and then in the next sentence we talk about members receiving “enhanced benefits.” Do we need to use “enhance” in every sentence? What’s the difference between “benefits” and “enhanced benefits”? Maybe we could just say “benefits” and leave it at that. No, our customer care analyst says we really do offer “enhanced benefits” above and beyond the usual benefits, so we need a synonym for “enhance” if we don’t want to use it twice. I’m thinking we could say “improve the quality of nursing care” or we could say “boost the quality of nursing care.” “Improve” is clearly better but I just love the sound of the word “boost.” They’re not booing, they’re saying… Read more →
Overheard
An Absolute Pleasure
I’m reading a recommendation on LinkedIn, written by a person I know for another person I know. Unbeknownst to the vast majority of people who’ll read the recommendation, these two people used to date each other. I know I’m a bad person but I can’t help mentally adding “…in bed” to the end of each sentence. Try it: Cleopatra is an absolute pleasure to work with. While working together, I found her to be a consummate professional. Clearly, her keen attention to detail is without equal. . . . You get the idea . . . Read more →
The MIT Guy
After shooting some hoops, we stop at Extra Mile for hot dogs and sodas. Something catches my eye about the clerk’s name tag — underneath his name, it says “MIT.” “Did you go to school at MIT?” I ask him. “No,” he says. “That means ‘Manager In Training.’” “Oh, that makes sense.” Convenience store clerk seemed like kind of a low-level job for a MIT grad. Read more →
I’ve Lost Another Friend
I’m waiting for Jeff to get me the server uptime numbers for March when I see this Facebook update: Oh he loves those Facebook name applications. He’s got a Clown Name, a Smurf Name . . . I add a comment: Hey Buttons! I need those server numbers. Hop to it… He deletes my comment and deletes me from his friend list. His sidekick — the Barney to his Fred — also deletes me from his friend list. He does send me the server numbers though, so it’s OK. I’m results-oriented . . . Read more →
Tweets on 2009-03-19
Really looking forward 2 my 1st ski lesson this weekend! Wait, WHAT?! http://tinyurl.com/cx97xu # RT @THE_REAL_SHAQ: Best Dunk ever? http://tinyurl.com/d68vr5 # Embracing elegant solutions w/ a philosophy of doing far more w/ much less. # How have U changed the way U perform your work in the last week? http://tinyurl.com/cpuuru # F’ing gerunds… # Dashboard inspiration w/ sparklines: http://tinyurl.com/cdry8t # At the rink for IHF finals # Read more →
The Art of Ingenuity
Don’t expect big rewards. Don’t expect anyone to beat a path to your door to embrace your ideas. Don’t expect anyone to help or support you. Do it so you can look at yourself in the mirror every day with pride. That’s the biggest and best payoff. Whatever your work, make it your art. All sorts of good things happen when you do. How have you changed the way you perform your work in the last week? — Matthew May, “Elegant Solutions” Read more →
New TGIF Policy in Effect
Effective immediately, I’m going to start de-friending everyone who sends a Facebook status update about how glad they are that it’s Friday, how glad they are that it’s Thursday because it’s almost Friday, how gloomy they are because it’s Monday, how they hate to be at work, blah blah blah et fucking cetera. SHUT UP LOSERS! Stop wasting your life and mine with this nonsense! Find an activity that you love and engage in it . . . Read more →
I Wonder
The dizziest woman in the office just used the word “congruence” in a sentence — correctly. Have I underestimated her? Read more →
Nerds
Someone left a box of Nerds on a cubicle wall in the IT department. (The door in the back left is my office!) What is that supposed to mean? We are not (just) nerds! Read more →
The Art of the Possible
The role of the economist in discussions of public policy seems to me to be to prescribe what should be done in light of what can be done, politics aside, and not to predict what is “politically feasible” and then to recommend it. — Milton Friedman Take out the references to economics and public policy and you can probably apply the “what should be done in light of what can be done” approach in your own work. It’s the art of the possible . . . Read more →
Falling Down Stairs
The CFO announced at our all-company meeting this morning that one of our colleagues had fallen down the main stairwell at the office yesterday. (That stairwell has a marble-like tile surface, so if you were to take a fall on it, it’s gonna leave a mark, no question about it.) As a result, the stairwell is closed until the building architect can figure out a way to make it “safer.” One clumsy person ruins it for all of us. I thought about raising my hand and proposing that those of us who like to live dangerously be allowed to sign a waiver acknowledging that we’re willing to walk up and down the stairs at our own risk. But I didn’t. I just sat there. Then a strange thing happened . . . Others began to raise their hands and weigh in on the uneven surfaces, the depth perception in the… Read more →
The Man Happy in His Work
The man happy in his work is not the narrow specialist, nor the well-rounded man, but the man who is doing what he loves to do. You must fall in love with some activity. — Richard P. Feynman Read more →
I Will Always Remember This Day
A manager in another department brought in pizza for the IT team today. Someday I’ll be telling my grandkids, “Of course I remember the Obama inauguration. I got free pizza that day! Unfortunately, that was pretty much the highlight of his entire presidency.” Read more →
The Work is Its Own Reward
I’m playing hooky from our company meeting. The topic is how the organization calculates compensation, which I don’t care about because I truly feel that the work is its own reward. In fact, I don’t even accept a salary. Most people don’t know that because I keep it to myself . . . Read more →
I Mentored Someone Today
One of the analysts in my group has an office across the hall from our department conference room . . . Today he says, “There was a training class in there yesterday and they didn’t close the door. All the noise was coming right into my office.” I say, “Couldn’t you walk over and say, ‘Do you mind if I close the door?’” “Hmmm, I guess I could have done that.” True story! — the problem was beyond his analytical powers. I love my job but it’s not without its challenges . . . Read more →
EppsNet Interview Tips
Willingness I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow I’m drunk and dirty don’t ya know, and I’m still willin’ — Little Feat, “Willin’” If you’re a genius like Mozart and you’ve got a 1000 IQ in music or whatever your specialty is, then you can distinguish yourself by doing things that other people are simply not capable of doing. Lucky you! On the other hand, if you’re a person of moderate intelligence like me, you’re going to have to distinguish yourself by doing more than other people are willing to do — not more than they’re capable of doing, but more than they’re willing to do. We were interviewing candidates this week for a web editor position. One of the candidates brought in some mockups he had made to illustrate how we could incorporate social networking elements into our web site. Were the ideas groundbreaking in any… Read more →
EppsNet Book Review: Dig Your Job
Full disclosure: I got a free advance copy of this book because I know the author, G.L. Hoffman. The books I’ve read on business and career advice fall into three main categories: Academic theory (Quoting Dogbert) A bunch of obvious advice packaged with quotes from famous dead people A person who’s actually done something talks about what worked for them and what didn’t. Dig Your Job is in Category 3, like every other book I can think of to recommend to people. It’s a high-density book. Hoffman has done startups for 25 years and shares hundreds of ideas and observations about the workplace in blog-sized chunks. The style is conversational, easy to read — like having a career mentor you can consult whenever you want to. Hoffman is currently running excerpts from the book on his blog, so you can click over there for a free preview. Highly recommended! Read more →
Career Advice
Via Presentation Zen: Read more →