So much to say...

What?! He's posting again?!

Sorry I've not been around here for a while. I've been otherwise occupied -- with life!

So let me get a few things out there and then I'll try to get back to regular posting...

One big thing that has happened over the past couple of months involves our home computing environment. My wife and I were both really excited when Google announced their Chromebook beta program. We'd already come to love Google 's Chrome browser and the idea of having a Chromebook (for free!) was simply amazing. It's not quite a notebook and not quite a netbook. It's a laptop that's intended for web surfing. I filled out all of the lottery applications and kept my fingers crossed. I even found a site that was listing (still not sure how) all of the shipments as they went out and to which ZIP code they were shipped. Every time I found one that had been shipped to my ZIP, I'd call my wife and make sure she checked the porch for a delivery. But alas, it was not to be. Or was it...

I got my coworker caught up in the frenzy as well. He submitted his lottery form and waited with me for our present to show up at one our doorsteps. But again, nothing.

AND THEN... his other friend received one! We were geeked just to be able to hold it in our hands (on loan). I must admit to feeling a little bit like the Apple fanboys that I keep making fun of. I get you guys now. My friend was able to use the the CR-48 (the official name of the beta Chromebook) for a while. In fact, he just kinda took common law possession of it after a while. Oh well. I could live vicariously I guess...

THEN... One day, my friend came in to work and said he had something for me in his trunk, but he couldn't bring it inside the office. We had been talking about me taking some of his scrap computers to use for parts to beef up a few old ones I had laying around, so I figured it was an old CPU tower, or a monitor or something. He wouldn't fess up, though, so when it was time for lunch, we walked over to his car and he pulled a small briefcase-sized cardboard box out and handed it to me...?! It still hadn't hit me. Then I glanced at the side of the box and recognized the cartoon-like Rube Goldberg diagram of the CR-48 boxes I had seen in the YouTube unboxing videos! WHAT?! REALLY?! Apparently his friend had snagged another Chromebook! And he was giving it TO ME! WOW!

I snuck it home that night and waited until my wife and kids were asleep before I brought it in the house. I got a couple of hours out of it (configuring, charging, playing, investigating, etc) that night. And I've not seen it since :-( Well, not completely true, but it has definitely become my wife's laptop and not mine. I still use it occasionally, and really like a lot of what it has to offer (including the free built-in Verizon 3G access for 2 years, and the instant, OK, 8-second, boot up from power off, etc), but by allowing my wife to take ownership of it, I've been able to take over the other laptop we got last fall. Now we've both got something to use when needed.

Moving on...

My daughter ran track last spring and plans to run again this coming spring. I think that helped spur my son to join cross country this fall. They planned and raced all summer together. My son is definitely more of an endurance runner and my daughter the sprinter. He had some growing pains in his bones that kept him from fully participating in all of the meets, but I think he had a good time anyway. He's not the fastest runner, but he kept up with it. I can't fault him at all since I didn't even make it to the first meet when I was in track :-( I hope he continues with his plans to join track in the spring with his sister. It will make our lives a little more chaotic (I'm certain that the meets will be at the same time on completely opposite ends of the city), but I'm proud of both of them. My son and I were also planning a 14-ish mile bike trip for just the two of us late this summer, but I fear we may have missed the weather-window. Maybe we'll try again in the spring.

Both of my older kids spent the better part of the summer at my mother-in-law's house in North Carolina. They had a blast and have many great memories. They've both been talking about what to do next summer.

Hmmm... The older two have also had band and choir concerts this year. I'm glad that they've both found something creative that they enjoy. I enjoy hearing them "practice" at home as well. All of them are doing very well in school (as expected) and they have each found that they are smarter than they give themselves credit for (-- right son?! I know you're reading this. No more dumbing down the tests so you don't have to work as hard. They know how smart you are already!).

My wife has three jobs this year so far. Well, three paying jobs, all part-time, in addition to the volunteering she does at all of the schools and keeping the kids and the house in line. Tax time will be fun next year.

Speaking of jobs, I've got a new one too. My new job is pretty familiar territory for me, but for this move, I left a career of 18 years to start at the "bottom" of the totem pole again. It's a little, ok, a lot scary, but I think it was the best move for me right now. I'm excited about the possibilities for the future.

So that's a quick recap to bring me mostly current. Sorry I've been so lax lately, but I promise to try harder to post more often. Thanks for sticking with me.

The importance of spell checking...

"Went to the career fair today..I handed out many resumes to find out later that they say I have a bachelor o farts degree..."

I hate...

...incompetence and incompetents. There. I said it. It may not be PC, but it's true. Know your job. Learn your job, or at least acknowledge you don't know something until you can find the answer. Too many people sneak through on Peter's coattails or via nepotism.

There are people like this in every organization. From the customer service manager at my otherwise favorite store, to the 85-year-old person trying to accept my appointment today, to many, many people I've worked with over the years. Some are there 'cuz they suck up to who they think is the rising star. Others are there because there was no one else to fill the void. Maybe they are there because no one is brave enough to tell them to get the heck out.

I'm not saying that they were always incompetent. Maybe they just hung around long enough that they were put into that position. Maybe they've reached the point in their careers that they've checked out, but forgot to leave the room when they turned the lights out.

I admit that I've been placed into roles that were not a good fit for my skills. People actually thought, myself included, that I'd be a good manager of people. Guess we all learned something on that one. I'm not a people [managing] person. Sorry guys.

But I learned from that experience. I learned what was not working and molded it into something that worked out much better. They key to that transition was understanding, and admitting, that I was somewhere that I shouldn't be. I thought sure that was where I wanted to be, but I found out otherwise.

So are these incompetents in the wrong position because they can't admit that they're in the wrong position? Are they they because they've checked out and are just going through the motions to collect their paycheck? Are they still there because no one will tell them their time is up? [And what about those people afraid to take responsibility and do their job and get them out of the wrong position?!] Or are they there because they are absolutely so darn clueless that they don't know what time it is? Probably a little of all of it. They take the easy road. Stay the course. Don't rock the boat.

I'm not naming names. I feel like putting a little subliminal Carly Simon reference in here... but I won't.

Unemployment stats

The New York Times posted an interesting infographic about the differing unemployment rates that apply to the US population based on race, gender, age, and education. See who else is suffering with you at the NYT's Unemployment Lines.

Unemployment...over time

My sister finally got a job the other day after being unemployed for several months. I'm glad for her. It's a huge weight off her family's shoulders. She's not alone in her experiences. It's no secret that Michigan's not doing so hot right now. There are many, many people that haven't been as lucky as her.

A co-worker of mine shared a site he had seen that showed the employment status over time for many metropolitan areas from 2004 to present. It's really quite interesting. it shows we still have a long way to go, though.

The best advice I ever received...

I consider myself a fairly bright individual. One of my best traits, though, I think is that I don't think that I know everything yet. I'm always trying to learn something new. Often times that knowledge comes from reading. I scan literally dozens of magazines a month, daily and periodic newspapers, and several books, plus all of the reading I do online. Sometimes my learning comes from television. I admit it - I still like to watch This Old House reruns as well as the dozens of more current variety. I like to watch How's That Made, and similar shows as well. Sometimes my knowledge comes from something that I learn how to do myself -- working out a data query or presentation issue for instance.

Some of the most important things I've learned have come from a little closer to home, though. Or in this case, a little closer to work.

My degree is in Business management. My initial reading frenzy was largely skewed toward business process improvement -- reading about fast moving companies that were "doing it right." I read about customer service leaders. I read about manufacturing leaders. I read about retail leaders. I read about marketing leaders. I read about small mom-and-pop stores that were competing and winning against the corporate giants. I read about the companies that stretched themselves too thin and then re-found their focus. And I read Dilbert. I learned about as much from Dilbert as I did from all the other reading. What I read in that comic, though, scared me. It was like Scott Adams was working in a cube right next to mine. Listening in on all my rants. Taking notes at the meetings I attended. Reading all my emails. Every comic I read seemed to ring true to my work life. He was writing just for me! I've not even found a horoscope author that could be so accurate - so dead on!

As Adams wrote, and I lived, Dilbert's, I mean my, work life, things just continued to get worse. Except for one thing. I was smart! Certainly smarter than the others who were making all the decisions that didn't make any sense to me. I was going to change things. I was going to make it better. Unfortunately, things didn't always work out that way... I like to think I made a difference, if only in caring to make things better, but the dark side was too strong. Instead of seeing all of my great revelations, they only saw someone who was a complainer. A whiner who should just sit back, shut up, and let them do their jobs. If they wanted something from me, they would seek me out.

And so it went. True, it came in cycles. Sometimes, I would hit on something that I could do, usually in the background, behind the curtain, that would gain some traction. Many months would go by between my introduction of something of value while it sat fallow in the back of some one's mind, before rising up in a flash of brilliance (with minor modification sometimes), as their idea to champion.

OK, so I guess I am still a little bitter. This isn't going where I had intended it to go... What I was going to say was that "Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Real leaders are people who can make things better." That's what Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D. says in
his article "The best advice I ever received".

My tendency was to point out where things were broken in the organization. Sometimes I had a fix, but not always. My intention was that I would point out something wrong, and then let the "experts" fix it. I expected it to be a revelation to them. They couldn't see the forest for the trees (or is it the other way around?). They've been doing it the same way for so long, that they just couldn't see that it didn't make sense anymore. Surely a fresh set of eyes was needed here.

In Goldsmith's article, he was an employee like this as well. Finally his boss said "Marshall, you are becoming a pain in the butt. You are not helping the people who are supposed to be your clients. You are not helping me, and you are not helping yourself. I am going to give you two options: Option A: Continue to be angry, negative and judgmental. If you chose this option, you will be fired, you probably will never graduate, and you may have wasted the last four years of your life. Option B: Start having some fun. Keep trying to make a constructive difference,
but do it in a way that is positive for you and the people around you. My advice is this: You are young. Life is short. Start having fun. What option are you going to choose, son?"

Goldsmith replied: "Dr. Case, I think it is time for me to start having some fun!"

A previous manager of mine gave me a copy of this article one day. She stated that she thought of me when she read it. I understand why. I was being a "pain in the butt" and though she was no longer directly in charge of my career, she cared enough to enlighten me to my current situation -- in a not so subtle way. I am glad that she cared enough to enlighten me -- again...

My career took a right turn, figuratively and directly, shortly after that. I was told to find another job (though within the company still). I ended up out moving out of the environment in which I had become a "pain in the butt" and got a fresh start somewhere else. My attitude changed completely. I was somewhere new. I didn't have the baggage on my back, nor were my peers and co-workers carrying any on their shoulders for me. I could offer my services to those that needed them, but because I was now the new guy, I wasn't perhaps so bold.

I've continued to learn a lot in my new job (just passed the two-year mark), and to share that knowledge with others who are very receptive to my knowledge and skills. I continue to read Dilbert occasionally, but it's just not as funny anymore when he's not sitting right next to me.

I still carry that article around with me, and have even shared copies of it with a few other co-workers who had drifted away from having fun.

In less than one week, I will have made it through 14 years with my current employer. Not bad for a tech job. Thanks to all of my co-workers who saw something in me worth keeping around. Oh yeah, one more thing. JN: I think I am having fun now! Thanks!

What was the best advice you've received? Leave a comment.

A New Career

According to a co-worker this Money magazine article about new new careers sounds a lot like my job. My job may not be as full of perks as one at some profiled, but I kinda like it. I think I'll keep it for a while :-}

It's all in who you know, and who THEY know, and who THEY know, and...

Relationships come in all shapes, sizes, and durations. They're all different, but they each help us in some way or another. Some help us to grow, others to remain a child. Some help us to find out who we really are. Others provide the opportunity to enrich our lives by simply lending a hand where one is needed.

As I was playing with the kids in the driveway the other day, my neighbor poked his head out the window and informed me that his son was out of work. In this economy, he's got a lot of company unfortunately. He was laid off about a month ago, and has been unable to secure a job sense. Knowing that I was in the same general field of work, her asked if I had any leads, suggestions, ideas that I could pass along for his son. I searched my brain for a few moments, and finally asked that he send me his resume and I'd forward it along to those that might be able to help.

I wasn't in a position to hire him, and I'm not sure that my company is either, but over the years, I've built up a little network of people in a similar line of work as mine that might be hiring. And even if my contacts aren't hiring, they might know someone that is. It's all about the network. My neighbor's son's networking had not been enough so far to land him a job, so he expanded his network to his Dad, who expanded it to me, who expanded it to my contacts. The idea is that the larger your network of (qualified) relationships, the more likely it is that you'll get ahold of the right person to accomplish a goal.

The Media are calling it "Social Networking" and have dubbed it the current craze. Sites like MySpace, Friendster, and hundreds more provide a place for people to connect, relate, network, and generally hang out on the 'Net. While these sites focus mainly on social networking, Linked In's focus is on business networking.

LinkedIn allows you to manage, discover, assist, and to get assistance from your network of business contacts. After telling it about who you know (a very easy import task, or enter them manually), they will tell you who is already a LinkedIn member. With this knowledge, you can invite those persons to join, sorry Link to your network. They bring along all of their previous contacts as well, building your network more quickly. Once your network has been established, you have an organically growing group of people that you can tap for all sorts of business related tasks. Track down a connection that works for a company you're having a sales meeting with and get a lay of the land ahead of time. Find people that have a specific skill set or expertise that you need to finish that critical project. Find people that work for companies that are hiring. Find people that you used to work with, but lost track of (it really is a small world; they're likely to turn up as someone else's contacts sooner of later).

Basically, the site works like this: If you find someone that you need to contact, your request is send to the person you know, who knows someone that knows someone that knows the person you want to connect with. Or some abbreviated or drawn out trail similar. At each step along the way, you're using trusted contacts to vouch for the person that sent them the request to forward on. The assumption is that if you're a good person, then you generally have good friends. And if the people you have as contacts as good people, the same assumption is made about them. This strengthens the relationship network and keeps the spammers out.

At the current moment, I have 73 direct connections, but I "have access to" over 300,000 connections who are friends of my friend's friends. There are over 10 million people on the network! Ok, maybe the world isn't so small after all.