One of the things that plagues web workers is the perception among the general population that web stuff is easy.
I won't bore you with the amount of times I've heard disparaging comments from some colleague about how they could do my job if only they had a spare 5 minutes, typically writing code is probably about 10% of building a web site and most staff given some training could probably manage that.
Putting together a web site is a lot like putting together a book, it’s only a string of words after all, hell my 7 year old nephew can write words ! and so it is with web sites, seems like everyone knows just enough html to think they know how to do it.
Just knowing the language and being able to get the screen to display "Hello World" doesn't make you a developer in the same way as knowing the alphabet and being able to write "Hello World" doesn't make you William Shakespeare.
I’m not here to crusade for the rights of undervalued web professionals, the fact that I get paid for doing what I love is good enough for me, but it does wind me up.
When I sit here and look around at my colleagues bashing out code to calculate VAT on 3 for 2 offers or working on a new 80 column report about cash-flow I don’t see them smile an awful lot, I don’t see them jumping up and punching the air in joy when they finally get the sub total to line up in column 65.
I wonder if the lack of excitement in what they do is a result of their personalities or their work, they seem like ordinary guys, we have a laugh when we go down to lunch etc. so my guess is that it’s their work that makes them act the way they do.
I guess if they loved what they do as much as I do they’d be as excited by it as I am by mine, perhaps instead of being wound up by these comments I should recognise them for what they are.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Uncommon courtesy
I write this looking back at some of the managers I’ve worked for and wonder at how they got and kept their jobs, of course having read the Peter Principle I know how, but it still amazes me.
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of reading The Peter Principle, its basic tenet states "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."
i.e. the good production line worker is promoted to be a supervisor where all his production skills are next to useless and he has to learn how to be a supervisor, once he’s learnt enough to be a good supervisor he’s promoted to manager and so on until he finds it impossible to learn enough to become competent and thus ceases to be promoted, he has reached his level of incompetence.
One of the traits that distinguish great managers from human potato sacks is manners.
By manners, I don’t mean people who hold the door open for you, or wish you good morning – that’s politeness, and even evil things can be done in a polite way.
When I think about my best managers I remember their concern for me, their unstinting support and belief, their ability to help me to grow and their mentoring skills. What pervaded everything they did was their good manners: treating me how they themselves would like to be treated by their manager.
I remember meeting the first real manager of my life a now deceased and greatly missed gentleman called Arthur Lomasney, he was Superannuation Manager at St Georges Hospital, Tooting in the 80’s.
On my first day I was introduced to Arthur by the Payroll Manager, he immediately took my hand and gave me a warm welcoming smile. “Welcome to Superannuation,” he said. I felt his sincerity like a brazier on a cold night.
Before he went on to talk about the job he talked to me at some length about me - a fascinating subject for a 20-year-old. By listening patiently to my ramblings he convinced me in pretty short order what a wonderful man he was. As time went on and I came to know him, that initial impression was confirmed but I will never forget the effect he had on me when he first made me feel welcome.
If he was around today, he would say it was just good manners, but like common sense, I know it’s a human trait that’s rare. Arthur based his entire life on good manners, at work, at home, in love and war and though when he died he was not a rich man in the conventional sense his funeral was immense and the gap he left fathomless.
I spent a long time learning how to behave from Arthur, I watched him time and time again turn antagonists into evangelists primarily by using good manners.
Staff members would come to Arthur upset and angry, expecting a fight and ready for it, sometimes they would bring support in the form of union reps or spouses, sometimes they would be resentful, sometimes tearful and only rarely friendly and in all cases Arthur would treat them with care and consideration. He never let people leave feeling angry, and I’ll repeat that because it was fundamental to his method,
he never let people leave feeling angry.
I remember on one occasion a widow and her two teenage children came to visit us to fight about her pension benefits, they turned up bristling with indignation and if knives weren’t actually drawn they were certainly eased in their sheaths.
By use of his impeccable manners and wonderful people skills he soon had the situation turned around to such an extent that before they left he had them out in the lobby playing “Red Arrows”
The lobby in the hospital is a large square area with 4 lifts around the outside, about 30 foot square, Arthur’s game of Red Arrows involved four people starting at each corner of the square and walking towards the opposite corner, Arthur proved time and time again that people would instinctively avoid hitting each other and cross to the opposite corner and because of the coordination required he named this game “Red Arrows” after the famous flying display team.
How do you think they went away and what do you think they said to their friends and acquaintances about Arthur and the superannuation department?
Since Arthur I’ve enjoyed working for the good and the bad, one manager introduced another manager who stuttered, like this,
“You know Mike Noakes, Four M’s three N’s.”
I won’t forget that experience I can tell you.
Nowadays I try and emulate people like Arthur and avoid acting like the second manager, I send thank you notes, how hard is that with e-mail? He did all his by hand.
I greet people with a smile and a warm hand shake, I try and treat everybody like a guest in my own home and I try not to let people leave feeling angry.
There is insufficient space here to list everything required to have good manners in a business sense but I bet you can think of someone who has them, and a little side-bet that they aren’t languishing in the depths of the company.
So does having good manners do me any good?
Well if I tell you that I will shortly be leaving my current employer and joining another for double my current salary I’m sure you can draw your own conclusions.
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of reading The Peter Principle, its basic tenet states "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."
i.e. the good production line worker is promoted to be a supervisor where all his production skills are next to useless and he has to learn how to be a supervisor, once he’s learnt enough to be a good supervisor he’s promoted to manager and so on until he finds it impossible to learn enough to become competent and thus ceases to be promoted, he has reached his level of incompetence.
One of the traits that distinguish great managers from human potato sacks is manners.
By manners, I don’t mean people who hold the door open for you, or wish you good morning – that’s politeness, and even evil things can be done in a polite way.
When I think about my best managers I remember their concern for me, their unstinting support and belief, their ability to help me to grow and their mentoring skills. What pervaded everything they did was their good manners: treating me how they themselves would like to be treated by their manager.
I remember meeting the first real manager of my life a now deceased and greatly missed gentleman called Arthur Lomasney, he was Superannuation Manager at St Georges Hospital, Tooting in the 80’s.
On my first day I was introduced to Arthur by the Payroll Manager, he immediately took my hand and gave me a warm welcoming smile. “Welcome to Superannuation,” he said. I felt his sincerity like a brazier on a cold night.
Before he went on to talk about the job he talked to me at some length about me - a fascinating subject for a 20-year-old. By listening patiently to my ramblings he convinced me in pretty short order what a wonderful man he was. As time went on and I came to know him, that initial impression was confirmed but I will never forget the effect he had on me when he first made me feel welcome.
If he was around today, he would say it was just good manners, but like common sense, I know it’s a human trait that’s rare. Arthur based his entire life on good manners, at work, at home, in love and war and though when he died he was not a rich man in the conventional sense his funeral was immense and the gap he left fathomless.
I spent a long time learning how to behave from Arthur, I watched him time and time again turn antagonists into evangelists primarily by using good manners.
Staff members would come to Arthur upset and angry, expecting a fight and ready for it, sometimes they would bring support in the form of union reps or spouses, sometimes they would be resentful, sometimes tearful and only rarely friendly and in all cases Arthur would treat them with care and consideration. He never let people leave feeling angry, and I’ll repeat that because it was fundamental to his method,
he never let people leave feeling angry.
I remember on one occasion a widow and her two teenage children came to visit us to fight about her pension benefits, they turned up bristling with indignation and if knives weren’t actually drawn they were certainly eased in their sheaths.
By use of his impeccable manners and wonderful people skills he soon had the situation turned around to such an extent that before they left he had them out in the lobby playing “Red Arrows”
The lobby in the hospital is a large square area with 4 lifts around the outside, about 30 foot square, Arthur’s game of Red Arrows involved four people starting at each corner of the square and walking towards the opposite corner, Arthur proved time and time again that people would instinctively avoid hitting each other and cross to the opposite corner and because of the coordination required he named this game “Red Arrows” after the famous flying display team.
How do you think they went away and what do you think they said to their friends and acquaintances about Arthur and the superannuation department?
Since Arthur I’ve enjoyed working for the good and the bad, one manager introduced another manager who stuttered, like this,
“You know Mike Noakes, Four M’s three N’s.”
I won’t forget that experience I can tell you.
Nowadays I try and emulate people like Arthur and avoid acting like the second manager, I send thank you notes, how hard is that with e-mail? He did all his by hand.
I greet people with a smile and a warm hand shake, I try and treat everybody like a guest in my own home and I try not to let people leave feeling angry.
There is insufficient space here to list everything required to have good manners in a business sense but I bet you can think of someone who has them, and a little side-bet that they aren’t languishing in the depths of the company.
So does having good manners do me any good?
Well if I tell you that I will shortly be leaving my current employer and joining another for double my current salary I’m sure you can draw your own conclusions.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
How to resign
“Take your job and stick it where the sun don’t shine” might be tempting but “so long and thanks for all the fish” makes much better sense.
I'm pleased to announce that I recently got a new job and I’m looking forward to starting it in February.
The good news, however, did raise the awkward issue of how to resign from my current position without succumbing to the above temptation.
I have resigned in many ways throughout my interesting career.
A particularly memorable resignation came when I knocked the company owner’s son into a pool of his own piss – he took the ‘wet floor’ sign literally by passing water on a floor I’d mopped to prove his power over me.
In my latest job though, it was just a straightforward resignation.
That’s not to say I haven’t had issues with my current job. Let’s face it, if I’d been entirely happy I wouldn’t have been looking, so the opportunity to put them down in writing knocked twice and rang the doorbell.
I could have detailed the reasons for my resignation at some length with dates and timings where appropriate. I could have explained where I was failed, put upon, abused etc. but looking at it with the benefit of experience I decided not to.
The temptation to get it all off your chest is immense; all those petty insults and real or imagined sleights, the passed over promotions or unreasonable behaviours are just demanding that you give them an airing now that you haven’t got anything to lose.
So why then did I choose to hand in a resignation letter thanking my boss for her kind attentions and the company for its care when what I really wanted to say was something far more accurate?
There’s an old saw that bears repeating:
“Don't burn your bridges behind you”
It is indeed a small world, I have lost count of the number of ex-colleagues I have encountered over the years, some who have gone on to be more successful than me and some who have not but all with a tongue in their mouths and some influence in their work places.
I have got and not got, jobs based on recommendations from these ex-colleagues.
I highlighted that because it’s the primary reason not to let fly with your reasons, no matter how good or well supported they may be.
The second reason is that your employer has invested time and money in its staff. The higher the position of that member of staff the greater the investment. Who then do you think they are going to back when a dispute arises, even more so, when one part of that dispute is disappearing and the other part will remain?
Use that most valuable tool in your survival pack and put yourself in your employer’s position: would you stir up trouble with a supervisor/manager/director/whatever when the problem is removing itself anyway?
I can see the light of realisation in your eyes and the slump of acceptance in your shoulders – don’t be too downhearted however, you are moving onwards and upwards and the people you are leaving are not your problem any more.
I’m afraid I’ve some bad news for you.
When you get to where you are going there will be more (insert collective derogatory term here) there and you will have to deal with them. The trick of the game is to develop yourself to such an extent that the little people can’t hurt you.
Try re-framing the problem: be grateful for every (insert singular derogatory term here) you meet, It’s one less person to compete with.
John Anslow
www.ffriar.com
I'm pleased to announce that I recently got a new job and I’m looking forward to starting it in February.
The good news, however, did raise the awkward issue of how to resign from my current position without succumbing to the above temptation.
I have resigned in many ways throughout my interesting career.
A particularly memorable resignation came when I knocked the company owner’s son into a pool of his own piss – he took the ‘wet floor’ sign literally by passing water on a floor I’d mopped to prove his power over me.
In my latest job though, it was just a straightforward resignation.
That’s not to say I haven’t had issues with my current job. Let’s face it, if I’d been entirely happy I wouldn’t have been looking, so the opportunity to put them down in writing knocked twice and rang the doorbell.
I could have detailed the reasons for my resignation at some length with dates and timings where appropriate. I could have explained where I was failed, put upon, abused etc. but looking at it with the benefit of experience I decided not to.
The temptation to get it all off your chest is immense; all those petty insults and real or imagined sleights, the passed over promotions or unreasonable behaviours are just demanding that you give them an airing now that you haven’t got anything to lose.
So why then did I choose to hand in a resignation letter thanking my boss for her kind attentions and the company for its care when what I really wanted to say was something far more accurate?
There’s an old saw that bears repeating:
“Don't burn your bridges behind you”
It is indeed a small world, I have lost count of the number of ex-colleagues I have encountered over the years, some who have gone on to be more successful than me and some who have not but all with a tongue in their mouths and some influence in their work places.
I have got and not got, jobs based on recommendations from these ex-colleagues.
I highlighted that because it’s the primary reason not to let fly with your reasons, no matter how good or well supported they may be.
The second reason is that your employer has invested time and money in its staff. The higher the position of that member of staff the greater the investment. Who then do you think they are going to back when a dispute arises, even more so, when one part of that dispute is disappearing and the other part will remain?
Use that most valuable tool in your survival pack and put yourself in your employer’s position: would you stir up trouble with a supervisor/manager/director/whatever when the problem is removing itself anyway?
I can see the light of realisation in your eyes and the slump of acceptance in your shoulders – don’t be too downhearted however, you are moving onwards and upwards and the people you are leaving are not your problem any more.
I’m afraid I’ve some bad news for you.
When you get to where you are going there will be more (insert collective derogatory term here) there and you will have to deal with them. The trick of the game is to develop yourself to such an extent that the little people can’t hurt you.
Try re-framing the problem: be grateful for every (insert singular derogatory term here) you meet, It’s one less person to compete with.
John Anslow
www.ffriar.com
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Get the Bear Facts
Happy new year all, may this year bring you all you would wish and nothing that you would not.
Ok Christmas has come and gone, My wife's birthday being the 27th has also come and gone and much has happened in the Anslow household.
During the Christmas holiday I experienced many incidents of customer service and leadership in action, some of them good and some of them not so good as you will imagine.
I'm sure that you all will have similar stories to tell, the assistant and I use the term lightly, in Woolies who chewed gum and looked down her nose at you when she eventually deigned to serve, the schoolgirl cashier in Next who didn't know what a tank top was, the guy in Dixons who went out of his way to get you that camera you wanted etc.
My own experience was affected somewhat by my habit of Christmas shopping all year so for me it was a case of wrapping more than buying but I did have one pleasurable experience that I thought I'd share with you.
For my wife's birthday I purchased a gift card for the Teddy Bear Workshop in Croydon, it's in the Centrale Centre in case you want to go, She is wild about cuddly toys and I knew that she'd just love going along and making her own.
We toddled along all excited on a rather wet Wednesday and were greeted at the door by a bear wielding staff member, I explained that it was a birthday treat for M and the lady and her bear explained the process to us and offered help should we need it.
I don't know if you've been to one of these shops so I'll list what happens.
- Select empty skin
- Choose sound machine
- Get a heart
- Get it Stuffed
- Fluff it
- Choose Outfit
- Produce Birth Certificate
- Pay and leave
Well as you can imagine M was in raptures about it all, she spent ages choosing which bear she wanted, as usual she wanted them all, then I recorded a short message for the bear to play when you squeeze its paw, she chose a heart and we took it to the stuffer.
Imagine liposuction in reverse and you've got a good idea of how that worked, she was squirming around and muttering about how it must be hurting the poor thing, the poor assistant who was doing it was mightily uncomfortable.
We took it over to fluff and preen it with bear paw shaped brushes and an air shower thing before trying to choose an outfit.
You should see the range of outfits these people stock and at about the same price as kiddy clothes I'm not surprised ! We ended up with a fisherman's outfit, complete with fishing rod, fish and wellington boots, M naturally decided to call him Fisher !
We generated his birth certificate on one of a row of PC's and went to pay, I was watching the customers and staff while we waited for our turn and it was fascinating to watch people so obviously enjoying themselves, not just the customers but the staff.
Let's face it 8 hrs a day stuffing bears can't be all that great so there must be something else going on to account for all the smiling faces, and then it struck me it was the smiling faces, and that led me to another obvious revelation, happiness breeds happiness.
Happiness breeds happiness.
Now whether it was the customers infecting the staff or the staff infecting the customers who can say but it certainly made for a pleasant environment for both, I believe it is the managers responsibility to foster happiness as much as fostering good customer service skills or financial management because the happiness factor does make a difference.
Look back over your Christmas at the examples of excellent customer service that you had, were they given by people with a smile on their face by any chance?
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