Pros and Cons of the Office
You know the place, the one we all crab about, the one we all supposedly hate to go to every morning? Yeah, the place where the coffee sucks, your desk is too small, and where traffic is always a pain to get through. It’s the office – the one your employer has graciously equipped and staffed for your working pleasure. I know exactly what many of you are thinking. We all seem to dread heading to work in the morning, knowing that there is a "pile of work" ready and waiting. It seems we associate the negatives of the work we do with the place our employers house there...
Read MoreFire Drill Projects & Ownership
Have you had the pleasure of participating in a “fire drill” project? You know the kind, the ones that are rushed into being with such a flourish as to miss many (heck, most) of the components that make a successful project. I only mention this because I’m in the middle of such a project (again), and continue to marvel at how often it happens to any size company. That is not to say that fire drill projects are always a mess, or always a failure, or don’t meet there objectives within budget or timeframe. Often, their outcomes are successful, mostly due to the...
Read MoreContract, one part of the consulting gig
One of the problems of contract work as opposed to consulting is the length of time that a person spends at one assignment. Sure, it’s nice to have a steady, billable gig for a time, but it brings its own unique challenges. One of these challenges is that team members in the organization, even management, seem to forget that you’re just a temporary troubleshooter. The implications from this are that they start building plans or structure around you and not the role you’re filling. Many folks simply forget that you’re here to fulfill a specific need, run a single...
Read MoreContract, one part of the consulting gig
One of the problems of contract work as opposed to consulting is the length of time that a person spends at one assignment. Sure, it’s nice to have a steady, billable gig for a time, but it brings its own unique challenges. One of these challenges is that team members in the organization, even management, seem to forget that you’re just a temporary troubleshooter. The implications from this are that they start building plans or structure around you and not the role you’re filling. Many folks simply forget that you’re here to fulfill a specific need, run a single...
Read MoreReducing social networking increases productivity?
So I’ve been doing an experiment of sorts. Staying off most social networks, answering requests and status on only those I believe actually bring value. This was not totally planned, but is something I have meant to do for some time, as it’s my opinion that I was spending too much time on social networks. During this period, I have also been paying attention to my productivity. You know, the real work I do to actually make real money. Of course, it’s not surprising that reducing the time involved in social networking will increase productivity, it is the ratio that seems...
Read MoreJust Go
So, sitting outside during lunch today led me to think again about the opportunities presented to each of us for improving our working conditions. It’s not entirely our employer’s responsibility to improve things. Ok, maybe you don’t have the kind of job where you can walk away from the desk and still get work done. Maybe you should look for one! Regardless, many businesses have remote work opportunities via remote access technologies. Take advantage of them when you get a chance. There is nothing worse than having the opportunities in front of you...
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About Me
Rick Mahn is the Founder of SMBMSP, Principal of Rick Mahn & Associates, and a Sr. Information Technologies Architect with Experis. With over two decades in Information Technologies Architecture and Social Media, Rick connects people & organizations by embracing new technologies and open standards.Learn more about Rick.
