On what good leadership looks like, or the things I want to say to my boss.
“If you want loyalty, creativity, honesty, energy, you must earn them. You earn them by being the kind of leader whose actions make it obvious that people matter. Not because it’s good PR. Because it’s your job. And because people matter, and they deserve it.”
“In the end, good leadership is never proven by what you say about yourself. It’s proven by what people say when you’re not in the room.”
➝ Via Hacker News.
thoughts workRe: 1763590821
“Following a thorough and rigorous evaluation of all candidates, we regret to inform you that we have chosen to move forward with another candidate for this specific role. Please know that this decision was not made lightly, and we genuinely appreciate the effort and time you dedicated to our process.”
My aim wasn’t money driven. If a good manager was hired (we don’t know who it is yet), that’s all it matters.
thoughts workI applied for a manager’s position. It was only posted for a week, inherently lowering my expectations. To make a long story short, I don’t think I will get the chance to fill it, perhaps not even to interview for it. The thing is, I wholeheartedly believe I can be a good manager.
I know everyone on my would-be team; some I have known for a very long time. I know how to do some of their duties. I know their capabilities and some of their drawbacks. I know what some of them, if not all of them, would want from a manager. I know how I shouldn’t manage, because I have experienced that myself. I am very conscientious about my workplace and meticulous about my work. Anyway, I tried.
thoughts workSharePoint, or OneDrive, or whatever name they are giving these days to Microsoft’s enterprise storage (part of their “Office 365”), just gobbled up the many changes collaborators made on a document I shared. Incredibly enough, I saw the changes as they were happening yesterday, yet today they are no longer. Infuriating, to say the least.
rants workEvery Wednesday our manager brings bagels for everyone to enjoy. I haven’t counted them, but easily three dozens, plus a few cream cheese pots—including “fancy” flavoured ones. We are all very, very thankful to him. Thank you, Jim!
What brings me here, though, is someone doing ala “The Muffin Tops”, just with bagel tops. I mean, what kind of a psychopath will take the top of a bagel, and leave the bottom behind? That’s it, that’s the note.
rants workAs I finished the note on Crocker’s Rules, I came across Radical Honesty, which I think is pretty neat too.
thoughts tubes work“The Radical Honesty technique includes having practitioners state their feelings bluntly and directly, even if it may be in a way typically considered impolite. Avoiding all “white lying” is said to lead to a more truthful relationship with themselves and others.”
Having always liked/wanted a direct communication at work, that is, preferring that people “gets to the point” in the most efficient manner, coming across Crocker’s Rules is never too late.
thoughts tubes work“Crocker’s rules encourage being tactful with anyone who hasn’t specifically accepted them. This follows the general principle of being ’liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send’.”
At a workplace that wholly uses Microsoft products (like O365), having access to Copilot—specifically the premium version, not the standard chat—will likely create a form of classism.
“First-class” employees, granted access to the premium tool, will gain a significant advantage. The model’s assistance will help them with tasks ranging from trivial to complex, ultimately boosting their productivity. “Second-class” employees, who lack access, will be at a significant disadvantage when it comes to efficiency and output.
llm workI really cannot stress this enough. Please, don’t say “I have a question”, just ask the question. From “No Hello, here are some examples:
Only three days on the Star of the Seas, and we all want to go back to be cruising. Oh, and certainly do not want to be at work! LOL. Oh well, it is what it is.
me workCo-workers were talking about that huge storm the other night. They were saying it felt worse than our last hurricane. I was stumped! There was no storm near my house, and I even went out to water partner’s plants, because “they were thirsty”—her own words. Then partner called me to tell me about the storm. We did had a storm, and it was something out of this world, she said. Constant lightning, and thundering, and lots of rain (late night). And… I slept through it all! 😅
weather workThanks to the diligence of a former manager, I receive the same emails twice each day, every day. He subscribed me to technical bulletins—and some alerts—with my formal email, and an alias. It is easier to delete than trying to figure out which is using the alias, and trying to unsubscribe.
workWorking physically—as in, not remote—at one of our datacentres today. Last time I went there was at the end of year 2022, let’s see how much it has changed. I expect visible changes in our cage, as we are trying to vacate it. Off I go to waste over an hour on commute!
workI am forced to use Outlook at work, as we use O365. Outlook has sucked for quite a while (since birth?), but the “new look” Microsoft is going to soon enforce is the very worst. Horribly looking, and it makes Outlook even more so slow.
workToday’s, on a Team’s meeting while still driving home:
First time in three years that I had to join a meeting while commuting. Ran an errant for Kim at lunch, and extended a bit over.
workJust realised that, ever since we started micro-managing our time in September 2021, I have worked over 40 hours every week consistently.
work