sharing the knowledge ??? 19

[xerf]

I have been thinking about this situation which often happens to me :

Sometime you might work / study hard to figure a path to solve a problem. After you spent plenty of time you finally figure out a solution .

However the solution is useful for many people at your job.

Then all your colleagues seeing that you solved that problem, ask you to show them how to solve the same problem.

Then this situation happens repeatedly and mostly is not reciprocal.

What would you do ?

 

[Twoballcane]

Please don’t get me wrong, I am for sharing knowledge for the good of the group and project and even more here in Eng Tips. As a mater of fact, I’m a mentor to somebody in a different group and soon will be doing an introduction seminar for the employees on certain software. But, if you think your company/manger will treat you like family, you are naïve. When the bottom falls out, the first question the manager will ask is “why should you stay?”. The Engineers that know more will stay and the ones that don’t go.

 

[HVACctrl]

Twoball,
No I am not presently a manager. Yes, I was a working manager of an engineering department at an equipment manufacturer before. Yes, I did all I could to help the engineers, customer service reps and field service personnel in my department learn more and get from me whatever I could give to enable them to move up- into my position if thats where it led them. I would then be moving into another, higher up position or I would be passed up by someone more capable than me. More power 'em either way it turned out.

Honestly, I would like to be in an engineering management position again. Maybe I'm not so much naive as you put it, but more of an idealist or a purist. I suppose, now that we talk about it, I wouldn't want to IMPOSE the idea of sharing onto people. That would be too communistic for me. But I feel strongly that it is needed to keep ahead of the game- the game being the other competing companies out there who are fighting neck-for-neck for the same business your company is going after.

You sound negative towards the idea of being a manager (ie, "little management nuggets"). Maybe I am reading that wrong. But if you knew me you realy wouldn't consider me a one of those stearotypical manager types as your tone implied. Don't get me wrong, I have seen my fair share of bad managers and worked for bad companies. I don't wear any super-management capes or anything. Maybe my support for sharing info is a holdover from the military where sharing info with one another could affect life or death outcomes. Who knows?

Ed

 

[HVACctrl]

Also, twoball,
I made the mention of firing the person because someone above said to fire him/her. I was simply responding that firing didn't seem appropriate. I would think less of someone who didn't share info. It seems that in my experience the people who were always the most highly regarded were those who shared their knowledge openly. Have you ever seen anyone get laid off or fired for giving away too much of their knowledge thereby rendering themselves useless and no longer unique? It just doesn't happen in the 21sr century unless maybe in a 3rd world country.

Ed

 

[Twoballcane]

HVACctrl,

My apologies for my tone, please take my comments like we were old friends having a few beers at the bar and we are getting to loud for the customers.

I have two experiences that I would like to share. Awhile back, one of the engineers developed this cool spread sheet and soon everybody was using it. When I tried to look at the macros, he had it locked. When I asked to see them, he smiled at me and said “sorry, job security”. You know what!? He is a manager now.

I have a good friend who is a manager; one of his “manager nuggets” is his method of manipulating his people to do jobs that they did not want to do. He has methods and techniques on how to do that.

Hey I got to go see you tomorrow…

 

[HVACctrl]

No proplem. That's the probelm with posting without smilies- hard to read the tone.

I have a really good friend who has just moved into management within the last two years. I always catch him referring to the employees under him as "resources" which really urkes (sp?) me. He just laughs and says they are.

Now, I'm gonna go finish my beer.
Ed

 

[Ashereng]

Have you ever seen anyone get laid off or fired for giving away too much of their knowledge thereby rendering themselves useless and no longer unique? It just doesn't happen in the 21sr century unless maybe in a 3rd world country.

Yes. In a 1st world country.

You say you are an idealist, or purist. Okay.

Like I said, unless you have gone through the situation, you won't understand - and that's okay. We each learn our own life lessons ourselves. Sometime, we learn different lessons. And that's okay too.

If a hungry wolf is chasing a herd of elk, all the elks don't have to outrun the wolf, just the slolwest elk.



"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[Twoballcane]

I like that one, let me mention an oldie but goody with a twist. There were these two Engineers who just realized that a hungry manager got loose. One Engineer started to put on his thinking cap, the other Engineer said “why are you putting on your thinking cap, you can’t out think the manager”, the first Engineer said “well I can’t out think the manager, but I can out think you.”.

 

[HVACctrl]

Sounds great. We need to outrun the slowest of our buddies. That'll do it. That philosophy works for some. I'd rather help my buddies run faster. If we all learn to run faster, then those who are merely trying to "get by" by running faster than the slowest one will have to run even faster. Guess what, he/she is now a better engineer/worker than he would have been trying to outrun the slowest of a very slow pack.

The theory still works. You can still outrun the slowest, but the slowest will be faster than before and even you will be a better person for it.

Ed

 

[Twoballcane]

I hear what you are preaching. :+)

 

[HVACctrl]

Good deal.
I'm not really trying to preach. I'm just very passionate about this point and I cannot STAND it when people try to bring themselves up by stepping on the heads of those wround them and pushing them down (or by hoarding knowledge and ideas to appear to be a guru). You can get a lot higher by working together. It takes the right group of people though.

Ed

 

[machmech]

Hello HvAcctrl

Those are some great comments Ed,

Thanks Chuck

 

[quark]

Excellent comments by Ashereng and I fully agree with David's observations. I think TheReifleman hit the nail about unsolicited advice.

There is absolutely no harm, to an individual, if he shares knowledge in forums like this or to a general audience. It is neither about hoarding knowledge nor showing smartness but ultimately one has to take care of one's own survival. You learn from your own mistakes.

What my experience taught me is to dispense knowledge rather than flowing it out. I was very enthusiastic during my early days and used to share what ever little information I used to learn. Joined second comapny, continued the same thing and one day boss told me, personally, not to flow out. It was a bit difficult for me initially but boss saw that I obliged him.

I went into my cocoon and new problems started. Initially, there were complaints from my colleagues that I was not helping them. Every time boss should interact if they require some help. Finally, I outdid the boss and no flow out beyond my work scope. When I left the company(boss left before me), the general comment was that I was hard working and knowledgeable yet arrogant.

Joined the third company and used to just indicate what I knew. It did work extremely well. Now I am in my fourth company and it doesn't matter anyway, for I am more or less the decision maker in my department.

I still continue to be in my cocoon, if that extra bit of knowledge doesn't help others significantly in their work or if I want to have a coverup in future.

I do keep two records, one personal and one official, of all the documents that helped me. Whoever wants to learn should do a little bit hard work by digging into them.

 

[Ashereng]

Someone once told me, "There are no rights or wrongs, only consequences." That helped me a lot decision making.

And yes, I consider whether to help someone not as right or wrong, but in terms of consequences.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?