

How To Manage Geeks - trueduke
http://www.wikihow.com/Manage-Geeks

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jonnathanson
Maybe it's time people stopped thinking of "geeks" as a homogenous, broadly
categorizable group of people. IMO, that worldview is as much a part of the
problem as anything else.

I wouldn't assume a random set of 10 doctors are all going to have the same
personalities, the same motivators, and the same quirks. I wouldn't assume 10
randomly grouped MBAs are identical, either. Perhaps non-technical managers
would do well to stop thinking of all technical employees as interchangeable.
That's the first step toward being a better manager -- be it of engineers, of
marketers, of financial analysts, or of sales staff.

A lot of the principles on this list are great, but honestly, the list could
just as easily be rebadged as "How to Manage People." And perhaps that's what
makes it a good list.

~~~
j_baker
I think some level of this is ok, just as long as one is clear about the
difference between a generalization and a stereotype. IE, "Geeks tend to want
_X_ " isn't necessarily bad, but "Geeks always want _X_ " is probably bad.

I mean, it's somewhat naive to assume that there are absolutely _no_ common
threads between people of the same profession. The problem begins when you
start treating these ideas as rigid rules: "Geeks know nothing about the
business side of things. They need us managers to tell them how to build a
good product."

~~~
jonnathanson
_"it's somewhat naive to assume that there are absolutely no common threads
between people of the same profession"_

Absolutely. There are certainly some commonalities among groups of people --
especially among groups of people who self-select into the same profession or
skill set. And, as a geek, I'll be the first to admit that a lot of the
stereotypes about people like me are at least grounded in some observable
shade of reality.

But underneath my geek layer, I've also got a personality layer. And a
motivations layer. And a background layer. Etc. I may share the same external,
readily observable, surface-level traits as many of my peers. But that doesn't
mean my peers and I are the same people.

Are there general principles that apply to managing geeks? Yes. Are there
things that geeks, as a set, will pick up on or respond to more readily than
other sets of people? Yes. But a good manager shouldn't stop there.

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nske
Also:

\- Don't bother the crap out of your geeks for things outside work.

It's not ok to have your geeks routinely fix and do market research for
anything computer-related (or even electricity-powered!) for your whole family
and friends. Especially outside work schedule. Just because it involves stuff
that someone happens to know his way around, it is foolish to assume that he
also enjoys doing the laundry of people that he doesn't personally care about.
It is stupid to think that geeks enjoy anything computer/technology related
and it is offensive to think that their time is any less valuable than yours.
If anything, the typical geek has many interesting personal side-projects and
ideas, unlike the typical manager, so his time is a thousand times more
important.

\- Do not force your geeks to implement ugly workarounds and cut corners if
you don't understand the consequences and, in case you do, don't force the
responsibility for these on your geeks. If you demand that something that
normally takes x time is done in x/2 time, your geek will try to explain to
you why this is not a good idea. Your geek will gladly analyze the possible
consequences of the compromises that would have to be made, but it's not
possible to give you i.e. a real-world estimate on how long you are going to
get away with them, and in the end, it's not his job to tell you if the risk
is really worth it, only to help you understand the risk. In any case, if your
geek warns you and you chose to ignore his advice, don't hold him responsible
if the exact same thing that he warned you about happens.

\- If you say something is really, really important, your geek can manage to
work day and night to make it possible. He may even fail to make it clear that
he had to, as he wants to believe it was a rare occasion, a real emergency.
That doesn't mean this is the norm and you can keep rushing the next projects
in advance.

\- Your geek will most likely have a list of things that are not working well
that he wants to optimize. Those things may appear to be working just fine on
the outside, while in fact they are ticking bombs or time-sinks -routine
manual procedures begging automation. Do not think that if there are not
current projects running you need to fill the time of your geeks with just any
chores you can think about, chances are they could have done more valuable
thinks on their own.

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vog
I found the books by Tom DeMarco (who became famous for his novel "The
Deadline") to be very insightful as well as instructive on that topic.

In particular, his book "Slack" (2001) has a chapter "Managing Eve" where he
describes how to manage exactly that kind of great employees we use to call
"geeks". He doesn't mention the word "geek", though. Instead, he calls those
people "Eve" ... for quite interesting reasons!

~~~
pavel_lishin
> He doesn't mention the word "geek", though. Instead, he calls those people
> "Eve" ... for quite interesting reasons!

You asshole, now I have to go out and buy the book :)

~~~
vog
Well, it's just the way he interprets the bible. He says that Eve was a
courageous person. She ate from the tree of knowledge, thus breaking a rule
that would otherwise have prevented her personal development.

But feel free to buy the book anyway. :-)

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pokoleo
Isn't Wikihow one of those content farms...

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eru
Indeed. Seems like not all of their content is extremely bad. (Though this
wasn't too enlightening, either.)

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cbailey
Even though I agree with most of this list, I still can't help but feel a
little put-off by all the geek-this and geek-that speak. There seemed to be a
basic point that "geeks" usually have a low tolerance for the stereotypical
business world and speak. Cheap awards, cheap prizes, pointless meetings, the
word "synergy"? No thanks.

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known
Don't manage. Lead them.

~~~
cema
Yes. But few can or know how to.

~~~
cbailey
Exactly. And my bet is that the people that need to read this the most won't
read past the headline or first paragraph.

~~~
j_baker
Either that or they will over focus on #14.

"It says here you geeks need my help not overengineering things. I think you
guys can get this done in a week without any of your fancy testing or
requirements."

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rickmb
Yes, assume they all fit a stereotype and treat them as such. What could
possible go wrong with that?

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Graham24
Is it just me or does anyone else find the words geek and nerd to be simply
offensive?

~~~
pavel_lishin
It's all a matter of context to me. "Without our geeks, we'd be out of
business, so we give them fridays off" vs. "Hey geek, ever seen a breast that
wasn't a jpeg?"

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pavel_lishin
> The word geek in this article is not intended in a derogatory manner

Pretty sure this type of "C.Y.A." sentence qualifies as management-speak.

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dholowiski
That seems like a pretty sane list... has anyone here ever worked for a place
like that? I didn't even manage that way when I was my own boss.

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fez
I like how this made it sound like geeks were not humans, but something
completely different.

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mb21
How about don't refer to it as IT?

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ogalego
"How to manage G-R-eeks" is more important a question really.

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4J7z0Fgt63dTZbs
It's usually

    
    
      -"how much free reign should I give him? am i smothering his talent?"
      -"how does this personnel manage emotional integrity - how does this person fund his expertise internally?"
      -"what are the 'distastes' this person have grown up to this point in his life?"
      -"does this person have secure mental integrity/health points or whatever is required to do the deed?"

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unwantedLetters
First thing I thought when I read this headline was: Be a geek.

