Even when hiding feels better (from Machines are the Easy Part)

From Machines Are the Easy Part; People Are the Hard Part. 

Illustrations by Brady Johnson

4. Even when hiding feels better, don't do it.

The best way to be seen as valuable, especially in an administrative or supervisory position, is to go out and talk to the people your department serves, find out what’s bugging them about your area of responsibility, and then find ways to reduce the irritation.

As I walk through the buildings in my district, I like to think of myself as a giant “complaint magnet.” I write down every problem I hear about and then either solve it or find out why it can’t be solved. I always communicate back to the person who had the problem outlining what I’ve done.

Even if I haven’t been of much help, people like to know they have been heard.

 5. The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on learning.

The moral of Aesop’s tale about the tortoise and the hare is that the race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running. I agree.

But you can’t just keep running without ever changing course. To run in the right direction you always have to be on a fairly high learning curve. Read, listen, read, go to conferences, read, research, read, and read some more.

Now I am a very lazy professional reader. I’d much rather escape into a good mystery or work of historical fiction. The deal I made with myself is to alternate between professional books and recreational books. Now, if only the serious books would read as fast as a Harry Bosch mystery.

6. Never assume. 

Never assume the computer will work with the projector. Never assume your wife is picking up the milk. Never assume your job is secure. Never assume that other people will vote for the politician you want in office and never assume the politicians will vote for your cause. Never assume someone else will play a leadership role in your profession. Never assume the world will be just fine without you doing something about the problems in it.

It takes just seconds to double check things. I think I learned this one cold winter afternoon when I sat expecting my wife to meet me at the Hardee’s in New Hampton, Iowa while she was sitting all afternoon at the Hardee’s in Hampton, Iowa.

Never assume that it is OK to assume even once.

Why am I the only sane driver on the road?

How pronounced was the change in excessive speeding [in Minnesota]? In 2019, there were 533 citations written for motorists driving more than 100 miles per hour. In 2020, there were 1,068 tickets written for driving 100 mph or more with a top speed recorded of 153 mph. Patch February 11, 2021

Drivers these days come in two varieties -  reckless speed heads in giant pickup trucks and left-lane hogging old farts in Buick sedans doing 45 on the interstate. Period. I am the only sane driver on the highways and streets of Minnesota with a long held policy of driving exactly 12% above the posted speed limit.

When I started to ask myself why I seem to be tbe only good driver out there, it suddenly occurred to me that there are other good drivers out there - I just don't encounter them. Other good drivers are driving the same speed I am - or close to it -  they will never pass me nor will I ever need to pass them. If they get on the highway a quarter mile ahead of me or a quarter mile behind me, that is where they will stay - out of sight and out of mind. And who can tell how fast drivers going in the opposite direction are travelling? 

Perhaps the same thing holds true of politics. It is only the wing-nuts in both parties who get the notice, not those in the sensible center. What fun is it reading or viewing an opinion that is reasonable, inoffensive, or common sense? The speeders and lane-cloggers of social media are the only ones you really ever encounter. I but have faith that the great majority of people share my slightly off-center views.

An expert is... (From Machines Are the Easy Part)

From Machines Are the Easy Part; People Are the Hard Part. 

Illustrations by Brady Johnson

1. An expert is someone who has a somewhat defensible position but can state it with extraordinary confidence.

Why should you believe anything you are about to read? Maybe you shouldn’t.

To my credit, I have had a pretty good education, have had moderate success in the field of education, and have managed to convince quite a few people to publish things I’ve written. But that is about it. 

Be warned: My school doesn’t make many headlines. My income still requires I pay my overdrafts one dollar at a time. My personal life should be nobody’s model (although I’ve enjoyed it.)

Agree or disagree with any of my observations. Feel free to say “I’ve said that myself a million times.” Get mad enough to write your own book.

But have fun reading this.

2. It’s always, always, always better to be a nice person than an ass. 

You will make mistakes at home and on the job. So keep this in mind: People will forgive your mistakes if you are generally a nice person; they never forget them if you behave like an ass.

One of my technicians once warned a teacher: “I am beginning to think it is easier to make you mad than to make you happy. Remember, you are a lot more fun to watch when you are mad.” The teacher got nicer.

 3. Go with the person, not the firm.

We once hired a company to do a network installation and it did a bang-up job. We hired the same company a year later and it did the worst work we had ever encountered. During the course of the year, one guy, the guy who did the first job for us, had quit. Don’t trust companies – trust the people in them.

A corollary says that the worst schools have good teachers in them and the best schools have poor teachers in them. Seems a folly to worry a lot about what school your children go to. Just make sure they get the best teachers in the school.