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Posted by MadaboutDana
Jul 26, 2022 at 11:03 AM
A very nice summary, Paul: totally agree. Yes, it’s those moments of truly human interaction that remain embedded in the memory. In one of my earliest jobs, I remember regularly observing one of the most experienced senior project managers at work setting up major projects with multiple external suppliers – it was a joy, and taught me so much about writing short but coherent briefs, explaining in words of one syllable, persuading the recalcitrant, chasing the delayed, and so on.
Working with one of the directors on negotiations with clients was equally enlightening. As you say, I can’t remember the actual projects, but I do remember the lessons!
Paul Korm wrote:
I don’t think there is a way to replace in-person in-office interaction
>with co-workers and customers, in a WFH situation. I don’t think it’s
>hyperbole, but looking back over my career as I changed jobs and
>responsibilities, I cannot count the hundreds of interactions that
>proved to be irreplaceable in terms of knowledge and skills. Including
>the times I effed up and the facts of life at corporation “X” were
>explained to me, rapidly, in detail. LOL
>
>Most of interchanges these were casual, in-the-hallway,
>waiting-for-the-elevator, going-to-the-parking garage types of
>engagement with co-workers or supervisors. Most of these interactions
>didn’t “bear fruit” then, but paid me back weeks, months or years later.
> When look back over the decades, I always remember these conversations
>more than I remember the work I was actually doing.
>
>The work we do in offices is ephemeral—not much of it matters beyond
>the time we do it. But what we can receive from others in person is
>irreplaceable and over the long-term makes us who we are. Good and bad,
>of course.
>
>And I don’t think this can happen the same way with the same results,
>over Zoom or Teams or Slack or whatever, the same way it happens in
>person. If I were starting out today, and had to think of a lifetime of
>Zoom hell, I think I would head for Montana and find work on ranch.
Posted by Amontillado
Jul 26, 2022 at 03:51 PM
WFH is different, but I’ve been doing it since about 2002. Covid was a tragedy but did not affect my work life.
I use Timelime (that’s how it’s spelled) to track what I spend my days on when projects get hectic. A spreadsheet would work well, too.
Personal time tracking is not to force me to task, it’s defense against folks saying I didn’t get to their stuff quickly enough.
Posted by 22111
Jul 30, 2022 at 01:26 PM
A more specific thread title would have been welcome, but whatever: I dare say you’re wrong.
With all due respect, and that’s not ironic, I respect even those who don’t respect me, I have never ever got any suggestion, any impulse from either this forum or then the almost defunct donationcoder forum of any value - I’m very sorry, but that’s the blatant truth. (I have not frequented any other fora, except for some specific software ones, the askSam, UR and MyInfo fora come to mine, and the same observation applies to them, with the technical exception of the AS forum where some German, “Flo”, obviously “Florian”, had awful insight into many things; I deeply regret the demise of askSam, and thus of its forum in its time… but for all the rest, “forget’em”, all’o'em either don’t know much, or then don’t share anything.
(There’s a technical “exception” in the donationcoder forum, “share/shadow…” or somewhat - I currently don’t remember his full name, and I cannot identify him at this time since I don’t have access to donationcoder anymore at this very moment: he’s extremely knowledgeable about technical stuff of all kinds, but as for conceptional matters, I rely on my own thinking, including my thoughts about the failures and errors of third-parties…
On the other hand, I’ve got valuable ideas - and I never then considered them my own, and always gave, have given and give the appropriate credentials - from brilliant individuals’ works… and sometimes even, and that’s more often than not, those brilliant individuals’ ideas just reflect, confirm and validate mine, and then again, I say so, cf. my thread of today, and yes, when you remain honest about the genesis of your ideas, you’ve got some right onto people believing you when you say that some third-party’s idea that you mention (and then follow-up or not (yet)), has also been your own, before reading that third-party’s publication.
Whatever, and let’s face it: On the one hand, this forum is, has become, the “standard” one now for “outlining and similar” things, and then, most “contributions” over here are dispensable, very unfortunately…
Posted by Amontillado
Jul 31, 2022 at 12:41 PM
Perception of value is a skill.
Posted by tightbeam
Jul 31, 2022 at 04:10 PM
22111 wrote:
>most “contributions” over here are dispensable, very unfortunately…
I agree entirely…