RE: Re: Do C-Level managers, and business drivers really need to know about XP?

Steve,

 

The concept of pluggable units is difficult to overcome at times. We
manipulate names and job description on spread sheets nearly very week
in planning meetings. Personnel does the same with employee numbers and
job classifications. The challenge for the senior manager is to separate
the work planning from the people planning sometime during the week and
put the personal contact back into the process. 

 

Our approach is to have several levels of staff meetings with specific
outcomes. "Leadership" team meetings are to focus on the outcomes of our
engagement here. "Staff" meetings are to deal with the support the
personnel processes. Individual groups and departments (directors and
below) work on the one-to-one communications processes, personnel
development, team development, goal fulfillment etc. but at the VP level
and above there is just not enough hours in the day for many of the
activities normally associated with personnel development. Especially
when business development is added. 

 

We've been successful is used frameworks of management for focusing
these activities downward into the organization. Balanced Scorecard has
worked well for us. A Program Management Office works as well for us,
since it separates the "management" of work from the "doing" of work
(where the personal interactions take place). All the tracking and
reporting is then done outside the small group interactions and the
small group leaders can focus inward to their staff. We can then provide
the reporting framework in support of their efforts.

 

RE: your conversations with your VP, if its anything like it is here
there is very little time to discuss the broader issues. Our management
team of four (with a staff of 120) only gets to talk strategy outside
our prescheduled strategy development meetings at lunch or after hours.
Even then interruptions and of business steals our time. As one looking
"into" the org I'd rather have the functional managers be the source of
the solution for the "pluggable replacements" than to let that view leak
out of the small senior management group - but in that senior management
group, there are many times that the staff is just that "resources," to
be planned and rearranged.

 

Glen B. Alleman

VP, Program Management Office

Information Technology

CH2M HILL

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site

10808 Highway 93, Unit B, Bldg 060, MV72

Golden, Colorado 80502

Office: 303.966.5865  Nextel: 303.994.0874 

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Ropa [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 8:06 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [xpAdoption] Re: Do C-Level managers, and business drivers
really need to know about XP?

 

that was what I tried. That was not the result I got.  I assigned him
something.  He didn't like it. He asked me to assign him something
else.......months go by following this cycle.  Every time, I start by
asking him to pick something, we go back and forth, I eventually assign
him something.  He doesn't like it......  If this were just one
individual, I would just write him off as an anomaly, but this actually
is an amalgam of about 70% of my team. 

 

On another note, after a few conversations with my vp, I think I know
where this is coming from.  The vp preceded me here by about a year.
His attitude towards the team members is that they are pluggable units
that pretty much don't have the ability to make decisions by themselves
anyway.  Those of you who have seen any of my posts in the past will
know that this is very much NOT my way of thinking.  I am thinking that
he probably "programmed" them into believing this as well. I am
deprogramming them, I think.  My evidence is those members who seem to
be emerging from the haze and doing new and exciting things.  It
probably goes without saying, but those are also the people that my VP
is having the most difficulty with....

 

Steve

	-----Original Message-----
	From: J. B. Rainsberger [mailto:[email protected]]
	Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 4:54 PM
	To: [email protected]
	Subject: RE: [xpAdoption] Re: Do C-Level managers, and business
drivers really need to know about XP?

	Assign him something. When he finishes, ask him how he liked the
work. If he didn't like it, ask him whether there was something else
that he might have preferred doing. If that's still available, assign
him that. Rinse and repeat.

	 

	Ron's "six months later she realized that she was making her own
decisions all along" technique then becomes available.

	
	So said Steve Ropa on 2/11/2003 --------------------

		Sadly, I don't know.  I am inclined to think yes.
		
		Case in point.  I have a list of "background projects"
that are freely available for anyone who is not currently on a billable
task.  The idea is that, if you aren't billable, look for something in
here that is interesting and work on it.  Its pretty low pressure
because these are all  nice to have experimental projects.
		
		I am continually engaging in exchanges like:
		
		"Steve, I don't have any billable work, what should I
do?"
		"Have you picked a background project?"
		"No, which one should I do?"
		"I don't know, what looks interesting?"
		"I don't know which one do you want me to do?"
		"Why don't you go take a look and see if anything is
interesting.  Let me know ifyou have any questions."
		"Well....ok"
		A day or two later:
		"Steve, what should I do?"
		"Did you finish up on the background project?"
		"You didn't tell me which one to do..."
		
		
		
		> -----Original Message-----
		> From: Ron Jeffries [mailto:[email protected]]
		> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 3:34 PM
		> To: [email protected]
		> Subject: Re: [xpAdoption] Re: Do C-Level managers, and

		> business drivers
		> really need to know about XP?
		> 
		> 
		> On Tuesday, February 11, 2003, at 2:54:40 PM, Steve
Ropa wrote:
		> 
		> >> "I'm not going to do that. You know your abilities
better 
		> >> than I do. Your
		> >> next mission is to sign up for the work. Begin
now."
		> >> 
		> >> 
		> > After a year of trying that, I gave up and just
started 
		> assigning work.  I still discuss with each
		> > programmer first, and have proven to them that they
have 
		> the opportunity to opt out.  Not a satisfactory
		> > answer, but its where we currently stand.  I haven't
given 
		> up, but I have definitely fallen back to regroup.
		> 
		> If you had waited, would everyone have just stopped
working?
		> 
		> Ron Jeffries
		> www.XProgramming.com
		> Speculation or experimentation - which is more likely
to give 
		> the correct answer?
		> 
		> 
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	J. B. Rainsberger,

	President, Diaspar Software Services

	Let's write software that people understand.

	http://www.diasparsoftware.com/

	telephone: +1 416 791-8603

	All correspondence (c) 2002 Diaspar Software Services.

	If you want to use it, just ask; don't steal.

	 

	
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