Re: common time-management mistake: rack & stack
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack & stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big// brandon
+1 I picked up ram from a supplier today. Could have used a courier, but getting out of the office is vital. A CTO who's lost touch because they haven't been to a remote site in half a decade is a business risk, more so than the CTO being away from their desk. If there is business risk from having the CTO out of touch for a week or even a month then there's a bigger problem. D On 17/02/2012 9:17 p.m., Brandon Butterworth wrote:
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack& stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
brandon
-- Don Gould 31 Acheson Ave Mairehau Christchurch, New Zealand Ph: + 64 3 348 7235 Mobile: + 64 21 114 0699
On Feb 17, 2012, at 3:17 AM, Brandon Butterworth wrote:
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack & stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
+1 I find this myself, it's useful to do this, as it is to sit in with the operations team and other groups (even finance) to understand what other groups need/require. I've often found that someone is working around a problem they didn't know you could solve (easily), or is doing a large amount of manual labor when there is an API, etc. Perspective is good. I also do other work that certainly isn't a complete use of my talents that benefits others (e.g.: chaperone a field-trip at school). These are not without merits, but I do know I have my faults in perhaps reading (and responding) to NANOG too much when I should be engaged in more worthwhile tasks.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
- Jared
I think it was Miagi in Karate Kid that stressed balance. The CTO who is NEVER out of his cage is dangerous, likewise the one that is never available is also. It is keeping in touch with what is happening at all levels that makes him valuable. If there is one thing that American Management misses, it is that. The GROWING companies almost always have management that is active, visible and accessible - top to bottom. The ones that are dying are not. The same goes for union leaders who are really pseudo-management. The senior technicians are no different than management, they need broad focus but they must also be able to take the magnifying glass and look at the current situation. A network engineer who cannot do both is not living up to his job description. Ralph Brandt Communications Engineer HP Enterprise Services Telephone +1 717.506.0802 FAX +1 717.506.4358 Email Ralph.Brandt@pateam.com 5095 Ritter Rd Mechanicsburg PA 17055 -----Original Message----- From: Jared Mauch [mailto:jared@puck.nether.net] Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 8:36 AM To: Brandon Butterworth Cc: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Re: common time-management mistake: rack & stack On Feb 17, 2012, at 3:17 AM, Brandon Butterworth wrote:
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack & stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
+1 I find this myself, it's useful to do this, as it is to sit in with the operations team and other groups (even finance) to understand what other groups need/require. I've often found that someone is working around a problem they didn't know you could solve (easily), or is doing a large amount of manual labor when there is an API, etc. Perspective is good. I also do other work that certainly isn't a complete use of my talents that benefits others (e.g.: chaperone a field-trip at school). These are not without merits, but I do know I have my faults in perhaps reading (and responding) to NANOG too much when I should be engaged in more worthwhile tasks.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
- Jared
On Fri, 17 Feb 2012, Brandon Butterworth wrote:
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Definite +1 here. I got my start in this profession 15-ish years ago at a mid-sized regional ISP. The company was small enough, in terms of its work force, that that I interviewed with the CEO for what was largely an IT position. As a result, many people in the organization wore lots of different hats. It wasn't to the point of having accountants pull cable or IT guys doing the books, but I did spend a lot of time doing rack-and-stack work. I didn't (and still don't) mind rack-and-stack, pulling cable, etc. As others have said, it's a good, therapeutic diversion from staring at a screen and attending meetings ;) Another good reason for getting out into the field. When you're the person who defines technical deployment standards for an organization, it gives you an opportunity to verify that work is being done to those standards.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
I'm sure if the ISP I got my start with 15-ish years ago was much bigger, I would not have interviewed with the CEO, but at that time, it was the right fit for that organization. jms
Hrm. On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 3:17 AM, Brandon Butterworth <brandon@rd.bbc.co.uk> wrote:
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
This. One of the reasons I love my job so much is that I don't need to be stuck at a keyboard all the time. I usually "volunteer" to help rack and stack new hardware that I haven't had a chance to touch yet. "For humans, touch can connect you to an object in a very personal way, make it seem more real." : ) -- Ray Soucy Epic Communications Specialist Phone: +1 (207) 561-3526 Networkmaine, a Unit of the University of Maine System http://www.networkmaine.net/
would have been good to know to whom you were replying, not in To: or in pre-quote text.
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack & stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality. obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
i configure routers, admin servers, and occasionally rack and stack in my own research racks [0]. aside from giving me a base in reality instead of all research papers and power point (a major benefit), it's like housework or doing the dishes, shut up and do your part. it's also damned useful to maintain layer zero skills. once upon a time, when i was playing at vp eng, a london routing hub was supposed to be turned up. the equipment sat in co-lo receiving for weeks, and no respose from the london techs (i am sure they had ccnas, whetever the hell that is). so i grabbed my toolkit and got on a plane and walked into redbus and started turning it all up. the local techs appeared pretty damed quickly and started doing their jobs. of course, a few weeks later they were told to get jobs elsewhere. maintain your skills, you may need them again some day. randy --- [0] - deep thanks to (in alpha order) cisco, equinix, google, juniper, nsf, and others for contributions.
participants (7)
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Brandon Butterworth -
Brandt, Ralph -
Don Gould -
Jared Mauch -
Justin M. Streiner -
Randy Bush -
Ray Soucy