A few days ago, i had my second quarter review with my boss. Yes, i know it's rapidly closing in on the end of the third quarter. He's been busy. So have i, really, and aside from that, we both kinda knew what the other would say.
These sorts of interviews are usually best for folks that are… how should i say… "new to the work force". The bright-eyed folks that honestly haven't really figured it out yet. The questions were along the lines of "What were you proudest about in the last quarter?" (Hey, that's suspiciously close to one of my standard interview questions.) "Where do you expect to be in two years?" ("Employed"), etc.
There was one question that was actually kind of useful. "Is there anything holding you back?"
That's actually a pretty good question to ask, and i really should ask it to myself more often.
See, i realized long ago that the only person who cares about what the hell i do is me. i'm not exactly in a position where folks sitting around dimly lit tables discussing the need for someone with web application skills suddenly turn to see my picture on some distant glowing wall. No, i'm more at the "Oh yeah! JR! i know him! He's a great asset! He does… uhm… " level.
Ultimately, it's up to me to expand whatever skills i need to stay on top of whatever trend is going on (e.g. Web 2.0 was coming so i sank myself into CSS and Javascript, before that, XML was on the horizon, so i spent time learning that and the various support libraries.) Now, i'm starting to see that what's really needed are folks that understand both web development and how people work with web based applications, so i'm trying to learn what i can about that. The web is starting to really open up. More folks have more access to more stuff than ever before, and now they're starting to do stuff with it. The problem is that often it's not always as clear and useful to everyone else as it may be to them.
Granted, i have little idea where to begin with that sort of thing, but i'm hard pressed to see where that wouldn't be highly valuable. Plus i'm guessing if i'm able to put together something that has a logical flow and not use Photoshop to do it, i'm even more ahead of the game.
So, what's holding me back? Well, aside from the usual levels of personal inertia, not much. i'm with a good, supportive company that's eager for me to develop those skills (they need them as much as anyone else does). i've got access to plenty of training at various levels and methods, should i want it.
So i answered honestly, "Nothing." About the only thing that would hold me back is myself. (Granted, that's almost always the case anyway.)
Still, it's a good question to ask yourself. "Is there anything that's holding you back from doing what you need to do?"
"The ability to affect change within the organization."
(AKA: "Kneel before Zod!")
Seriously, though, I was talking about this with one of the other Fraggles yesterday. We know what needs to be done, what's not clear is how change can be sold, implemented, and accepted by the organization. Frustrating place to be in, where you know exactly where you want to go, but aren't able to figure out how to take the first step.
Well, one thing I've discovered is that there's always the "Just do it" option (granted, if it's a massive change, that's a bit harder to effect). Management almost never argues with demonstratable benefit.
If you need to sell it higher, wrap it up in a competative cloak (e.g. Google and Yahoo are highly successful companies that do X. While we can't do 100% the same thing, can we try doing % of X and see what happens?). You can then usually shanghai that to do what you really need.
(That's how we got the Open Hack Day sold to management)
"More folks have more access to more stuff than ever before, and now they’re starting to do stuff with it."
Never has a truer statement been made.