Thursday, October 11, 2007
I got a $500 rebate check yesterday, under the STAR program (School Tax Relief Program, which includes a school property tax rebate program and a partial property tax exemption). The amount of the rebate depends on one's age and income level, and amount of taxes paid. They (Albany) determine your income from the income tax forms filed the previous April.
Now, I appreciate the rebate. But what bugs me is that it costs the state money to cut all these checks and mail them. I paid my school taxes several months ago, using money from a money market account, $500 of which I will now return to that account. So I'm out those months of earnings on that $500.
In these days of computers, would it really be so difficult to figure the rebate before I pay the school tax, and simply discount the tax bill by that much? Duh?
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This (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/science/09tier.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) is a New York Times article on "mistaken consensus".
I've seen mistaken consensus in action in The Company. It's when some person considered an expert comes up with a conclusion that a few others accept without question. Then, since there are now several "experts" espousing this conclusion, others accept it too. It cascades. Next thing you know, it's common wisdom. "Everyone knows" it's true.
Then, a few skeptics decide to actually test the truth, and are unable to support the conclusion. In fact, they may even prove it false. But since the conclusion is generally accepted (by experts who have never tested it, based solely on the acceptance of others who had never tested it, the cascade), these skeptics are shouted down, and even ostracised, to the point where dissension could become professional suicide - in a "reputational cascade".
The example used in the article is "Dietary fat is bad for you." 'Tain't true. The article traces the origin and mistaken cascade of the myth, and the difficulty combating it.
I witnessed several mistaken cascades within The Company. The source was almost always someone who stood to profit from the myth (not that they knowingly spread misinformation - they likely fully believed it - just that it wasn't true), and, on the basis of the myth, was promoted beyond harm by the time it was disproved. And, unfairness piled upon unfairness, the disprover was usually professionally injured by early dissension, and the final disproving of the myth never fully repaired that damage. ("Harumph! Not a team player! Rocks the boat! Yeah, ok, she was right, but still...")
Sigh. Yeah. The disprover was often me. It's a real credit to my talents that I actually did quite well on appraisals, raises, promotions. When I wasn't in the doghouse, that is. Which would last until I managed to kickstart a competing consensus cascade of my own.
There's a lesson there.
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Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
1301 What Managers Like to Hear
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Talking with a friend today, about managers in general. I mentioned that with one exception (and he didn't last long), I got along well with my managers. Managers and I "had an understanding".
At some point early in our relationship, in the initial interview, a new manager would ask me what I saw as my job, how would I define my responsibilities (yeah, they all asked. They all went to the same management training course.)
Other people said stuff like designing this, coding that, whatever. My answer was always, "My primary responsibility is to keep you out of trouble." And that really IS what I saw as my job, and what I mainly did.
They would also ask what I expected from them, what I saw as their job.
Other people said stuff like assign projects, help me further my career, and so on. My answer was always, "Trust me, run interference for me, and otherwise keep out of my way."
A third standard question was what are my career aspirations, where did I want to be in ten years.
Other people said stuff like that they wanted the manager's job, or they wanted to make senior, and so on. My answer was "I think that setting a specific goal, and doing things to achieve that goal, is limiting myself. I prefer to learn all I can about everything around me, and then take utmost advantage of opportunities as they appear. Or as I create them. I do intend to stay technical. No management aspirations, so that makes it easier. But I don't see that as limiting."
Mgr: "But you have to have some way to measure yourself."
Me: "Well, I sort of do. When I say something in a meeting, I want everyone to shut up, listen carefully, and think about what I said."
Mgr: "Technical respect. You have that now."
Me: "That's how I know it's time to expand into something I don't know anything about. Got any opportunities?"
Most of my managers grew to depend on me. The more imagination they had, the better the working relationship. I didn't start getting strange reactions until the last few years, when I ran into Corporate honchos.
No imagination there. They were stiff, rule-bound, and running scared. That's when retirement started looking good.
I guess my goal all along was to retire young and comfortably.
P.S. I retired, comfortably, at 49.
.
Talking with a friend today, about managers in general. I mentioned that with one exception (and he didn't last long), I got along well with my managers. Managers and I "had an understanding".
At some point early in our relationship, in the initial interview, a new manager would ask me what I saw as my job, how would I define my responsibilities (yeah, they all asked. They all went to the same management training course.)
Other people said stuff like designing this, coding that, whatever. My answer was always, "My primary responsibility is to keep you out of trouble." And that really IS what I saw as my job, and what I mainly did.
They would also ask what I expected from them, what I saw as their job.
Other people said stuff like assign projects, help me further my career, and so on. My answer was always, "Trust me, run interference for me, and otherwise keep out of my way."
A third standard question was what are my career aspirations, where did I want to be in ten years.
Other people said stuff like that they wanted the manager's job, or they wanted to make senior, and so on. My answer was "I think that setting a specific goal, and doing things to achieve that goal, is limiting myself. I prefer to learn all I can about everything around me, and then take utmost advantage of opportunities as they appear. Or as I create them. I do intend to stay technical. No management aspirations, so that makes it easier. But I don't see that as limiting."
Mgr: "But you have to have some way to measure yourself."
Me: "Well, I sort of do. When I say something in a meeting, I want everyone to shut up, listen carefully, and think about what I said."
Mgr: "Technical respect. You have that now."
Me: "That's how I know it's time to expand into something I don't know anything about. Got any opportunities?"
Most of my managers grew to depend on me. The more imagination they had, the better the working relationship. I didn't start getting strange reactions until the last few years, when I ran into Corporate honchos.
No imagination there. They were stiff, rule-bound, and running scared. That's when retirement started looking good.
I guess my goal all along was to retire young and comfortably.
P.S. I retired, comfortably, at 49.
.
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