The Dangers of Micro-managing

What’s one sure way to get the least out of your team? Micro-manage them. I’ve seen this again and again – Micro-managing, or supplying every little detail and expecting every little comment you make to be executed literally will quickly shut down their brains.

I saw this with one of our consultants. He was working on a project where the manager had very specific, non-explicit requirements for how the solution was implemented. After two or three of his suggestions were shot down, he stopped making them. The funny thing is that his suggestions would have made the product more robust and maintainable. Even more interesting than that, this senior developer started asking me how to implement specific lines of code. I have not coded in 10 years, but I understood why he was asking and what he needed. He wanted to give the customer what they wanted, and knew they had very specific ways they wanted it coded.

Thinking about my own management style, I think I may err too far in the other direction. I’ve been told, more than once, that I have made my directs uncomfortable because I don’t tell them exactly what to do. I do try to make sure they know I have confidence in them, and that I’m there if they have questions, but sometimes it still seems like they’d like very specific direction. My question is: Is this just because they have become used to being micro-managed, or is there a middle ground that I’m missing?

Virtual Development Teams

Sometimes when I read about trends, I wonder if they are “real.” How many people are actually doing it and is it working for them? I am getting to see one trend in action more and more often lately – virtual development teams.

I’m working with a few companies that are completely virtual – no one works in the same physical location. Right now, I’m even looking for a developer to work with one of these teams. One of the many benefits of this arrangement is that we can look anywhere, and I do mean anywhere.

I’ve managed individuals that worked in remote locations, and teams that were in multiple locations, but never a team where no one was co-located. The most interesting thing about this engagement is that the client is ok with not meeting the developer. I’m not sure I would have been but in this case I can see why. They are looking for someone with Open Source experience. They’ll be able to see real code this person has produced, and see how this person interacts with another virtual team. This is so much more revealing than the typical (or even a good) interviewing process.

The broader implications of this are fascinating. Are we really moving towards a true talent market where we can work with the best of the best, from anywhere in the world?

Is your technique working?

I've been working on improving my sales skills, and one thing I've been reading a lot about is “Question Based Selling.” It says, engage your prospect in conversation, earn their trust, and learn about their issues before proposing anything. Makes sense.

So I was at a trade show yesterday, wandering the floor and wandered into a booth and asked the man there to tell me what his company did. He gave me something very vague then asked me a series of questions about my company and past experiences.

I answered quite a few of them before I realized that he either did not understand me or was not listening to me because the follow-on questions did not make sense. I finally asked him again if he could tell me what his company did. He replied again that the did many things, and at this point asked me if it made sense for us to meet and continue talking.

By this time, I was a little annoyed that he would not answer my questions and my first reaction was “no it does not make sense for us to meet.” It was not until later that I realized that he was probably new and probably asking the questions that he had memorized, but the key was, that his technique was not working. I think that’s an important observation whether you’re selling, managing people, or developing software. Know what’s working and what’s not. In order to do this you need to pay attention to the results you’re getting. Even the best technique does not always work and we all need to be flexible. Have plenty of tools in your toolbox, and use them wisely.

Part 2 -- What can you do when a project goes terribly wrong?

In my previous blog I recommended steps to follow and pitfalls to avoid once a project is in trouble. Now that we have a strategy for change and have management buy-in, it is time to take action.

It is best to start by assembling the entire project team and communicating the change strategy. In order to turn-around a failing project effectively you need buy-in from all the team members --- even those not directly involved in implementing the change.

The project plan and schedule needs to be revised and shared with all team members. This is a good time to ask a few questions. Do we have enough or the right resources to move forward? Do we have the right tools? One common outcome I have noticed with projects that get into trouble, is that the original project team did not have the appropriate level of expertise in a new technology. To turn the project around you may need to add a temporary resource with special skills. Find this resource(s) - fast! Get the right tools. Then update the schedule.

Once the Team is assembled, start at the beginning. Review Requirements, Architecture, Design and Test Procedures, in that order. Make necessary modifications before starting development.

As you can see there is a lot of legwork before you can effectively change the course of a project, but you must do it for the project to be successful.

Fear and Loathing in IT

I read an interesting article today on Web 2.0 in the enterprise. I think the author was dead on with this one. Many of the senior IT executives I’ve known fear Web 2.0 technologies. They say it’s all about security, but I think she got the real reason right – it’s about information sharing.

I worked in one organization where there was so much “confidential” information shared at the senior staff meetings that you couldn’t share anything discussed there with your team, for fear of disclosing something you shouldn’t. In fact, most of this information did not need to be confidential, and much of it was already in the rumor mill.

Unfortunately, the problem is not a technology issue – it’s cultural. Hopefully, the author is correct in her assessment that this will start to shift as the generation of workers familiar with IM, Wikis and MySpace enters the workforce. If you ask me, the sooner the better.

As organizations learn to share information freely, they empower their most valuable resource – their people.

Give the people what they want!

Have you ever been part of a project team where you hit your schedule, worked within your budget, delivered a robust working product that the client did not want or use? Frustrating, isn’t it? I asked this question recently in a large group of experienced engineers and was amazed by the response. Apparently, a lot of us have had this experience.

We often define project success as on time and within budget. That misses a big factor. We may be building products right, but are we building the right products? Frankly, the latter is much more important.

That’s why User requirements are critical. Whether you’re using an Agile process or an iterative one (does anyone really do waterfall development anymore?) knowing what the "market" wants and needs is critical to success. After all, quality is in the eye of the beholder.

Planning and Flexibility

Some people think planning and flexibility are two sides of a coin. I disagree. I think in many respects planning can enhance our flexibility. I’ve always experienced this in Software Development. If you have a plan, you can easily understand the implications of changing it, making it more likely that you’ll make smart decisions when it comes time to be flexible.

I recently experienced it in my personal life. We go to the Indy 500 every year with a large group of friends. We have been doing this for 14 years, so we have the routine down. This year we had quite a few curve balls thrown at us, and because we had done this so many times before, and planned well, there were no issues. This year we were unable to tailgate in our usual spot, it rained (which is actually not that unusual) and there was a three-hour delay in the middle of the race. We had no problem adjusting our day. I realize this is not as big of a deal as a large multi-million dollar project, but the same principals apply. Because we had a plan to start with, it was easy to adjust. We never had to start from scratch.

In my mind, planning and flexibility are completely complementary.

Connecticut Software Process Improvement Network (CT-SPIN)

I have been so impressed by the credentials of the speakers at the Boston SPIN that I wanted to see if there were any similar organizations in Connecticut. I did find one, but it was not active. I was interested in joining a group of like-minded professionals, so I contacted the coordinator, and after many email exchanges and planning lunches, we have finally launched the CT-SPIN!

We had our inaugural meeting last week, and already have a venue and speakers lined up for two fall meetings in September and November. The speakers sound great, but I personally am even more interested in meeting others that do what I do, learning from them, and potentially teaming up on future projects.

If you are in the area, and interested in Software Process Improvement, join us at one of the upcoming meetings.

The “evils” of Multi-tasking

The overhead associated with task switching has been well documented. It takes a minimum 15-20 minutes to get back into the flow of whatever you were doing before the phone rang or you checked your email, or answered that IM.

So why do we do it? I find myself so easily distracted and at the same time, easily annoyed by the distractions (most of them anyway). I’ve been aware of this problem for quite a while and even publicly acknowledged it here some months back.

I think my years in corporate America ruined me. I have to admit I've spent many, many meetings answering emails on my Treo under the table, doing work on the computer while on conference calls, and conducting multiple simultaneous conversations.

Some of my work now requires more concentration for longer periods of time, and I struggle with this. I’ve added some new techniques to my repertoire. I’ve turned off all of my email notifications – even the little envelope in the systray. I’ve also gotten better at letting my phones go to voice mail. The biggest thing I’ve done is to mentally time limit myself. I tell myself that I am going to spend 20 minutes dedicated to a specific task (like writing this blog). I can do almost anything for 20 minutes, and then see what kinds of interesting emails and voice mails I might have gotten once I'm done.

Breaking up is hard to do

Have you ever “broken up” with a customer? Early in my career, I would have thought that was a stupid thing to do. I mean, you need all the customers you can get – right? Wrong! You need the right customers - customers that you can help, and help profitably.

We had a customer recently that, for a bunch of reasons, we were not able to help. We tried, and tried, and apparently were more responsive than any of their other vendors, because when we finally told them that we didn’t think we could help them, they did not want to accept that. It took about five or six emails and phone calls to “end” it. I still think it was a good move. We both could have kept trying to make it work, but we had other opportunities to focus on, and in the long run, they were not going to be happy with the results (or lack of results). I am actually quite proud of our team for recognizing the situation and making the hard decision.

Don’t believe everything you read

Do you believe everything you read? No, of course not. There’s so much “information” out there from both reliable and dubious sources. I can’t believe that anyone would believe everything they read on the internet, but I do know people that give credence to everything they read in business books.

This is so dangerous. First of all, just because someone has published one (or many) business books does not mean they know it all. Second, and perhaps, more importantly, we need to think about how these concepts might or might not apply to our particular situation or company. Maybe we’re just moving so fast that we’re skipping the all important critical thinking phase, but I think that’s a path to an ugly train wreck.

Presenting yourself

We’ve been considering what kinds of Professional Development opportunities to offer for our employees and one thing that came up was presentation skills. Initially my reaction was, “Most of our team would not use this,” but after further thought, I realized that everyone uses this skill.

It may not be in a formal presentation with a power point, podium, and audience, but the ability to speak clearly and concisely with poise can benefit anyone, no matter what their job or role. Our consultants are in our client companies ever day representing us, and we want them to have all the skills they can do represent us well.

I was recently discussing MBA programs with a friend, and thinking back on mine, I realized that the single most valuable element of my excellent program was the fact that we presented at least once in every single course.

I had the opportunity to present recently at the Trenton Computer Festival, and while there were certainly things I would improve, it was reasonably good. I attribute this in great part to all the practice I got in my MBA classes. Without that, I think I would have been nervous and not nearly as effective. So, bottom line is I think we will put Presentation skills on our Professional Development docket.

Taking your team down with you

Have you ever worked with a perpetually negative person? What about one of those annoying, perpetually happy positive people? Ever wondered how they affect others?

I don’t anymore. I had a fascinating experience, and fortunately, it was very early in my management career.

I was leading a team developing the next big product for my company - new technologies, new market, and an impossible deadline. Never mind how we got there, that’s a story for another day. Anyway, we were all working crazy hours and quickly realizing we would never even come close to our deadline. I was getting a TON of pressure from above to work harder, work faster, just get it done! This was taking it’s toll on me and it must have showed because one late night, one of the guys on my team convinced me to go out and have a few drinks. He would not take no for an answer. He said we both needed it. Well, we had more than a few drinks and talked and talked about the project.

Except for the deadline, it was a dream project - strategic for the company, latest and greatest technologies, and an international market. What more could you ask for? He was thrilled to have the opportunity to really blaze trails, both from a technological and from a market perspective. Our other big topic of conversation was how much fun it used to be to work at this company. I don’t know who actually came up with the idea, but we decided we were just going to start having fun at work again. Just enjoy it!

So we did. The next morning, we both showed up at work excited and happy, probably a little hung over, but mostly our old selves. What happened next was amazing! I’m sure some of my team thought we were nuts, but by lunchtime the vibe in our workspace had changed considerably. Some of the team had started smiling and joking again. They were a little more chipper, even though nothing had changed, nothing, that is, except our attitudes. By the end of the day – one day – the new attitude had spread to the entire team. One day!

I had not realized before this how profoundly a leader’s attitude affects her team, both positively and negatively. Profoundly! I was amazed. Still am and this story is years old.

Software Development Fashionistas

It seems like there are new programming languages being created almost daily. So much so, that languages like Ruby and Python are seeming passé these days. Have you heard of Groovy, Boo, Comega, or D? Well, neither had I.

So how do we know which ones will catch on? Does it matter? Maybe I’m too conservative, but as a software development manager expected to deliver products you’d have to give me a bunch of really, really, really compelling business reasons to get out on that bleeding edge.

Without the wealth of talent, knowledge and support that abound for the “standard languages” you’re really blazing new trails, which inherently adds risk, and because the languages are so new, it’s going to be hard to find experts to help you mitigate that risk.

So does it pay to be a software development fashionista? I say no – not if your business is depending on the product you are delivering.  What do you think?

What are we doing right?

I recently came across this interesting post on one of my new favorite sites. The author outlines a game where a group brainstorms things they are doing right.

This is something I’ve done in project retrospectives, and is a great technique. It add some “positive-ness” to the discussion, and it’s really important from a practical change-management point of view. If there are thing you are doing right keep doing them, or better yet, do them more!

It seems simple, but too often processes are changed without this important step and while some things are fixed, others are broken and a great opportunity to leverage the organization’s strengths is missed.

Hiring “Kids”

It’s that time of year – the end of the school year. I’ve always liked to hire interns and new grads. And now, they have real marketable technical skills. The best of them have done multiple projects for others as well as themselves, and know a half a dozen different languages.

Finding the next shining star has always been particularly fun for me, but even more importantly, it’s proven to be very successful for the teams. The brightest entry-level hires I’ve known have moved very quickly out of the “entry-level” category to take on medium to larger sized projects with minimal supervision. The key is active, but light management. Give them a thoughtful progression of tasks and just enough guidance to keep them moving forward in the right direction and watch them take off! It’s a ball to watch!

What can you do when the project goes terribly wrong?

The key is to recognize the warning signs to prevent a disaster. It is really not too hard to do but does require discipline. Maintaining an open communication pathway between consultant and client is the cornerstone of any successful strategy.

Let’s start with identification of the problem(s). Usually multiple problems becomes intertwined. Through the use of good debugging skills one can get at the underlying causes. A clear statement of the problem is necessary before a solution can be undertaken. This is a good time to alert the client. Even though a clear-cut solution is not ready, it is a good thing to let the client know early that there is a problem and your current understanding.

Tackle the cause of the problem. Most often the initial statement of the problem is merely a symptom. It is important to step back and seek underlying causes and question assumptions. I usually go back to the architecture and design documents to see why certain decisions were made that could influence the stated problem.  The most dangerous thing to do at this stage is rush to judgment. Immediate action does not necessarily mean effective change. It may look good to be taking action but until you are confident that you have identified the root of the problem you could be making the situation worse. Once again keep the client informed but do not yet suggest a solution.

Develop a strategy for change. There will probably be multiple potential solutions to consider. Take the time to consider the effect of the change within the context of the requirements, design and current project plan. The optimal solution will address all of the above with appropriate trade-offs and compromises. Now is the time to really involve the client. Explain the pros and cons of each solution and your reason for choosing a selected pathway. Buy-in here is important because it will usually require change to project schedule and / or budget.

Ok we are halfway there, next blog is what comes next (hint it is not coding!)

Can we do more for our customers?

Something I regularly wonder about is how can we help our customers even more? We often are called in to help with troubled projects or more often a portion of a troubled project. The help asked for is usually in the form of extra hands (i.e. we have too much work, can you do some of it for us). We can and do this, and do it well, but what about the reasons that the company is in this boat in the first place?

Some of the systemic issues make it nearly impossible to deliver what our customers want and need. A lack of requirements, difficulty getting questions answered, dependencies on other departments – all out of our control and all contributing to an unsuccessful outcome.

The one thing I’ve seen help relieve (but not eliminate) this is that as our clients get to know and trust our consultants, our consultants are given more responsibility and latitude to make decisions and get things done.

It’s frustrating to watch these projects and know that with better requirements, or stronger project management, or a clearer view of the market the project and therefore the client company would be much more successful.

Can "thinking" get in the way of "doing"

I think we all know people that just "do”; just act without really thinking about what they are doing (or at least that's how it appears). I also know a few people that think, and plan, but never seem to get off the dime. I think most of us are pretty well balanced - we think, plan, (sometimes better than others), and then we take action (again, sometimes more effectively than others).

For me it's usually a pretty linear process. I think about what I'm going to do, and then I do it. If I get stuck, I may take a step back, and if things go exceptionally well or badly, I will usually take some time to reflect.

I had an experience recently where I could not get past the thinking stage. I was writing something, and struggled mightily. I knew generally what I wanted to say, but couldn't get it out of my brain. I just kept thinking about what I was saying, was there a better way to present the information, and was the information clear and compelling.

Like I said, it was a struggle. It took me an inordinately long time to turn out a small amount of mediocre material. Finally, I just gave it up and went for a walk. I still need to get back to it, and will be looking for a way to get into that place where the words just flow. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

The value of Experts

We all have special talents and areas of expertise. Solving problems in those areas is easy and quick for us. I know some amazing software architects that can quickly and easily come up with an elegant, robust design – it’s just what they do.

I just spent way too many hours researching a particular legal question. While I am a very capable researcher, I am certainly not a lawyer. Finally, with my eyes bleary and my head spinning with too much information, I gave in – I called our law firm. I have to say, I love our lawyer (bet you don’t hear that often). She understands my business, she’s pragmatic, and she explains things very clearly and concisely. I explained my issue to her, and she said she’d get back to me today. Within an hour she was back. She had done the research that I’d been trying to do all day and had an answer for me.

So why didn't I call on this valued expert immediately? Good question. Part of it was cost, part of it was my own sense of self-reliance, and part of it was underestimating the task, but boy am I glad I did. Not only did she give me an answer I can rely on, she did it faster and frankly more cost effectively than I could.

So have I learned my lesson? I hope so. Why spin my wheels when I have great experts available to help me. I just spent many, many hours of my valuable time to save a few hundred bucks, and it wasn't worth it!

Mandatory Tools for Telecommuting

Winter is still with us and as I work from home I keep wondering do I have everything I need. Well probably not. What do I need? I have my trusty Powerbook, my Treo, and internet connectivity. Is that enough?

The most important secondary tools are the various power supply adapters. Without those you will have a very short workday. Unfortunately no notebook I am aware of has a battery capable of supplying an 8-hour charge. I have found that by turning off BlueTooth and WIFI (except when needed) does help. But you will still need that power adapter for a full days work. Most modern notebooks that are 3 years old or less have built in WIFI and LAN support. The days of carrying a bunch of PCMCIA cards are behind us.  I do recommend a Flash memory drive for backup. The easiest way to back up files today is to a FLASH drive.

The remaining key item is a secure software infrastructure. On my notebook I have a VPN client. This is a crucial part of the telecommuting working experience. With a VPN server setup in the office I am able to SECURELY access the files that I forgot to transfer to my flash drive the night before. You want to work on your local hard drive but sometimes you just need that  remote access because there is always one more file to read.

Excuses, Excuses

So many software companies don’t invest any time in their development processes and they all have excuses – “We don’t need that, we all know what each other is doing” “We don’t have time for that” “It’s just going to slow us down” “We’re too busy putting out fires”, and on and on.

I think that’s just crazy. It’s like saying I’m too tired or stressed to exercise, when we know that exercise will give us more energy and relieve our stress.

Like exercise, the investment in improving development process pays off in the long-term health of your organization. Also like exercise, it doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t) hurt.

A well-designed, appropriate development process makes communication easier, makes development faster, and eliminates much of the fire fighting that goes on in many organizations. I’ve known executives that know this and still don’t do anything. This is a shame. I know that these organizations are less effective because of it, which reflects on the leader, but the people in the organization really feeling the pain are the developers.

A good development process will allow the development team to work in an environment where they can feel that they are really making progress, and delivering great products. It will also give them back some of that elusive work-life balance we’re all striving for by delivering products faster and eliminating many of those fires that have kept us all working late into the night on many occasions.

If you won’t do this for yourself, do it for your team. Give them back their quality of life.

Working in "the zone"

I remember being in “the zone” when I was a programmer. Coding for 8, 10, 12 hours at a stretch, not realizing it was time for lunch, or time to go home. I don’t get into that situation very often anymore. My day is often very fragmented – emails, calls, meetings, etc.

I just spent most of today writing. I was writing on a topic I was interested in, so I enjoyed it, but I find that I just can’t sit still for that long anymore. Of course, I’m not the 25 year-old I was then (even thought in my head I still think I am), but I think it’s more than just physical.

I think my constant multi-tasking has eroded my ability to focus. Lately I have been working on that – consciously bringing my attention back to the task at hand. I find that focus and that ability to be “present” allows me to enjoy what I’m doing more. I also get much more done without the distractions, but it was hard at first. I had gotten so used to being “connected” constantly. I wonder if our instant access culture has affected others the same way. Can developers (or any other knowledge worker) get into the zone and stay there in this age of email, voice mail, IM, etc?

Don’t abandon the PALM OS!

As an avowed Palm PDA addict since the early generation Palm Pilots to the modern Treo I am very concerned about the future of the Palm OS. The path to Window’s based Treo’s will eliminate a worthy competitor. The Palm OS has always been easy to use, easy to learn alternative to the Microsoft Window’s Mobile OS.

The main argument I hear for the change to the mobile Windows OS platform is to integrate better with Exchange Server for enterprise users. But the Palm OS based products have integrated with Windows and Palm platforms for many years. The Palm OS current version integrates seamlessly with Window’s Exchange server for email, calendar and of course can read/write Microsoft Office documents with third party software. How much more integration do we need or want? I certainly don’t want or need easy access to viruses, worms and spyware!

I regularly use use my Palm/OS Treo 650 to connect to the company Exchange Server for email and calendar; synchronize with my MAC OS/X Powerbook for contacts and Microsoft Word/Excel documents. Through a wealth of third party software applications virtually any conceivable task is readily available.

On behalf of Palm OS users everywhere please don’t give up the fight.

An Eye on the Future

I've been really fortunate lately. I've been meeting with quite a few companies that are interested in improving their process or platforms before things flame. When I first started doing this type of consulting, I met with a few companies that thought they knew everything they needed to know about process. One of them stands out in particular. The VP emphatically insisted their process was great, even as his product fundamentally did not work, his customers were screaming, and his development team could not solve the problems. In this kind of situation, it’s almost impossible to focus on the root cause. Everyone is putting in 120% into putting out fires.

Maybe it’s the economy (I’m meeting many companies that are healthy and growing), or maybe our industry is finally maturing (even the small shops). It’s so much easier to be successful building infrastructure, process, or capability before you need it, and it’s so refreshing to work with clients that are interested in doing so. They’re much more likely to be successful and certainly more fun to work with!

Where does all the time go?

Are you doing what you need to be doing to be successful?  Is your organization?  I think those are important questions to ask.

Too often, we just go along, doing what we usually do.  Whether in life or business, a little self-examination is a good thing.  It's a great thing when it's combined with real changes.

I'm sure there are things that each of us would like to improve in our own organizations.  We know what these things are too.  Maybe they have to do with our efficiency, innovation, or internal processes.  In many cases, we have a pretty good idea of what needs to change.  So what's the problem?  We get so caught up in the day-to-day that we never seem to find time to make the broader changes that would make things easier, better, or more successful in the long run.  This is nothing new.  We all know we need to do this, but don't do enough of it.

Here's what I've decided to do.  I'm going to take one (just one) area and address it.  In my case, it's meeting efficiency.  For every meeting we call, I'm going to make sure we understand the objective and spend a few minutes thinking through how best to achieve that objective, or if we need to be meeting at all.  This one "tweak" could pay big dividends.  Stay tuned to see how it goes.

Why the world is not flat

We have been working with some of our clients primarily via email, phone, and IM. It’s certainly possible to have a business relationship this way, but recently we had the opportunity to meet a long time client face to face for the first time, and boy – what a great experience.

We spent an amazing 2+ hours talking about not much – industry, general business, a bit about current and future projects together, but really just a nice, general conversation. I’m sure the business relationship will be even stronger now that we have actually “met”.

Many of our clients have the option of working with firms that do their development remotely. One thing we hear repeatedly is how much they like the fact that we are local. Certainly most of our communication is electronic, but whenever possible we like to meet in person, preferably early in the relationship. One of our advisors is fond of saying “people do business with people.” In our business, this is absolutely true, and once you have the opportunity to shake someone’s hand and look them in the eye, the relationship changes.

"Speed Dating" for professionals

Last night I attended the most interesting networking event I've been to in quite a while – it was called “Power Match” but to me it was speed dating for executives. Now to be fair, I’ve never been speed dating, but I do have single friends that have, and this sounds very similar. You spend ten minutes with one or two other people, and then a bell rings and you switch. What a great way to meet a lot of people, if only for a few minutes.

I do a lot of networking, and most of it follows the same format – a bit of unstructured time followed by a meal and a speaker. I enjoy it, but being slightly introverted by nature I wind up talking to just a few people at each event - sometimes people I feel comfortable with, or sometimes people I get “trapped” with. In any case, I know I don’t always make the most of these situations.

Well, this format was great for that. I had the opportunity to meet almost everyone in the room, and there were some fascinating people there. The best part is that now I can follow up with those that are the most interesting contacts. For anyone that is new to networking, slightly shy, or just wants to try something different, I would highly recommend something like this.

Can a vacation really be a vacation

Remember when we used to go on vacation and not actually work?  Maybe you don't, but I do, back before the days of the Blackberry and even email (I know - I'm dating myself).

I've just returned from an eight day vacation, where I checked in via phone a few times, but did nothing more.  Did not check email, did not work, did not even read business books or magazines, which I do constantly.  I returned to 300+ emails, which frankly was less than I expected.  It took me all day Sunday to get through them, but for me it was worth it just to turn off work for a week and play.

My partner is now on vacation, and he has a different approach.  He's been on IM with me on and off all day.  He's also responded to almost all of my emails - even the ones that did not require an immediate response. The benefit to this approach is that he will not have the catch up that I had when I get back.

Now, I get that there are emergencies, and that client issues and opportunities need to be addressed, but for me personally, if I can spend the extra time up front to handle things proactively, arrange for coverage, and be somewhat available for the few things that can't be addressed by others, that's preferable.

I love my job, and I'm passionate about my business, but I also love my hobbies and my time with my friends and family.  I've tried it both ways - working every spare minute on vacation (my husband hated it!), and this last time not, and found this last vacation to be one of the most fun and relaxing I can remember in ages.  For me this worked, but I respect my partner's decision to do it another way.  At least he won't have hundreds and hundreds of emails to read on Sunday!

Results vs. Face Time

Every time we hire a new team member my partners and I have a conversation about whether or not, and how often, they should be in the office.  I'm of the opinion that as long as they get the desired results it doesn't matter. One of my partners feels strongly that they will not become a "real" member of the team if they are not in the office.  I understand this point of view, certainly it is harder to form a relationship with someone you don't see on a regular basis, but I don't think it's impossible.

We currently have a team member that works offsite more than 90% of the time.   This individual is a great communicator and has a TON of personality.  He calls and IMs all of us regularly (multiple times a day).  Even though I can count the number of times he's been in the office, I feel like we're all forming a good, strong relationship with him.  Sometimes I wish he was here more often, (he's an absolute riot) but I know he's more productive at home, and truthfully we're probably all more productive when he's not here.

Who knows what it would be like if he was here on a regular basis, but I really believe that with modern communication tools (VPN, IM, etc.) we can have the best of both worlds.