I Must Be Crazy

It's actually 4:14AM on a Monday, and I've been doing a lot of thinking about work.

So I've spoken with a couple of senior managers and it seems like they're willing to help me get into SuiteCloud. I'm looking forward to it. The SuiteAnalytics SME team met, after I provided my inputs, and people have been more active in the channel now. I'm excited about the Knowledge Management task force I'm setting up. I just need to train them on December 1, and do one-on-one discussions with each to ensure everything is in place. Progress!

While a few things are moving along nicely, there are a few things that I am quite worried about. Becoming a linchpin actually opens your eyes to the reality that there are really those who choose to be cogs, and don't want anything more. You get to identify who those people are, and become more concerned about the other potential linchpins out there, who are getting affected by the lousy work the cogs bring to the table. Being a linchpin probably means that their baggage becomes your baggage; and there's a calling to impart your genius to get others unstuck.

After hearing about a situation going on with the other teams, my career being stifled, suddenly became so trivial. The situation was that majority of the folks in a particular product area, actually cheat the task assignment system, in order to avoid work. And the ones that suffer are the ones that put in a lot of genuine effort. They do more, because they take the tasks that would have supposedly gone to the cheaters, and they are paid less. This is discouraging the people that do care.

While management has implemented some changes to work on this hurdle (I helped too - I made the formulas for one of the saved searches), the underlying cause - the cog mindset - is still what the majority (66%) want. New systems can only do so much, and if the mindset stays the same, the same people will only look for a way to get around the new system, and to make it work in their favor. The mindset of the majority is what needs fixing. Fix the mindset, and the rest will follow. Linchpin has really changed my mindset and I hope others become willing to read the book as well. But people won't likely read it. 

I already have some inputs on what changes to the assignment system can be done, but I'm actually in no place to tell management my ideas, especially since I'm not involved. I'll try to get myself involved in the coming days - I'll probably do some of the tasks the minority actually do, then my inputs can be validated. Meanwhile, a friend from management can open up the concerns to senior management (it's good to have some leverage).

But again, my ideas are just systems that can be exploited. How do we fix the mindset? This makes me realize how important the role of a headhunter is in building company culture. Hire for attitude, rather than skill, as they say. That cannot be more true.

Netflix has this really awesome system where managers have to discuss an idea from a regular employee and see how they can support good ideas. They have to set up discussions with the average workers, because they are not offering enough suggestions to improve the organization. Oracle currently doesn't have a system like that in place, but I can imagine how something like that can encourage cogs to become geniuses in their own right.

I must be crazy for worrying about something that doesn't really involve me. It might be that my purpose has started to include making colleagues happy with gifts I give, that can possibly enrich their work experience. So let's see what I can do about it in the coming weeks.