Teaching the Smart vs. the Stupid LO13445

Debbie Broome (debbieb@linux.plano.gov)
Fri, 02 May 1997 15:06:33 -0500

Replying to LO13384 --

Ben Compton writes:

>>From my conversations with these eight people it seems that they're just
>working 8 - 5 so they can get drunk on the weekend, or spend their weekend
>golfing. They're not interested in building a meaningful career, they
>don't care whether they develop new skills. It leaves me bewildered. I
>don't care if they learn what I want them to learn; all I care about is
>that they learn to do their job better.

Why does Novell (and you) put up with this kind of approach to work? It
seems to me that the competitive edge you need (particularly with
Microsoft NT looming on the horizon?) You didn't give us a lot of
information, but my first reaction is there needs to be some clear
expectations and some accountability for work that includes learning. It
sounds like maybe these people don't belong in the work they are now
doing, or aren't sure what it's expected so they do what's comfortable.
There still is something to be said for holding people accountable,
especially in a competitive environment. (By the way, we just made the
decision to purchase Novell Groupwise, but there was a lot of discussion
as to whether Novell would hold market share and be around in the future).

>Hence my question. . .

Maybe your trying to do too much for them. They need to be responsible
for themselves.

Debbie Broome			e-mail:  debbieb@linux.plano.gov
Assistant City Manager		phone:  972-461-7465
City of Plano Texas		fax:  972-423-9587
P.O. Box 860358
Plano, TX  75086-0358
