Whats wrong with the managers of the world? In my career I have experienced several cases where the demand for status update trumps the need for problem resolution. Here is a crazy anecdote from past when I was really young ….

This executive wanted an update every 5 minutes (no negotiations). If you are in IT, you know problem resolution involves looking millions of lines of code.  So here is the status update

10:00am : We are on line 50 of server log, no idea about the problem yet ….. this is the line

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  (line hidden for security purposes)

10:05am : We are on line 950 of server log, no idea about the problem yet ….. this is the line

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (line hidden for security purposes)

10:10am : We are on line 10050 of server log, no idea about the problem yet ….. this is the line

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (line hidden for security purposes)

10:15am : We found the problem on line 10901….. this is the line

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (line hidden for security purposes)

10:20am : Oops false alarm, we are on line 10910 … this is the line

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (line hidden for security purposes)

At this point I got a call ” Ok Ok .. send me status updates after every 10 minutes not 5″. Genius!

Micro Managers don’t realize how counter-productive they make the team.

“Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.” – Ayn Rand

Something I have been meaning to put on paper ever since our Negotiations class. Finally got time to do it. Hope you all like it.

I feel this is a great time for entrepreneurs. If you fail you can always blame it on the economy and not on your bad decisions. So what are you waiting for ?? I also feel that conflict of interest contracts are in general so binding that even if you breathe it might result in conflict. But I also understand their need.

This is the last installment of my on-off series on economy. By now I am tired of “blaming it on economy” .   For those who want to catch the full story line, follow the links below.

1. Cost Cutting- Charge for Internet

2. Cost Cutting – Sell toilet paper

3. Truth Bites – Counter productive methods stay!

4. Unpaid Intern – Alternative to oursourcing ?

5. Entreprenueship – It starts with a small idea

6. Bottomline – If its hit, deal with it

What other topic would you like to see LifeStucks on ??

Have fun.

Disclaimer: This is in no offense to the great man. Its just that people keep throwing quotes around without understanding its meaning or purpose and I had to come up with this retort.

As My friend Ranjith and I often discuss – cryptic/philosophical status messages on the google talk / yahoo messenger are NOT cool … they are annoying.

As ranjith says:

“Some People Are Foolish but hide their foolishness ,Some People are foolish and Put there foolishness on Status Messages and Some people are both …and all of these people are in my freinds List” - I am on his friends list too

“You Know Your Status Message Is Stupid If :

1) If it is a plagiarised comment and u havent bothered to acknowledge

2) It is an Advertisment of some sort

3) If it is ununderstandable and well last but not least …

4) It is this long”

Free internships are rampant today ! So are they good alternatives to outsourcing? Hire 5-7 free interns for a small project make them work … and it costs ZERO. What better way to find an alternative to outsourcing?

Do you agree?

PS: Next comic on Mar 26th…. I promise! (please allow for time differences )

Truth Bites – but whom? and where?

This is part III of the Cost Cutting Strategies series, the rest of them are:

Part I: $10 for Internet

Part II: Toilet Paper

PS: Its been several weeks since I have been able to create a comics .. so I hope you enjoy this. I have drawn a few more, but the problem is my shoulder doesnt allow me to work on my laptop as much as I used to …. anyways here it is

This is part 2, of the cost-cutting series. Stay tuned for more ….

For Part I: Cost cutting – paid internet

Am I the only one who finds Verizon’s “its my network” “your are good!” ads creepy! Personally I wont go anywhere if I feel bunch of people following me everywhere ..especially the verizon guy …

This comic is based on a personal experience.

What if the MS signs up Joe the plumber to say “I am a PC” ? Or Mac does similar with opposite