Performance Appraisals

Tough call ... my mom trained me to be right handed. I'm nearly ambi. Twice (at 9 and 12) I dislocated my right arm and wore a cast for 3 months, learning to write left handed, and function left handed. Today, I tend to still favor right hand for writing and some tasks.

My mom and son are both left handed.

In 7th grade my son finally had a teacher that had a clue what my son was struggling with. Her daughter about the same age was also dyslexic, so she did her masters thesis on it. I was amazed at the long list of related "dysfunctional traits" that dyslexics share ... better than half I relate to. In that list are ADD and ADHD, which I share with both my mom and son, but didn't learn that much about until I needed to learn more about my son's "disabilities" (or gifts), which are worse than mine.

I tend to self medicate with caffine when I need focus around distractions. But, I've never been able to function well in distractive environments, which included school and most cubical office environments, as I can not tune out the clatter of other people unless I'm "hyperfocused", at which point everything disappears in my world except the project I'm focused on (including phones, people trying to talk to me, etc). I've compensated over the years by working off-shift, frequently late afternoon into late evening, or from midnite to noon, so I have enough time with a less disruptive environment.

In hyperfocus mode, I used to work 72 hours straight without caffine, then crash for a 12-18 hour sleep as soon as the task was completed. Some times 72 on, 18 off, for monthss at a time. I've never been "solar", even today. At 55, three day days wear me down, but I still knock off 48hr days a few times a year with little trouble. You learn not to do new design on the 2nd or 3rd day, as that skill does get impaired, but I can still debug and correct problems on the 2nd/3rd day with little impairment. There are advantages to easily knocking off

I'm also analytically functional when asleep, frequently answering the phone and talking coworkers thru a several hour disaster recovery without waking up, and being unaware of it the next day. I've also driven asleep, and was pulled over once in california at 5am asleep. It took the officer over 10 minutes to get me to pull over, and several minutes more to get me to roll down the window, and answer his questions. At one point, he screamed at me "tired hell", and I woke up, to full alert in seconds. It took him a while to realize I was asleep and not DUI. This used to drive my college girl friend nuts, as she would "wake me" to go on a date, I would get dressed, talk with her, and never wake up.

Certainly, from this prospective, we are certainly not all created equal. And our weaknesses are just as likely to be our assets.

Anyway ... I hope the side discussion on dyslexia and related "gifts" will put a slightly different perspective on this point. I don't think it's correct or fair to assume the same will happen in a design, and you may well have just dismissed the best canidate.

As a hiring manager, I've frequently rescued company "stars" from the discarded screened pile of other managers by looking past the resume, and focusing on the person behind it by using a much less restrictive "box" that people had to fit. I tend to inteview for work ethic, values, demonstrated ability to function well with project failures, diverse experiences, and a number of other factors which determine the person can easily learn the job at hand, or any other job I give them.

I tend to write reviews the same way ... less concerned about their ability to handle 8-5 than their ability to deliver on schedule, and/or when things are VERY difficult.

I also build teams with a diverse mix of personalities and skills, from those that can ONLY function in a well defined world, to those that CAN NOT function in a well defined world.

It's a managers job to learn their people, and how to best use them. That includes being adaptive in work schedules and assignments based on the person, training, and oversight required. Some people need to be in way over their heads to be productive, others panic as soon as they are outside their safe zone and require much closer management when things are poorly defined.

As a consultant, most project failures where caused by the manager being unable to assemble a diverse team, or manage it.

In message , dated Fri, 1 Sep 2006, fpga snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com writes

How do you bat at baseball?

That figures.

Yes, it's shockingly under-recognized.

That goes with only some of the 57 varieties; others show opposite traits.

I had one VERY good design engineer who could only work in a cubicle; in an open lab he was really stressed.

productive.

Quite. That waking pattern can stress family life. You have an understanding partner.

WOW!

You must have the courage to exploit them as assets and NOT take the mob's view of them as 'handicaps'.

With non-proofed stuff I agree, I'd never judge someone based on that. However, a resume sent in to a company where you really would like to work is such an important advertising medium that I can't understand why someone wouldn't have it proofed by at least one other person. After all, it's the one and only thing that a potential employer initially has from you. Almost like what an expensive newspaper ad is to a manufacturer. The CEO there would go ballistic if that contained typos, and rightfully so.

Same here. But under work ethics I also count the ability to recognize when to hold'em and when to fold'em. IOW to see when it's time to call in a pro or someone who can double-check your work (or your resume if applying).

Most failures that I see where caused by a team trying to avoid the expense for a consultant and going it alone. Once that had cost a company its very existence because the financial backers had lost faith in it after they couldn't make the product work.

I make sure external documents are proofed by a professional.

At the same time, I am who I am, and having a perfectly written resume doesn't necessarly reflect on who I am, does it?

If someone is going to be anal about it, best get it over right away ... and there are some people that really are.

I should also note that in nearly 40 years of interviews, I've never interviewed in a suit. That was casual dress western for 20 years, and jeans and a tee for the last 15. Both for W-2 work, and as a consultant. I've closed nearly every job I've interviewed for in person. Those that I haven't, have nearly always been interviewing for a less skilled/experienced manager that was late 20's to early 30's and worried about his job.

I have ran into a few interviewing managers that was a turnoff for ... and we had a brief talk and parted. One hired me anyway, and was stressed that I would only dress to visit external customers when they needed engineering backup for Marketing/Sales.

I tend to respect that sense of someone knowing who they are, and what they are good at when I inteview canidates as well. Those that are presenting a "fluffed up image" don't make it far with me.

In message , dated Fri, 1 Sep 2006, fpga snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com writes

The point here is epitomized in Kipling's 'If', from which I think I will be extensively quoting, under a mild affluence of incohol.

Point 1: 'If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, **but make allowance for their doubting too**

It's that second bit that matters. They WILL doubt you can do electronics if you can't spell.

Point 2: 'If all men count with you, but none too much.'

Point 3: 'If you can fill the unforgiving minute/With sixty seconds' worth of distance run...'

Pint 4: 'If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue..'

Point 5: 'If you can dream, and not make dreams your master/If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim,/ If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/ and treat those two impostors just the same.'

Point six: 'Yours is the Earth, and everything that's in it/And what is more, you'll be a Man, my son.'

Well, ok then, we just have different opinions here and that's fine. I consider a resume an "external document" because it does go external ;-)

In message , dated Fri,

I don't know whether the CEO went ballistic, but I can tell you that an ad for a Swedish sporty car (what a give-away - please disregard) in, of all places 'New Scientist', claimed a boot/trunk capacity in cubic litres.

it was changed rather quickly, so ballistics may indeed have occurred.

In message , dated Fri,

Indeed. For a certain transportation project, around GBP5 billion, I believe, questions are asked about my fixed-price fee for 'two days' work. I've actually put in about four days so far, and it isn't over yet.

Agreed. The agreement to disagree is pretty rare in this forum of late.

I suspect this is partly cultural too. My "style" has worked well in the western US. I'm aware that there are many places where it would be less than acceptable. It's been only reciently, that a dress code for professionals (including engineers) has been relaxed in some part of the US industry. Discussions with engineers in some other parts of the world, suggest that dress for success is still a critical asset in some work places.

Have fun!

I wouldn't be turned off by that but myself I have to wear a suit. Or at least a shirt and tie. Main reason is that often client's investors or other advisors have to check me out and since they are all in suits I might make them uncomfy. No big deal even though I don't like it much to be in a suit. Afterwards I find out what the dress code during "normal work" is and then dress accordingly.

Has limits though: A neighbor told me that a guy showed up for an interview with a T-shirt that read "People Suck". The interview ended after about one second.

Hello John,

Pint 4? Wow, John, take it easy :-)

So ... was "two days" bid as 16 hrs, or 48 hrs?

In message , dated Fri, 1 Sep 2006, Joerg writes

UGH!!! Cubed. May you be forgiven.

-- OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try

John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK

True. I really dislike it when some folks fly off the handle about a minor disagreement.

Hmm, I have lived and worked in Europe, and now in the Western US. Northern Caleefohneeya. Suits are much more common among technical people here than they used to be in Europe. I actually met EEs in Europe who didn't even own a suit except the one from their wedding that didn't fit anymore. But that was over a decade ago so things might have changed over there.

Same to you!

In message , dated Fri, 1 Sep 2006, Joerg writes

Not sensible. You can get T-shirts with Schroedinger's Equation on them. They don't make you a physicist.

You explore the 'inappropriate behaviour' only after you find that the guy knows what a Gilbert cell is and is used for. If s/he doesn't, you don't need to explore it.

Hello John,

I rarely work fixed-bid, especially not on cutting edge projects. But often I do tell clients what the rough estimate would be. With the understanding that it'll be a different story if marketing comes in and wants this, that and the other thing in addition.

ROTFL .... I can relate to that as a hiring manager, been there ;)

My sensibilities are based in the US midwest ... sometimes a bit redneck as they say here, and generally conservative in most ways.

The work environment in Santa Cruz and Berkeley is even more relaxed than I, where strong counter-culture is the accepted "norm". I worked in Santa Cruz for several years as a consultant. They gave me an office with a window that had a great view of an enclosed court yard with a large hot tub across from me. The hot tub was clothing optional and frequently stuffed with young 20-30 somethings of both sexes, frequently under the influence of multiple mind altering things. I quickly changed my schedule and started working midnight to 2PM to avoid the afternoon/evening parties.

Doing interviews for that, and another client, greatly challenged my ability to adopt a sense of cultural relativity.