Posted by Don Kruse on Oct 19, 2007 in Commentary | Comments Off
There has been a continuing discussion in the office I work in about what “Manifest Destiny” means, what it meant when the term was first coined and what it might mean for the US today. One opinion is that the new Manifest Destiny should be about making the US over in a greener image and then the world. This does seem like a lofty and altruistic goal and would be a great achievement although I do not believe the best way to achieve this goal is through some kind of top down structure (US on top everyone else below). I think by setting the example and then helping others achieve the same goal on their own is the best method.
If it is worth doing it will be difficult. JFK made a speach at Rice University in 1962 in which he sent the US on its way to landing men on the Moon. It is worth reviewing his his speech through the lens of today’s events and circumstances.
“…for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.”
The ignorance of the US to the world situation and our own place in the world has brought us to a fork in the road. We have already started down the dead end side of the fork but I believe its not too late to back up and head down the other fork.
“…We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Stay focused and commit your best resources to the goal and it will be achieved whether it is too hard or easy as pie.
JFK’s goal was achieved but then we grew weak and lost sight of the true goal which was to achieve seemingly impossible goals and gain new knowledge of the universe first hand for the benefit of all humankind. We made a big leap and landed on our feet, then we brushed off the moon dust and went back our regularly scheduled programming. We never tried to make that second or third leap, to go farther than we had gone before.
If the goal of cleaning up and greening up our planet could be put in such terms as JFK’s speech that launched the US and humankind to the Moon, could be spoken with the same youthful* energy, and inspire us to commit even greater resources then maybe…
* JFK was the youngest president of the US has had so far.
Here is a link to JFK’s speech http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/ricetalk.htm
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Posted by Don Kruse on Oct 8, 2007 in mac | Comments Off
A “system” will help quantify and qualify the stuff so it can be dealt with in an organized, efficient, and responsible manner. Right now the Help Desk staff fully bears the burden of managing “stuff” and it would be more efficient to distribute this burden. In the end those extra few seconds or minutes spent creating the tickets I believe will result in a faster resolution of problems (especially critical ones). It may also result in time being freed up to actually provide TRAINING which has been a big issue as you have observed. Read on…
The Problem with “stuff”
Getting Things Done succeeds because it first addresses a critical barrier to completing the atomic tasks that we want to accomplish in a given day. That’s “stuff.” Amorphous, unactionable, flop-sweat-inducing stuff. David says:
Here’s how I define “stuff:” anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn’t belong where it is, but for which you haven’t yet determined the desired outcome and the next action step. [pg. 17]
Stuff is bouncing around in our heads and causing untold stress and anxiety. Evaluation meetings, bar mitzvahs, empty rolls of toilet paper, broken lawn mowers, college applications, your big gut, tooth decay, dirty underwear and imminent jury duty all compete for prime attention in our poor, addled brains. Stuff has no “home” and, consequently, no place to go, so it just keeps rattling around.
Worst off, we’re too neurotic to stop thinking about it, and we certainly don’t have time to actually do everything in one day. Jeez Louise, what the hell am I, Superman?
So you sprint from fire to fire, praying you haven’t forgotten anything, sapped of anything like creativity or even the basic human flexibility to adapt your own schedule to the needs of your friends, your family or yourself. Your “stuff” has taken over your brain like a virus now, dragging down every process it touches and rendering you spent and virtually useless. Sound familiar?
- David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
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Right now I/we receive incoming requests by the following methods:
1. Email
2. Phone
3. iChat
4. Verbal
5. Observation
A web form input is not used at all at the present time.
This “stuff” needs to be triaged and managed primarily in my head which then can’t be shared with other staff members efficiently. By reducing the input of “sfuff” to primarily just one method (web based form) and two secondary methods (phone and verbal) it will make it more efficient to triage and report to others on how much stuff there is to do, what has been done, and what might need to change in the future.
I’ve found over time that nearly 90% of all verbal request aren’t sufficiently important enough to require a response. If they had been important the user would have emailed or called.
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Posted by Don Kruse on Oct 8, 2007 in mac | 0 comments
He does so much: Managers servers, manage the desktops and laptops, plus helps us figure out how to use iTunes or our iPods. Plus we have a kick-ass interoffice chat system that is secure and easy to use. . – FB
Don can fix anything. Really. A problem sent to him is finished. That’s the end of that problem. We work in a mid-sized Family Law firm in Portland, Oregon and run an all Apple system. I know this is a rarity, as people call from all over the country call to seek advice from Don (after an article about our firm was placed on the Apple website). So, not only does Don help this company to run more effectively and effciently, he helps companies all around the country. Aside from his complete competency, he also happens to be an easy going, humerous person who makes the office more enjoyable each day. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have working as our System Administrator than Don Kruse, and I’ve worked with a few good ones.. – FH
Don makes our world work. We are completely reliant on our computers to even know our name. If there is an issue, it is fixed, sometimes before we even know there was a problem. Don has an unique ability to explain complex computer jagon in english so that we can learn what we are doing wrong and how to stop it. Don is also approachable with questions and concerns and he is always looking for ways to make our system work better.
As a working mother, Don made it possible for me to have complete access to the computer system from home so that I can be here and there at the same time. He is our life raft. – DL
I think Don would make an awesome candidate for SysAdmin of the year because he is a patient, level-headed individual. He flys from the Portland office all the to the Bend office to fix any office product bugs we come across. He never gets irritated or half-asses the office maitenance problems we have, even if they are simple problems that could have been fixed by us originally. We really appreciate his dedicated, hard-working IT skills or the office would one big electrical mess. THANKS! – CS
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