Advice Line | Bob Lewis

When interviewees volunteer off-limits information

Bob Lewis — 2008-05-07T06:34:03-08:00

Dear Bob ...All this talk about interviews and illegal questions has me wondering ...If I'm interviewing someone, and they disclose information about themselves without my prompting, what do I do?For example, a very realistic question "Why did you leave XYZ job?"with a reply "XYZ company wanted me to start travelling on a regular basis. Since my wife just had our first child, I couldn't be away from family that much."Now, I understand that I cannot ask "Are you married?" or "Do you have children?" And the information does not really change my opinion of whether or not to hire. We... READ MORE

When they change your job without asking you

Bob Lewis — 2008-05-05T19:45:26-08:00

Dear Bob ...I have a bit of a dilemma that I'm hoping you can help me out with because I'm stuck.I was recently "promoted" to a new position. I say promoted in quotes because the promotion seems to be hardly that. I was suddenly given a new title, new and extra responsibilities, and a new boss (someone I don't get along with). There was no pay increase with this position change, actually more like a pay cut. In my old position I worked quite a bit of overtime. In this one, I don't. Same hourly rate, but less take home... READ MORE

Handling family matters

Bob Lewis — 2008-05-03T16:51:38-08:00

Dear Bob ...In my department, a few core people are getting leaned one heavily since others have "lives".The classic case is when certain team members have kids, both parents work, and they miss random blocks of time for kids stuff. The non-kid (or different priority) folks end up picking up the slack. They don't complain (to me at least) but in my mind that doesn't make it okay.I don't want to be the kind of heartless boss who won't let a parent attend a special event. On the other hand, I certainly don't want to be such a curmudgeon that... READ MORE

Gender does matter, and it doesn't matter

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-30T06:20:19-08:00

Dear Bob ...I have been in IT a very long time and I am a woman.I agree with you [see "Does gender matter?" Advice Line, 4/12/2008 - Bob] that there are competent, supportive managers of both sexes and evil, incompetent managers of both sexes. However, I do not agree with you that the woman who wrote is filtering all her input by the male/female attribute.IT has been historically and is still today dominated by males. The relative population of females in IT is not increasing. There are male managers who have never worked with a female in IT unless they... READ MORE

One more on why corporations exist

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-28T20:09:24-08:00

Dear Bob ...[Regarding "The reason corporations exist," Advice Line, 4/20/2008)] the gambler analogy is particularly intriguing [the best businesses think of money as gamblers do -- as a way to keep score -- Bob] and, I would bet, the very philosophy that most entrepreneurs start out with. (It was that way with my wife and her business.) I think you make some very good points. I'm old enough to remember when the purpose of just about every business was to provide goods or services that satisfied customers and provided adequate revenue for wages, expenses, and a fair profit for the... READ MORE

Why corporations exist - a data point

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-22T09:05:06-08:00

Dear Bob ...On your explanation of why corporations exist, Bob, ("The reason corporations exist," Advice Line, 4/20/2008) I don't think you're full of beans ... on this one, at least :-)Just read an interview today with Jeremy Jaech that I thought punctuated one of your points. "MJ: Startups are both exciting and unpredictable; how do you keep your team focused on the big picture, especially when there’s resistance to growth or acquisition?JJ: It’s a lot of work. It’s one of the three or four jobs that leadership has, is to constantly go around and reiterate the important goals, make sure... READ MORE

Go green the cheap and easy way

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-22T06:09:53-08:00

InfoWorld will be awarding its Green 15 awards today.My old friend Fitz should be on the list, but won't because his innovation took place too many years ago -- back in the 1980s.What Fitz figured out, back when we both worked at the StarTribune in Minneapolis, is that for much of the year there was a cheaper way to cool a data center than the expensive and expensive-to-operate chillers that were installed for the purpose.He asked the construction department to run a vent to the building's exterior, with a fan in it.If there's one thing I'll guarantee, it's that a... READ MORE

The reason corporations exist

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-20T09:27:27-08:00

Dear Bob ...There is some value in your description of the purpose of running a business ("Of businesses and marketplaces," Keep the Joint Running, 4/14/2008). But really there is only one purpose, to make a profit.Everything else is secondary. No profit, no business.All of this talk about mission and survival and such is just a means to the end of making money.- Hard-headed PragmatistDear Pragmatist ...This is more than opinion and less than settled fact: Your statement is only true of companies that aren't going to be around very long.No question, companies have to make a profit or they fail,... READ MORE

Help Desk metrics

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-16T06:18:26-08:00

Dear Bob ...You've written before about Help Desks and how hard it is to establish useful metrics [for example "Another helpless desk," Keep the Joint Running 12/17/2007 -- Bob].My question: What would be so wrong in having a simple metric of the percentage of very satisfied, satisfied, no opinion and dissatisfied users?- HelpfulDear Helpful ...If your goal in running the Help Desk is to satisfy users, that would be an entirely reasonable metric.This leaves unanswered the question of whether user satisfaction is a well-chosen goal.If the answer seems to you to be obvious (and affirmative) I think you need to... READ MORE

How to handle illegal questions in a job interview

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-14T05:41:38-08:00

Dear Bob ...Your recent column regarding the Canadian woman who got pregnant while unexpectedly starting a new job search got me to wondering -- what are you supposed to do if an employer asks you an illegal question when they're interviewing you?This happened to me once -- the employer asked for my date of birth, including the year. I was so startled that I just answered without thinking. It probably didn't have any impact on the hiring decision in that particular case, but that's not the point, obviously. What should I have said? (Setting aside the question of whether I'd... READ MORE

Does gender matter?

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-12T09:22:56-08:00

Dear Bob ...I'm a female manager. I think I'm pretty good at what I do, and throughout my career I have produced tangible results that back this up.My problem is, I'm not "one of the boys," and don't want to be one of the boys. Throughout my career, though, being one of the boys has been at least as important as my actual performance.This is starting to get to me, to the point I've been reading some of the current research on male/female differences. I understand male and female brains are physiologically different, males and females really do look at... READ MORE

When to trust, when to regulate

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-09T06:20:50-08:00

Dear Bob ..."Also as with business deregulation, once a good thing starts to be too much of a good thing, it can become a bad thing. Balance matters," - Bob Lewis ("KJR themes in the news," Keep the Joint Running, 4/7/2008)Malice matters, too. So do chiselers, sneaks, grifters, grafters, free-riders, shysters, gonifs, thieves, embezzlers...Consider the category of people who will put their own good above the good of "the public", "the commons", or "others". Some folks might do so only once in a lifetime. Others will do so habitually, passing up even honest ways to get ahead, always looking for... READ MORE

Whether to mention a pregnancy in a job interview

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-06T06:25:37-08:00

Dear Bob ...I have a real ethical dilemma and would appreciate any advise. Two weeks ago I was notified that the company I worked for for the last eight years is closing down. It was an "effective immediately" kind of a notice. A week later I found out I am expecting.I held a management position with that company and I have lots of experience. Naturally, the kind of job I will be looking for is not an entry level.My problem: how can I honestly sell myself to a company without telling them I am actually only going to be around... READ MORE

A possible meeting protocol

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-04T13:19:24-08:00

Dear Bob ...[In response to "Running an effective meeting," Advice Line, 3/24/2008)] An old military tradition when soliciting consensus or opinion on a specific topic is to ask the meeting participants in reverse seniority order. The thinking there was that you'd get the person's real opinion, rather than hearing him parrot the senior officer present if you went in the order of seniority.Do you think that this is a worthwhile approach in civilian meetings?- Old Military TraditionalistDear OMT ...My orthodox Jewish friends tell me the Talmud offers similar guidance. In capital cases, the rabbis who form the deciding council speak... READ MORE

What are an end-user's responsibilities?

Bob Lewis — 2008-04-02T06:51:51-08:00

Dear Bob ...I agree with your proposition (maybe I state it a little differently) that the majority of business users are professional people, reasonably intelligent, and intent on doing a good job [see "The portal," (2/25/2008) and subsequent columns in Keep the Joint Running, and recent discussions in Advice Line - Bob]. My questions are, since not all users are created equal, and at least a small percentage are not computer-friendly at all, how does that fit in this model.Should businesses be expected to hire only people who have at least a minimal relationship with their PC? We still have... READ MORE