Coffee's Ready, Come and Sit on the Porch

FarmerJamie

Mr. Sensitive
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
9,437
Reaction score
16,476
Points
393
Back in my programming days, worked for a tiny company, just 6 of us were the IT team. The owner gave up the day to day management to a hot shot dude. New CEO was a staunch advocate of "clear desk, clear mind". I was debugging a particular gruesome system issue magnified by years of sloppy coding, revolving door of staff, and no documentation. Had spent the better part of the day with my desk covered in stacks of green bar printouts, highlighters, sticky notes, and legal pads with my scribbles. He wandered through our area, actually took a step back in recoil when spotting my desk. He made a direct point that my desk was to be be cleared off when I left.

I protested, but he was firm. So I just opened my largest drawer and with one arm movement, swept it all in a pile into drawer, saying this will take me 2 hours in the morning just to get me back to where I was. Took me 90 minutes as he was constantly checking in (the issue was serious). About 2 hours after getting reorganized, I found the problem. He griped about the delay. When I pointed out I could have been done earlier, but the clear desk was more important (in a secure area few people had access to, btw). He looked at me, the desk, and silently walked out. He never bothered the IT staff again about our creative messes.
 
Last edited:

flowerbug

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
6,264
Reaction score
11,949
Points
297
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
...He looked at me, the desk, and silently walked out. He never bothered the IT staff again about our creative messes.

when the mainframe would go down the president of the university would come and hover over people as they were getting the system reloaded. i told him that him standing there wasn't helping anyone at all - it wouldn't get done any faster. it took twelve hours to reload from tapes.
 

Alaskan

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
3,200
Points
195
Location
Kenai Peninsula
when the mainframe would go down the president of the university would come and hover over people as they were getting the system reloaded. i told him that him standing there wasn't helping anyone at all - it wouldn't get done any faster. it took twelve hours to reload from tapes.
TAPES!! :lol:

Dates ya doesn't it?!?! :lol:
 

CrealCritter

Sustainability Master
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
10,771
Reaction score
20,362
Points
377
Location
Zone 6B or 7 can't decide
Any snakes? No? Good, just double checking. 😂
IMG_20220827_152947094.jpg


Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸
 
Top