The Ol' Curmudgeon, part 2

I responded to the Computerworld piece:

Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what you are talking about?

1. "creaking technologies" give me a break. Do
   you have any idea that today's mainframes
   can run all the classic applications _and_
   you can run UNIX on the mainframe at the
   same time?

   Do you know that todays mainframes support
   ASCII, Unicode, XML, and Java? That they
   come with an included HTTP server, and
   support FTP, SMTP, TCP/IP and more? Do you
   even know what those terms mean?


2. Follow the money; look where this guy's company gets
   its income. [Disclosure: I get my income teaching
   mainframe computer programmers; it's my job to stay
   current.]


3. Why "should" IT dollars be spent on new systems? The
   company took many years to get it working just right
   for its business needs. It is an investment that
   keeps on paying back day after day, running the
   company, returning continuing value. Enhancing it
   regularly (perhaps a better term for most "maintenance")
   provides additional benefit at a fraction of the
   cost of buying new products.


4. What kind of outlook is embedded in phrases like
   "more experienced workers who have higher salaries
   'and are less likely to work longer than 40 hours per week'"?

   Think about it: he's saying only people who work over
   40 hours a week have value. Let's see, just because a
   worker has learned how to work smarter makes him less
   valuable? How many of the younger workers do you see
   who understand any business, much less their company's
   business? And surveys today show that younger workers
   start out with an attitude of not giving too much time
   to the job.


5. "the baby boomer bomb could blow up and destroy a few
   companies in the near future." Yeah, well, if you don't
   train new employees in how the business runs, that will
   happen.

Why would I go to work for a guy who publicly says to young
workers "Join us now, cause we will pay you low wages for
10-20 years then we will let you go because you will have
gotten too expensive for us by then." Why would anyone get
into IT with a promise like that?


You certainly won't find that attitude at Computerworld's
"100 Best Companies to Work For". Or will you?


The biggest problem today is IT management who do not
understand how IT works in their business. These people
are easily led by facile, unknowing, unthinking columnists
like you. "Go for the newest: it's gotta' be better because
it's newer!"


Hogwash! Really good IT departments in really good companies
employee a continum of workers from new hires through veterans
of varying length. Everyone is regularly updated / trained on
all the technologies being used in the business. Every new
and existing technology is evaluated regularly, seeking to
match the right platform for each application.


If I am an experienced IT guy or gal, if managment disparages
my work, does not give me merit raises when deserved, does
not provide me with the opportunity to learn new technologies,
then tells me my performance appraisal will include my
training my [outsourced, offshored] replacement, then I am
likely to have a bit of an attitude problem.


If, on the other hand, management tries to get the most
benefit from my experience by having me lead projects that test
new approaches to existing applications, I am likely to
have a new enthusiasm about work and my company; my
productivity will far outshine those of cheaper, younger
workers because I understand how it all works already.
The cost may be higher, but the benefits way outpace the
cost, relative to newbies; and, I am including them in
these projects so we train newcomers and give them some
solid real world business experience.


We will all be better off if "writers" stop echoing
the hype from companies and do the hard work of understanding
the way things work today. Stop being so shallow. Try and
think for yourself.

-Steve Comstock
The Trainer's Friend, Inc.

--------------------------------------------------

Someone from their editorial department actually followed up,
asking for (and receiving) permission to print all or part
of my response, but nothing has shown up that I've seen.

But got me thinking:

What about a regular column in one of the trade
papers, "The Ol' Curmudgeon" or some such? it
would be serious look at new hyped technologies
from a non-hype perspective: is this really new?
is there some real benefit? can it really work?
what are the upsides / what are the downsides?
maybe ending with a Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down
or a Too Soon To Tell. Anyone intereseted in
helping me out on producing such a column, if I
can convince a publication to run it?

Let me know.

Kind regards,

-Steve Comstock

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