|
Zorak of Michigan posted:I'm still processing Brent and what I can take away from the book's treatment of him. Early in on the book I had been thinking to myself, maybe they'd be better off if they canceled Phoenix and fired Brent. Brent's not a bad guy or anything, but his role is slowly making things worse and worse over time.
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 02:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 16:14 |
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:Early in on the book I had been thinking to myself, maybe they'd be better off if they canceled Phoenix and fired Brent. Brent's not a bad guy or anything, but his role is slowly making things worse and worse over time. It's a tricky thing, right? You're trying to impose structure and the Brent is effectively thwarting you because he's too busy doing what he's always done to go along with your plan. On the other hand you have everyone else in IT saying that the Brent is the only guy who can do anything, so firing him doesn't feel like a solution to anything. I don't know how Brent ends up but I have worked with people who occupied that niche and very clearly did not want to share information because they preferred being the all-knowing irreplaceable Oracle. Finding the right leverage to push them toward more social behavior, or finding the way to make them unnecessary before pulling the plug and rebooting your team, is a very tricky bit of the manager's art.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 02:44
|
|
|
I think the brent of parts unlimited wouldn't mind taking on less responsibility in exchange for the work he does to have meaning. However other "Alignment" brents would all behave differently in different situation. He could of easily been painted as standoffish and combative.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 03:28
|
|
|
"Show me a developer who isn’t crashing production systems, and I’ll show you one who can’t fog a mirror. Or more likely, is on vacation." I just read 15 chapters at once and I'm convinced I know Brent irl.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 08:05
|
|
|
meanieface posted:I just read 15 chapters at once and I'm convinced I know Brent irl. I know! It's a compelling story. I'm holding off on the rest to let everyone else catch up but don't let me slow anyone down.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 09:07
|
|
|
I'm currently on Chapter 8 and this line is probably the best one in the book so far:quote:I spent hours role-playing worst-case scenarios over the weekend. Apparently, I'm going to have to practice being more pessimistic. Poor guy just can't catch a break. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 09:42
|
|
|
Ok, I am through chapter 17 and no longer fully identify with Brent because he is what I strive not to be. Like Zorak of Michigan said, he is a minefield and you have to deal with him with the utmost care.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 16:38
|
|
|
While not entirely constructive, if you replace all "Phoenix" with "healthcare.gov" chapter 4 is probably close to what happened. Edit: Also, I haven't wanted someone to die as much as I want Sarah to since that fanatical religious woman from The Mist. I know far too many people like this, and I'm definitely remembering the pig metaphor. Analogical fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Feb 5, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 01:41
|
|
|
Analogical posted:While not entirely constructive, if you replace all "Phoenix" with "healthcare.gov" chapter 4 is probably as close to reality as it got. I actually suspect that something very similar happened. I don't know how much you've read about Healthcare.gov but you definitely could make that substitution throughout the book. I'll ask around in the Obamacare thread to see if any of the guys who were involved can comment.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 01:52
|
|
|
So I'm a lean six sigma green belt.  Seriously I've underwood using it to clean up an existing process or look at the costs of a potential project vs the estimated profit but this.. This is starting to make me feel very funny about some things at work that get on my nerves and I want to buy a copy for my boss. So far, loving this book. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 04:26
|
|
|
I finished the book. I feel the entire thing can be summed up in three words: "God dammit Sarah." Was a very fun read all around. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 10:23
|
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:A few years back the a huge chunk of the executive team got canned because of an incident involving Ron Jeremy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 10:43
|
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:I actually suspect that something very similar happened. You need to lay out some examples here cause Healthcare.gov was a completely different beast then almost any other government project I've worked with. A true clash between reality and political deadlines. I like this guy take on it the best: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-gulf-between-planning-and-reality/ Book looks fun! BexGu fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Feb 5, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 23:23
|
|
|
Zeratanis posted:I finished the book. I feel the entire thing can be summed up in three words: "God dammit Sarah." I'm not even mad at her. If the big boss had some kind of last man standing political battle and that's how she got the role, she's merely a product of her environment. She does sound like a terrible spider. Varys would have had her killed halfway through the novel because she's too open. Every time it said she was tapping on her iPhone, I wanted to be like "who the hell are you texting"?!  Stealth edit: autocorrect.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2015 05:59
|
|
|
If I was in that shop my worry would not that Sarah was around, it's that other C-level people had created an environment where Sarah flourished. You find someone like that around, you know that this is not time to discuss managing change and passing out copies of Who Moved My Cheese, this is war to the knife.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2015 23:46
|
|
|
Let's try to finish up the rest of the book by Friday. We also need to pick a new book. I'd like to do that EMC book, There's also a new VMware 6.0 book coming out in April and the new Red Hat Cert guide comes out in September.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2015 18:41
|
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:Let's try to finish up the rest of the book by Friday. Just had time to finish it. I'd call it "Six Sigma for Dummies". The concepts are good, but the writing was kind of atrocious and the characters were totally one-dimensional. Open for the next book.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2015 19:00
|
|
|
I don't really like the characters in the Phoenix project but I find it kind of hard to fault them for it - they're basically just writing the Goal except set in IT instead of manufacturing. I'll toss my vote in for that EMC book as well. It looks like something I'd like to read but would never get around to doing of my own volition without peer pressure.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 01:06
|
|
|
The frequent "While I was a Marine" moments he'd have started to get corny as hell. I am drawing a lot more parallels between work projects and phoenix though, which frightens me. I was at work earlier and kept notice of how we handle our Brent, then spent an hour stacking up how I realized he really was a single point of failure for us and nobody is prepared for not having him available as a resource. Open for ideas on the next book though. 10/10 enjoying group read
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 05:44
|
|
|
I read the pdf and it's not a bad read but I don't know that I want to spend $10 for the rest. We're a small IT department but we also have a brent. Particularly the part where he breaks the stuff then knows how to fix it. Also it's not so much that he's better than everyone else, he just does everything and doesn't let anyone else know how to do the stuff he does. But Sarah is frightening.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2015 04:39
|
|
|
myron cope posted:I read the pdf and it's not a bad read but I don't know that I want to spend $10 for the rest. We're a small IT department but we also have a brent. Particularly the part where he breaks the stuff then knows how to fix it. Also it's not so much that he's better than everyone else, he just does everything and doesn't let anyone else know how to do the stuff he does. I like the suggestion that was made to put a keylogger on his computer.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2015 04:46
|
|
|
I finished the book and felt like it kinda limped to the finish. That being said, I am Brent in the way that I am involved in all major projects and am the first line of troubleshooting issues. I've been more forceful about managing my time and sanity over the past 6 months after a major burnout last summer, and it has been working out better, but it is still not great. If my colleague or I ever leave (and that is looking more likely in the short term) this company would be in a world of hurt, which is why you can't just double down on the Brents of the world and hope for the best. I'm voting for the EMC book too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2015 05:00
|
|
|
Eh, I'd rather read something else besides the EMC Book but I don't have any other suggestion so... I guess it's the EMC Book 
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2015 05:03
|
|
|
My vote is still for the Powershell book. Pipes are cool! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 01:41
|
|
|
I'm a bit behind the Phoenix Project but is the book not free? I'm stopped at Chapter 16
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 03:53
|
|
|
Right. There's a free excerpt floating around but the full book costs money.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 04:25
|
|
|
I want to get started on this book: Information Storage and Management: Storing, Managing, and Protecting Digital Information in Classic, Virtualized, and Cloud Environments by EMC Education Services Link: http://amzn.com/1118094832 It's 15 chapters. I think 2 per week is reasonable. I'm going to start today, don't worry about falling behind or getting ahead, just mention the chapter you're on so that we avoid spoilers! BE SURE TO BUY EMC PRODUCTS Edit: Someone else should pick the next book, for the people who weren't interested in this one, start looking for something you'd like!
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2015 18:53
|
|
|
Just bought it, in for 2 chapters a week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2015 23:56
|
|
|
I'm in for the EMC book as well. Just purchased it! 2 chapters a week sounds more than doable. I'm hoping this will give me a decent grasp on storage. Recently got my VCP but my experience with storage appliances is very limited so far.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2015 01:20
|
|
|
Chapter 1 is sorta making me laugh. I know you've got to start somewhere and define a bunch of terms so everyone is on the same page, but I'm just picturing someone being exposed to the concept of "data" or "information" for the first time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2015 18:18
|
|
|
I had the same reaction and also a few derisive snorts. Today I agree with most of what they say about server-centric storage, but I remember a time when we built every server with an external 8x18gb RAID chassis, and EMC tried to convince us that leveraged storage would be superior. It wasn't even close. Modern hard drive sizes have changed the math in their favor.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2015 00:53
|
|
|
Reading through the extract of The Phoenix Project, I can completely relate to all the time management problems we're seeing here... except I'm relating to it personally more than on a company scale. I've seen all sides of the Phoenix scenario as well. Loving the book. Looks like I'm picking up a physical copy for myself. Also, Tab8715 posted:I'm a bit behind the Phoenix Project but is the book not free? I'm stopped at Chapter 16 The free exert is about 1/2 the book. Amazon has it for $10 on Kindle, $16 for paperback. Might be in for the EMC book. Kind of strapped for cash right now but I'll look into it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 21:39
|
|
|
I'm not sure if this is quite the right thread for it, but I was thinking of picking up and reading through Cisco's "IPv6 Fundamentals: A Straightforward Approach to Understanding IPv6" by Rick Graziani. My CCNA instructor recommended it, so it's probably good. Just wanted to know the goon opinion on it. Thanks! e: s/leaving/reading/ Kazinsal fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Feb 21, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 21:52
|
|
|
Would be interested in the IPv6 depending on it's quality after the current one. Lammle's CCNA book section wasn't very helpful.
icehewk fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Feb 21, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 22:01
|
|
|
Definitely something good to go over. IPv6 is probably here to stay.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 23:12
|
|
|
Kazinsal posted:I'm not sure if this is quite the right thread for it, but I was thinking of picking up and reading through Cisco's "IPv6 Fundamentals: A Straightforward Approach to Understanding IPv6" by Rick Graziani. My CCNA instructor recommended it, so it's probably good. Just wanted to know the goon opinion on it. Its probably a bit early to be discussing what to read after the emc book but sign me up since I just bought the ipv6 book two days ago anyways.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 19:39
|
|
|
Gonna skip the EMC book, but totally in for ipv6
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 00:50
|
|
|
So, I finished reading The Phoenix Project on the weekend, and I'm going to reread it again. It was a fun read. Yes, it's a somewhat unrealistic scenario, but I, personally, learned a lot about time management from it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2015 17:38
|
|
|
I look forward to joining this thread but right now I am halfway through cramming for the CCNA, CCNA: Security and CCDA exams. I've chowed through 500 pages + labs/questions/exam samples, still have about 1200 pages to go and my bootcamp starts the week after next. After that I am so down to read about ipv6 or whatever else we're on at that point.icehewk posted:Would be interested in the IPv6 depending on it's quality after the current one. Lammle's CCNA book section wasn't very helpful. I skimmed over the IPv6 stuff and it just looks scary because I'm unfamiliar with the new notation. Hopefully by the time I make it to that chapter it's not so bad 
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2015 23:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 16:14 |
|
|
Made it through chapter 4 of the EMC book now. Their explanation of RAID 3 was interesting - I'm familiar with 0, 1, 5, and 6, but never had occasion to touch the rest. The part where it went from theory to "this is how awesome a Symmetrix is" might have pissed me off if I was just hoping to learn about storage, but since I work in a place with a VMAX and a VNX, seeing them outline the differences was useful to me.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2015 08:13
|
|