Manager Sandwich: The Middle Manager's Survival Blog

I can remember the day when I learned I was going to become a father.  It was over seventeen years ago, but it really does seem like just yesterday.  The thought of being responsible for a new life, someone completely dependant upon me was overwhelming.  I remember driving down to the local K-Mart to pick up some house items, walking through the aisles in a daze of confusion.  Something caught my eye, and it brought everything into perspective (yeah, just like that).  A young couple, younger than me, pushing a stroller with a young toddler; meanwhile the young woman was pregnant (and very close to delivering).  They walked through the store like it was any ordinary day.  I knew from watching them for three minutes that I would be able to raise children as well. from www.almightydad.com Life became challenging right away, and hasn't gotten any easier since.  Each step along the way, I kept telling myself that it was going to get easier, but mu...

from snarkerati.com The past few years have certainly been a reality check.  Following one of the greatest economic booms of recent years has been a financial calamity.  The year 2009 was certainly the hardest in my career, and probably harder than most people have endured past 1980.  A great many jobs were lost as companies that weren't strong enough to weather the storm crumbled under the force of the collapse. It is easy to think only of ourselves when these things happen.  Most people have families and financial obligations that often feel daunting when the threat of joblessness is looming.  It is times like these when we need to leave a trail behind us to guide us back safely.  The old saying "knowledge is power"will always be true, but true knowledge isn't what we keep only for ourselves, but what we share with others.  I have met many coworkers that keep "vital" work related information very close to their chest.  They may have sma...

    About twenty years ago, I purchased my first house.  I remember all of the houses that my wife and I visited and looked at before we decided to put in offer on the one we liked.  One house we saw stuck out because of the owner's peculiar collections.  On the walls of his house were framed shadow box collections of all sorts of items including : matchbooks, shot glasses, playing card decks, thimbles, hotel note pads, you name it.  I found it almost mezmorizing how many different things this man chose to collect and display.  Personally, I collected baseball cards as a youth.  I used my lawn-mowing and paper route money to purchase cards that I knew would appreciate in value, as well as certain players that I fancied.  Thirty years later, I am not sure what to do with the cards.  Combined, the entire collection is theoretically around $5000, but realistically, I wouldn't be able to get half that amount by selling them to dealers o...

 from www.streeetblog.org While I was studying engineering at the University of Michigan in the late 80's, I was continually surrounded by the active protests and political movements of students eager to change the world.  The diverse student body of U of M was a hotbed of cultural expressions brought about the intoxicating need to "take on the MAN".  As a young engineer, I would sometimes take on the establishment at work and school with a bull-headed charge which often resulted in bruised relationships and a reputation for being a troublemaker. Please don't get me wrong, I haven't become a sell-out.  I haven't abandoned the need to be a part of radical change, but I have learned a more subtle, lower-key method of affecting change while not drawing too much attention to myself or my goals.  I am not referring to abrupt political revolution like we have seen recently in the Middle-East, I am discussing cultural changes at work that improve the abil...

  Back in the 80's Rodney Dangerfield starred in the movie "Back to School" about a self-made millionaire and entrepenuer that decided to enroll with his freshman son played by Keith Gordon.   The premise is an amusing tale of a successful business man, who never graduated high school, trying to reinvent himself and connect with his frustrated son on the verge of dropping out.  In the real world going back to school is far from easy.  In fact, it is so challenging that many cannot find the motivation to start back into something that was seemingly finished years ago.  The chasm that must be crossed is intimidating.  It is what my father always teaches his students about . . . Reinventing Yourself. Twenty years ago, when I graduated from engineering school, I found a good job, and soon enrolled in a Master's program.  I felt at the time, that if I didn't go back, that I never would.  Four years later, married, with a son, and on...

I was daydreaming today in class and I came up with the best idea for a blog posting.  Unfortunately, I completely lost my train of thought and can't remember what I was even thinking about.  I have been so frustrated trying to realign my thoughts so I could pick up the lead, but alas the only thing I can remember is that I needed to get some clip art showing pictures of someone donating blood.  I can't explain it, and have no idea what it means, except that I am getting a little older and a little bit dumber. Interestingly enough, earlier in the morning, I made a request online with my local library to hold the movie DVD for Finding Forrester for me to pickup.  I made a detour on the way home to get it so my wife and kids could enjoy it with me.  It is certainly one of my favorite movies for several reasons: 1) It stars Sean Connery, who clearly is an excellent and my favorite actor; by far the best ever James Bond, 2) The William Forrester c...

A while back, I endured the results of miscommunication between myself and a coworker.  There was a serious accident at work.  Fortunatley, there wasn't anyone hurt, but quite a bit of equipment damage did result.  I received the call late in the evening, about an hour before I was going to sleep.  My coworker was a bit frantic with his description about what happened.  I tried several times to get detailed information, but he was unable to answer my questions clearly.  It could be that he hadn't seen the damage himself or that he had a tough time describing what had happened.  Either way, while driving into work, I called a few other people in the plant to gain a better understanding about the mess I was walking into.  I finally reached someone who knew what was going on, and thankfully received better details on what really happened. During the last twenty years, I have received hundreds of calls from work about mechanical ...