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The Word According to ISO (Off Topic)

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Eric M. Jones

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 565
Location: Massachusetts

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:44 am Post subject: The Word According to ISO (Off Topic)

Bob et al.,



I too had a thousand similar experiences in industry. Recently in the Worcester Business Journal I published a rebuttal to a "Business Leader" who believed the solution to all our problems is to hire more foreign H-1B's. (For anyone interested I will email you my flame job).



I have sat in meetings where the "Team Approach" was touted to lead to the best designs...(more brains are sooooo much better). Laughable. They suffered from the notion that all ideas have equal validity, and everyone has something to contribute to every project. Not true.



I was good friends with a Chinese engineer who had run a variety of electronic parts and subassembly businesses in Taiwan (until one day he decided to invest all the company cash into the ferrite material they used...and the bottom fell out of the ferrite market), Standard Operating Procedures for them involved driving the CSA, UL, ETL, ISO or any foreign inspector from the airport to the best hotel. Then supplying them the best food, prostitutes and liquor. In the morning all the inspection paperwork would be signed. I could tell you a similar story, involving booze, Tijuana hookers and a brand new Winnebago about why Remington Rand's top dogs decided that didn't really need local service centers after all, and thus fell out of the computer market. If you think this isn't common, see "Charlie Wilson's War". But I digress.... 



My Chinese Engineer friend had great disdain for paper-pushers, and high confidence that outside inspectors would never meaningfully contribute to the process. I had a somewhat higher respect for the inspection agencies. Once in a meeting where something in a design was terribly amiss and it meant we either fixed it or lost our sticker, my boss challenged, "Well, who's going to tell CSA?".



I challenged him that I would tell them if it wasn't fixed. Much to my boss's chagrin. And I think it cost me plenty. I am only bitter about not having had the courage to leave when I should have. 



My advise to young engineers/designers: Don't work for ANY company for more than five years unless you own a serious piece of it. Period. Don't even think about it. And as soon as you can, start your OWN company. You might not make a fortune, but you won't have to work for jerks and you'll wake up in the morning with a contented soul, happy to start the day.



"THE VERY BIG STUPID" is a thing which breeds by eating 

The Future. Have you seen it? It sometimes disguises itself as a 

good-looking quarterly bottom line, derived by closing the R&D 

Department. 

--Frank Zappa



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_________________
Eric M. Jones
www.PerihelionDesign.com
113 Brentwood Drive
Southbridge, MA 01550
(508) 764-2072
emjones(at)charter.net

nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:56 pm Post subject: The Word According to ISO (Off Topic)

At 07:45 AM 8/11/2008 -0700, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



Bob et al.,



I too had a thousand similar experiences in industry. Recently in the 

Worcester Business Journal I published a rebuttal to a "Business Leader" 

who believed the solution to all our problems is to hire more foreign 

H-1B's. (For anyone interested I will email you my flame job).


	


   Yes, I'd like to read it . . .



   <snip>

 	  Quote: 	
		  My advise to young engineers/designers: Don't work for ANY company for 

more than five years unless you own a serious piece of it. Period. Don't 

even think about it. And as soon as you can, start your OWN company. You 

might not make a fortune, but you won't have to work for jerks and you'll 

wake up in the morning with a contented soul, happy to start the day.


	


   My approach has not been so direct . . . but in the same

   spirit. In my capacity as subject matter lead I was tasked

   several times by the chief scientist at RAC/H-B to take new

   hire EE's on a familiarization tour of the facilities.



   I would take them to places that their hire-on job might

   never go. They needed to be aware of every activity/opportunity

   on the square-mile . . . ESPECIALLY those opportunities to

   get their hands dirty working on a real life project!

   At lunch, I would inquire as to the vision they have for

   their own future, "What would you like to be doing 5 years

   from now?"



   These discussions would go into quite a bit of detail and

   I would let them know where things on the square-mile might

   support their goals . . . as well as any inability of the

   current organization to support those goals.



   Several times during our encounter I would re-enforce the

   notion that everything they'd done up to now was but

   the beginning of their education. If at any time they

   found themselves stagnant in the acquisition of new

   knowledge/skills, it was time to re-assess the relationship.



   I told them to call me at any time and I'd arrange lunch

   with the chief scientist to discuss how we (the company)

   and the disenchanted engineer might set things back on

   track. If it could not be done, they were given to understand

   that the chief scientist, myself, and perhaps a dozen others

   within the organization would help them make a useful

   transition to another situation, even if outside the company.



 	  Quote: 	
		  "THE VERY BIG STUPID" is a thing which breeds by eating

The Future. Have you seen it? It sometimes disguises itself as a

good-looking quarterly bottom line, derived by closing the R&D

Department.

--Frank Zappa


	


   We sorta avoided looking like a financial albatross by

   placing contract testing facilities under the auspices

   of engineering. It was gratifying to see that we always

   showed a positive cash flow at the end of the year . . .

   We also got "credit" for stopping the bleed when a

   field failures problem was resolved through the efforts

   of our in-house talents.



   Bob . . .

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