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In 2002 I was employed by a law firm. The prior sysadmin was a raging incompetent on many different fronts. How she interacted with our users was the worst.
She was all USERS ARE THE WEAKEST LINK! and MOAR TRAINING!.
Users just wanted their shit to work.
1/ https://twitter.com/hacks4pancakes/status/1380279418418036745
She was all USERS ARE THE WEAKEST LINK! and MOAR TRAINING!.
Users just wanted their shit to work.
1/ https://twitter.com/hacks4pancakes/status/1380279418418036745
So users became experts in sidestepping her, because she was actively unhelpful. She then pushed Management into draconian punishments for anyone who sidestepped her.
"The beatings will continue until morale improves."
This was the situation I came into.
2/
"The beatings will continue until morale improves."
This was the situation I came into.
2/
Once I realized how awful the sysadmin-user relationship was, I bought a monster bag of expensive European chocolates. Whenever a user filed a ticket, even just a password reset, I showed up to the user's desk in person, officially "so I can put some faces to names".
3/
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It was brief. Hi, I'm the new sysadmin, I just wanted to tell you your ticket's been filled, oh, here, let me replenish the candy dish on your desktop.
(In a law firm, everyone has a candy dish. I don't know why. @PCLawBoston, any ideas?)
And then we'd talk a little bit.
4/
(In a law firm, everyone has a candy dish. I don't know why. @PCLawBoston, any ideas?)
And then we'd talk a little bit.
4/
After a few weeks I got asked questions like, "if I installed X because I needed it for my workflow, how much trouble would I be in?"
Congratulations, now I know I have X on my network. I helped them come in from the cold, got official sanction for X, and gave them candy.
5/
Congratulations, now I know I have X on my network. I helped them come in from the cold, got official sanction for X, and gave them candy.
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Over a few months this approach *worked*. Users stopped feeling like the sysadmin staff was antagonistic to them. They started asking questions before doing things ("no, you shouldn't install Bonzi Buddy on your home PC, no, your kid isn't right about it being harmless").
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And in return, I had an army of spies. The printer on 3rd floor just power-cycled for no reason? Let's call Rob: it's probably nothing but we still get that sweet sweet Toblerone when he visits!
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Management screamed at my chocolate purchases — not quite $10,000/yr — up until they realized just how much reliability and safety had improved as the result of it. They quickly deemed it money well spent and I became the only corporate officer with a candy budget.
8/
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When there are bad relations between IT and users, 95% of the time it's IT's fault, and most of the time IT is in denial about it.
Be different. Think different.
Talk to your users. Be friendly. Bring chocolate.
9/9 fin
Be different. Think different.
Talk to your users. Be friendly. Bring chocolate.
9/9 fin
