The Official "WWWD?" Thread

[windsor]

If, when everything shakes out, you end up with a job that involves watching paint dry that would be the time explore other avenues. I wouldn't conteplate jumping ship until you are sure the ship isn't sailing where you want to go. You do not want to be perceived as someone who bails as soon as the don't get to do what the want to do (insert pouty face here).

I would make sure RR knows that Boss has asked you to scale back your envolvement. It might help expidate salary support. If RR is supporting part your salary boss can't say much about your envolvement.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

OK. So my blood pressure has gone down a little. Hope yours has too, AK. Windsor, there is a book for you to write. Or has it already been done ...that one about the cheese getting moved?
Love, Ima

[lawgrad91]

Windsor, I think you ought to add another chapter to "Give and Take."

I find it fascinating but am trying to read it slowly so as to digest as much as possible. I do think it's odd that the authors managed to put a picture of the PHB in the "takers" section.

[ArkieDukie]

If, when everything shakes out, you end up with a job that involves watching paint dry that would be the time explore other avenues. I wouldn't conteplate jumping ship until you are sure the ship isn't sailing where you want to go. You do not want to be perceived as someone who bails as soon as the don't get to do what the want to do (insert pouty face here).

I would make sure RR knows that Boss has asked you to scale back your envolvement. It might help expidate salary support. If RR is supporting part your salary boss can't say much about your envolvement.

Here's a serious question for the group: what if "not getting to do what I want" involves a shift away from my area of expertise? This is a difficult question to ask, given the current job climate in the country. I do realize I should be thankful to even have a job. Many others in my field do not. I'm using myself as an example, but the question is really more general. My work is in a field that evolves very rapidly, and any time away from doing this type of work jeopardizes my ability to get a job in the same field. There comes a point where diversity of skills is bad because it dilutes your perceived knowledge (think "jack of all trades, master of none"). I would bet money that I'm not the only person who has had to face this type of situation, but others may deal with it differently out of necessity. So, be a team player and take a hit in the greater professional realm, or bail and get a rep as a bailer?

Oh, and Road Runner and MacGyver know about the meeting with The Boss. MacGyver's oh-so-eloquent response was a slow, deliberate, "Oh, shit." MacGyver just had to cut my salary support from a grant he submitted to NASA because he had to make room in his budget for some external collaborators - and also for a chunk of Road Runner's salary. I suspect they were both thinking I'd be able to do the work anyway. Maybe this will motivate them to come up with some $$. I've delicately hinted for a while that they needed to do so, given the fact that they're not paying any of my salary.

[ArkieDukie]

OK. So my blood pressure has gone down a little. Hope yours has too, AK. Windsor, there is a book for you to write. Or has it already been done ...that one about the cheese getting moved?
Love, Ima

Maybe I need to read that book.

[ArkieDukie]

Windsor, I think you ought to add another chapter to "Give and Take."

I find it fascinating but am trying to read it slowly so as to digest as much as possible. I do think it's odd that the authors managed to put a picture of the PHB in the "takers" section.

That was my response to "Give and Take" as well, except I was amazed that the author knew The Minion well enough to describe her to a T in the section on takers. Maybe the author has been reading our little corner of the internet.

Maybe I should reread that book, too. The Boss is becoming increasingly difficult to figure out, and not just for me. He shares a common trait with PH(former)B: no one can figure out exactly what he wants. He says something, you generate what he asked for, and then he decides he wants something completely different. That was the other frustrating part of yesterday's meeting. If he's true to form, I'll follow his revised plan and then he'll be upset because I didn't do it the way he originally requested (and didn't like in yesterday's meeting). I bet many of the rest of you have experienced this as well.

[windsor]

Here's a serious question for the group: what if "not getting to do what I want" involves a shift away from my area of expertise? This is a difficult question to ask, given the current job climate in the country. I do realize I should be thankful to even have a job. Many others in my field do not. I'm using myself as an example, but the question is really more general. My work is in a field that evolves very rapidly, and any time away from doing this type of work jeopardizes my ability to get a job in the same field. There comes a point where diversity of skills is bad because it dilutes your perceived knowledge (think "jack of all trades, master of none"). I would bet money that I'm not the only person who has had to face this type of situation, but others may deal with it differently out of necessity. So, be a team player and take a hit in the greater professional realm, or bail and get a rep as a bailer?

I understand EXACTLY what you are talking about. I am in IT (also a fast evolving field) and had to soul search long and hard to decide if I really wanted to NOT be a hard core code monkey anymore. Once i stepped away from the day in and day out coding I knew it would be very hard to get back in to it because the technology moves on so quickly.

So the question becomes, can you find a way to keep your foot in the door of your prefered field? Can you keep current and growing without it being your full time focus?

"bailer" is a tough rep. to live down, and employers shy away from those they perceive are bailers. It costs too much to get someone up to speed (in any field - in what I do a newbie is useless for at least 6 months) most of us would hire a less skilled candidate we believed would stay for hte long hall over a hot shot we thought would be gone in a year.

I think it is too soon to make a call. Work on you powerpoint and cross your fingers that RR gets some $$ for yoru Salary.

[ArkieDukie]

Here's a serious question for the group: what if "not getting to do what I want" involves a shift away from my area of expertise? This is a difficult question to ask, given the current job climate in the country. I do realize I should be thankful to even have a job. Many others in my field do not. I'm using myself as an example, but the question is really more general. My work is in a field that evolves very rapidly, and any time away from doing this type of work jeopardizes my ability to get a job in the same field. There comes a point where diversity of skills is bad because it dilutes your perceived knowledge (think "jack of all trades, master of none"). I would bet money that I'm not the only person who has had to face this type of situation, but others may deal with it differently out of necessity. So, be a team player and take a hit in the greater professional realm, or bail and get a rep as a bailer?

I understand EXACTLY what you are talking about. I am in IT (also a fast evolving field) and had to soul search long and hard to decide if I really wanted to NOT be a hard core code monkey anymore. Once i stepped away from the day in and day out coding I knew it would be very hard to get back in to it because the technology moves on so quickly.

So the question becomes, can you find a way to keep your foot in the door of your prefered field? Can you keep current and growing without it being your full time focus?

"bailer" is a tough rep. to live down, and employers shy away from those they perceive are bailers. It costs too much to get someone up to speed (in any field - in what I do a newbie is useless for at least 6 months) most of us would hire a less skilled candidate we believed would stay for hte long hall over a hot shot we thought would be gone in a year.

I think it is too soon to make a call. Work on you powerpoint and cross your fingers that RR gets some $$ for yoru Salary.

Dead on, yet again. Your point is well taken. Long-termer vs short-termers are a big issue in biomedical research. Many of the really smart short-termers at the technician level have an eye on building their resume for medical school.

If the worst case scenario happens (and it may not), could one spin a job switch by using the "this is my chosen field and I really want to stay current" angle? For example, "I have this skill set that would be very valuable to you, it's something I love doing, and I cannot fully use my skills in my current position. I want a long-term situation that will allow me to focus my efforts more in (field, type of work X)" maybe or maybe not with a mention of "rather than doing y." By said time I will hopefully be able to produce an even more extensive list of publications demonstrating my skill in area x.

Wile E. Coyote is a primo example of what happens when you do not stay current in your field and try to rest on your laurels. He had a couple of high-profile publications fairly early on, and it appears to me that he has gone with the, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy of doing research - in a field that has gone flying past him because he's still doing things as they were done 5 years ago. I've heard WEC complain that he cannot get his papers accepted into top tier journals and he cannot get grants funded. One wonders if, maybe, having seen Road Runner in action, The Boss is starting to figure out why WEC is having issues...

[windsor]

If the worst case scenario happens (and it may not), could one spin a job switch by using the "this is my chosen field and I really want to stay current" angle? For example, "I have this skill set that would be very valuable to you, it's something I love doing, and I cannot fully use my skills in my current position. I want a long-term situation that will allow me to focus my efforts more in (field, type of work X)" maybe or maybe not with a mention of "rather than doing y." By said time I will hopefully be able to produce an even more extensive list of publications demonstrating my skill in area x.

Short answer - yes. If you spin it as described AND you initiate that topic before the potential employer asks. Bonus is that you can use the arrival of the new Dean to your advantage - as in "made some very positive changes but unfortunately some of those changes resulted in a shift in the focus of my work from 'x' to 'z' "

In other news the WEC glow starting to fade can only be good for you. The sooner the bloom is off that rose, the better.

[ArkieDukie]

So, we have a new situation on the horizon; I've alluded to it in the LTE. It's picking up steam and will soon get VERY interesting. If it all works out, it could be very good for MacGyver, Road Runner, me, and our entire institution.

A bit of back story: recall that, when Wile E. Coyote arrived, The Boss brought MacGyver and I in to WEC's instrument purchase decision. We suggested an instrument we've been wanting to get for ages. WEC proceeded to rig the instrument demo so his desired instrument won. As an added bonus, he has convinced The Boss that the instrument MacGyver and I wanted him to buy isn't as good as his instrument, and that we now have no need for it at all because of his oh-so-wise instrument purchases. The real story is that Wile E. Coyote has never operated this instrument and doesn't want to learn new software. Wile E. Coyote's opinion of this instrument has become The Boss' opinion of the instrument to the point where he vetos it any time I mention the instrument. I should also mention that WEC is responsible for the fact that we have multiple obsolete instruments that set the department back several years, all because he doesn't want to learn anything new. (If you've ever seen the musical or movie "Hairspray", I often sing the song "Welcome to the '60s" in reference to WEC's instrumentation and methodologies. Only around Road Runner and MacGyver, of course.)

Now, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. It turns out that the company that manufacturers our dream instrument has a special program where you can write grants to get an instrument. They want visibility in the category of publications, they want workshops, method development, etc. AND they want MacGyver, Road Runner and I to jointly write one of these grants. Yep - they want us to write a grant to purchase the instrument that The Boss has vetoed. Can you say, major political landmine? Now, recall that Road Runner and I are in the same department but MacGyver is in a different department altogether. Our initial answer was going to be to go through MacGyver's department, but that has its own set of political landmines.

Various planets aligned last week (including my having a chance to have a con-fab with our ally at the instrument company), after which I had a chat with Road Runner. In the course of our brainstorming, we came up with the perfect solution to all of this: we're going through a 3rd campus program that she and MacGyver are a part of. I'm not yet, but they're going to work on that. We had an opportunity to chat with the director of the program, and he's on board. He's giving us space, and they're going to work on giving me salary support to get me out from under The Boss' thumb. They're also going to work on getting me an office on their floor.

Careful readers such as Windsor will recognize the land mines we're going to be negotiating in the coming weeks. First off, at some point we're going to have to bring The Boss into the loop. To say that he will be livid is an understatement of epic proportions. However, he has made it crystal clear on numerous occasions that he has no interest in the instrument that we want to purchase. Furthermore, he has no space for said instrument in his department. It's a dog-in-the-manger scenario IMO. He doesn't want the instrument, but he will want the prestige associated with us having the instrument. Truth be told, we don't want it under his pervue because he will micro-manage its usage and try to foist people like Wile E. Coyote off on us. Next big issue will be paying my salary and freeing up effort for me to be a part of this venture. If The Boss doesn't want me to be involved and isn't willing to let Road Runner et al. pick up my salary, we're hosed. Again, dog in the manger. Personally, I think he should be happy to free up the money that he's currently using on my salary and I'm hoping he will recognize that fact as well. If he tries to force Wile E. Coyote's inclusion, we'll politely point out that he wasn't invited.

The second big political landmine is in MacGyver's department, where another faculty member has been trying to purchase the exact same instrument. That one may be even tougher to negotiate than the land mines in our department, and I'm not sure what the answer will be. In any event, the proposal we can put together for this instrument is far stronger than anything the other faculty member can come up with. I started the outline today, and it's going to be a kick-ass proposal. We are going to bounce the outline to our ally, and he'll bounce it off his people and get back to us. They want this to happen and are willing to work with us. They view it as win-win.

So, anyone have advice on how to negotiate the land mines? We really have negotiated the best home for our potential new equipment (once we negotiate all the political landmines and institutional legal quagmire), and we're going to tick some people off in the process, but how do we minimize the political fallout in a way that keeps people somewhat happy?

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEE! You're gonna need VIBES!!!!!!! Here's some to get you started!

Love, Ima

[IowaDevil]

YIKES! I ditto what Ima said with bezillion vibes!! You go girl!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Fun times at the O K Corral!

[ArkieDukie]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEE! You're gonna need VIBES!!!!!!! Here's some to get you started!

Love, Ima

Yep, you pretty much nailed it. The longer we put off telling The Boss, the worse it's going to be IMO. We absolutely cannot present this to him as a done deal. On the other hand, I know how he operates. He will try to drive the bus if we tell him before our proposal is drafted. All in all, it's a sticky wicket. Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

In our meeting today, I stressed that we need to tell The Boss sooner rather than later. I was over-ruled. We have GOT to come up with a way to spin this as to not completely alienate The Boss. I may be far more worried about this than my colleagues - but then, they're both tenure-track faculty members. We need to make this an apparent win for The Boss without bringing him into the process IMO.

One other thing I should mention: this new instrument is capable of doing a type of analysis that no other instrument on the market can do. It's the wave of the future in our field. The latest big conference in our field was chock full of cutting-edge work using this technique. MacGyver, Road Runner and I all understand how huge this is and that we've got to get this instrument to stay competitive. WEC doesn't understand the technique at all and doesn't want to learn anything new, so he has convinced The Boss that it is completely invalid. (Welcome to the '60s, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...) Hopefully this helps clarify the path we're taking to some extent.

[DukieInKansas]

Can it be presented to your Boss that having you participate in writing the grant request for another department allows him to have access to new technology at another department's expense? It sounds like you have a basic knowledge of the machine so it was logical that you be approached to help write the grant. You agreed to help because it could give your department access without having to come up with space and funding.

Just a possible spin on the situation - and then drop the office on their floor bomb later.

Good luck. Vibing that it all works out well for you.

[windsor]

May I recommend a bomb sniffing dog? That is going to be tough to negotitate. Tough…not impossible. I’ll have to kanoodle on it for a bit but my first thoughts are:

I understand why MacGyver and Road Runner want to wait and tell Boss at the last possible instant. I would do. I also agree that the shit storm will only grow the longer he is in the dark. I would (gently) remind MacGyver and Road Runner that while they are tenured you are not…and when it all comes home to roost you need to be gainfully employed somewhere that doesn’t have a drive through lane. Let them know in a matter of fact way that your are 100% behind this little equipment coup but also need to keep your job, no matter how much of a jack wagon Boss is.

I would handle Boss’ attitude with shock and amazement. Wait a minute here sir…this instrument has been on the radar of myself, RR and MacGyver. You have been very clear that you are not interested in spending the money on it. Understood, you have limited dollars and it was not a priority. Well we have found a way to acquire it without hitting your bottom line. Your other object was space – and we have resolved that and not impacted your space one bit. So we will have a piece of equipment that is <insert chem-speak here as to why OTHER labs/researchers think it rocks> without costing you money or impacting your space. On top of that, part of my salary will be paid by <’splain it however you need to > . Considering the conversations we have had recently (I am referring to the justify your job situation) I would think you would be happy to free up some salary dollars.


Now if at all possible. I would speak to boss when WEC isn’t about. If WEC has a vacation day or will be out of the lab that is when the time to strike is so Boss can’t immediately go to him.

One more thing, I would have a metric shit ton of facts and information about that equipment to use as ammo. Someone who isn’t you (MacGyver) is going to have to square up and call him out. When he says he doesn’t need want it they question is WHY (remember, the budget/space argument has been handled) and rattle of all the cool stuff that is being done with this technique. Pointing out the prestige of having it won’t hurt either.

Last, try to paint yourself as an 'invited contributor' not a co-conspirator if you can without bus tossing MacGyver and RR.

Sending

[Lavabe]

WAY too many land mines for me!

All in all, get the proposal done FAST, and edit it based on feedback FAST.

The proposal is being developed outside of your normal work hours, right?

In the meantime, get your "metric shit ton of facts" that you will need for Bossman.

Clarification, please: Macgyver and RR are tenured or tenure-track?

[ArkieDukie]

Correction to windsor; affirming lavabe's question: Road Runner and MacGyver are tenure-track but not tenured. Both of them (especially Road Runner) have far more clout than I do, which is why I'm very nervous about how this whole thing is going down. Good thing is that Road Runner recruited a very powerful person to back the plan. More powerful than The Boss? I'm not sure; I don't know enough about internal politics.

The basic plan is this: a preliminary outline of our proposal (which I am writing in the evenings) goes out to our contact at the instrument company tomorrow. Once we get feedback from them, our backer will go to the Provost go get his blessing. At that point, The Boss and others will be made aware of the plan. Road Runner does not want The Boss to find out anything about our plan before the Provost hears, for fear he will go to the Provost first and derail the plan. We're looking at getting a grant to establish a prestigious instrumentation center for the institution that will further increase our profile. How can the Provost turn us down? Well, the answer might be that The Boss would go to the Provost with his faulty information, obtained from Wile E. Coyote, that our proposed instrumentation acquisition duplicates existing capabilities in the department. Well, that's why we're NOT putting in our department. That, and a lack of space and funding to support additional instrumentation.

Nonetheless, all of this makes me VERY nervous. I am not a tenure-track faculty member, which means I have far less job security than my colleagues.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Good luck with your plan, AD. I can't/won't offer any advice as this political game is WAAAAAAAAAAAY above my pay grade!

[Lavabe]

Hmm... the answer to the question about tenure/tenure-track now explains RR and Macgyver motivations. They NEED this for their tenure packet. You don't. It's in their best interest to get this funding ($$$). Of COURSE they want it done fast.

Trouble is, the Provost will definitely go to Bossman (Boss is tenured). If it involves you, can the grant even go before the Provost without Bossman's signature anyway? This involves a reallocation of Bossman's resources (i.e., you).

Metric shit ton of facts is going to be required.