RE: Did we have another name change?

[Lou Forlini <lforlini@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Eric,

   I don't know if I'm disagreeing with you or not.  Probably more 
with your comments regarding older people.

   I think you could take the statement "most midrange shops adopt 
this ambivalence to change", take out the word "midrange" and have it 
still be true for most shops in any industry, IT or not.  I learned 
that pretty early on myself.

   When I've worked at companies that were reluctant to try new 
technologies, I've always found it a good idea to work up a brief 
business case and present it to the boss.  More times than not, 
showing how something could benefit the company (and not just my own 
career) got me the go ahead for a pilot project, or for integration 
into a new or revised system.  Sometimes not right away, but the seed 
was planted and when the time was right I was the "go to" guy.  This 
approach requires a certain level of professionalism, i.e. you need 
to have the discipline to think through the benefits to the company, 
and articulate them in a clear and persuasive way, versus just 
whining constantly about not being able to use ILE.  Show that you're 
about using technology to benefit the company, rather than using 
technology to pad your resume.

   Follow that path, and quite often you will eventually work 
yourself into a position to actually influence and even determine 
what technologies are used at your company.  I've done it twice, 
ending up in Chief Engineer type positions.

   Yes, you will run into that shop where you're hitting a brick wall 
with every suggestion, and even the most beneficial changes will be 
denied for whatever reason.  Once you've given it a fair shot, leave.

   Eventually, you may get to a place where you feel the desire to 
explore technologies that would not necessarily benefit the company 
you work for, or any likely prospects.  Maybe you can make a deal to 
work after hours on your own time to learn them.  If not, maybe it's 
time to start your own company.

   Part of the advantage to the AS/400-iSeries-i5-System_i is it's 
longevity, it's an incredibly mature, robust, and secure operating 
system.  In an industry where tossing out all your gear every 3 or 4 
years (and many times the people as well) is the norm, it can also be 
a liability.  That's the challenge.

   Regards,

   - Lou Forlini
     Software Engineer
     System Support Products, Inc.


At 1:53 PM -0500 4/13/06, DeLong, Eric wrote:
> No Lou, I'm talking about shutting out new talent and innovation because of
> fear or laziness.  I'm no newbie to this platform, having started with the
> S/36 while in high school.  My entire career is based on midrange, and I
> love our platform.  But I've NEVER worked for a shop where I didn't have to
> fight (sometimes in peril of losing my job) for the adoption of new
> technology.
>
> I know that not all shops work this way, but I believe (based on MY
> experiences) that most midrange shops adopt this ambivalence to change.  I
> have felt frustrated by this again and again, and feel that this attitude is
> killing our platform....
>
> Ageist?  Perhaps....  Again, in my experience, the senior exec(s) in IT sets
> the tone and direction of the shop.  If the tone comes across as "do it the
> way we've always done it", then innovation is immediately eliminated....
>
> I know my original post was worded to be somewhat offensive.  I'll apologize
> for that, but I stand by my notion that we "professionals" need to be more
> accepting of new ideas.  We need to dazzle the young talent with
> possibilities instead of forcing them into submission.  We must accept that
> what we did in 1986 is not applicable to today's application consumers.