Today is Saturday, and since I have been posting around the end of each week, I figured I might as well throw something out here. Last weekend Liz and I ventured to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. We went last year toward the end of the season and had a wonderful time. It was the first time we had been there in quite a while and it was purely fantastic. Last weekend was opening weekend and again it was good time. We did not get into the spirit of the Renaissance to the same extent we did last year, but I still greatly enjoy a day at the Shire. It has been colder outside the past times that I’ve been there, so going to the Faire reminds me of the Fall. Now I am in the feeling of Fall, and changing leaves, and Halloween, but still a long ways off. Next time I go to the Ren Faire, I will wait until the end of the season, and I think I will enjoy it more.
Anyway, I had an odd thought about the business world this week and felt obliged to share it. You know the phrase: “Catch a man to fish, you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” That is a wise saying, but I believe quite the opposite is true in the business world. Allow me to explain.
I have been well known in my past 2-3 jobs as an Excel wiz. I wear that hat proudly. I greatly enjoy creating models and manipulating data to generate results viable for decision making. When I started my current job, I was introduced as the Excel expert which greatly increased my popularity. The more people I met and was friendly to, the more micro projects I got to help people work through their projects. I really enjoy that aspect of my job and that place in my career. In my past job there was one other guy in the office that was, well, almost as good as me. I moved a bit faster and knew more techniques, but he knew as well as I did how to figure things out. Namely, if he needed to create some sort of macro, you don’t have to write out the code, some one else in the world has probably created a similar macro before. We both knew this well. “I need a macro that will sort and combine 3 sheets of address data, sort by last name, and delete any duplicates.” What do you do? Google Excel + Macro + address sort + delete duplicates. Before you know it, you find somebody out there that posed a similar question, and some Excel / VBA guru that answered their question by posting code. Copy and paste the code into your work book and voila! My favorite website was called CPearson, my coworker at the time often found code on MrExel. Either way, we could generate results quickly.
To get back to my original discussion point. One day at my previous job, I had another coworker ask how I write such elaborate macros. Granted I can write my own macros these days, but none the less, I mentioned the websites that I often find this code and explained my process. The person was grateful, but I somewhat doubt she ever tried it out. None the less, the other Excel guy in the office overheard me sharing trade secrets and later pulled me aside. You can’t be telling people about those sites, if they learn how to do all the technical stuff we do, they won’t need us anymore.” He said this in a joking way, but clearly had some truth in his statement. That was over a year ago and I still think about it now and then. He made a good point, I stay busy at my job helping people with their Excel questions and creating technical models, if I shared my knowledge and people were able to do things on their own, I wouldn’t be as busy. Some may consider this terribly wrong, but in the corporate world, you have to hoard your skills to be known and prove yourself useful.
The wise saying makes sense and holds true for most settings in the world, but in business: “TEACH a man to fish, you’ll have a job for a month. CATCH a man a fish, you’ll have a job for a lifetime.
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4 years ago
2 comments:
Morning Zack!
Not often that I reply to a post within an hour of its posting.
I definitly want to dialog about this post because I understand with what you are saying but not sure if I agree with it.
I have been taught through college and my current job to share mostly everything you know, especially if you want to move up and lead in your area. The main reason for this is that you never want to create a stigma for your boss that you cannot be replaced (i.e. - your amazing excel skillz can't be matched). Thus putting them in a bind if they are looking to promote you to a position where that skill is not used as much.
Obviously this is a case by case situation, but for me I see its value.
I'll point out the obvious difference in our current jobs, you work in a corporate work setting and I have a ministry job. This may be what causes the difference in view points. (Not saying this to seem one is better than the other, but because I think it is was causes the difference in view points.
I think some of what causes this difference is ministries use of volunteers. Ultimately if I want to become a greater leader, I should be investing into someone that could replace me some day.
Does that make sense? Could any of that apply to a corporate workplace?
Looking forward to your reply!
BTW- Can we get some pictures of your pregnant wife on here. We need to see progress of the love child! :)
Hey Sean,
Thanks for the comment. I think you make a valid point that it is good to share your ideas to move up and lead in your area, but it is a case by case situation. I think it depends on the type of work and the role you fill within the organization. I certainly was offended when my co-worker pulled me aside because I was sharing trade secrets. Though he made an interesting point, if that is the culture of the corporate environment, then it is not a good culture.
Here is my opinion. In any case, it is best for the organization for its employees to share their knowledge. The more people know and are capable of doing, the more efficient the organization can run. From an individual’s perspective, it varies. I was told recently by the president of one of our companies to get away from doing data entry. I can collect data and do analysis, but it is not my role to do the data entry. He said I need to learn how to delegate things like that, or I will be doing data entry for the rest of my life. If I am better at data entry than the people I delegate to, then I need to provide tips and secrets that they can learn to work faster. Furthermore, in the corporate world, if I have subordinates, then I want to share all the knowledge I can, so they can do all the work, and I can spend my time reviewing work and making decisions.
On the other side of the argument, I’ve always been taught in business that everyone is replaceable. The more your company values your work, the more secure your job is. If your boss values your work so highly that he considers you nearly irreplaceable, then he knows you are a great worker and can be given more responsibilities. As your responsibilities increase, you get overloaded by the more basic work which will have to be passed on to other people or a subordinate who you train to be able to handle the basic parts of your job. From there you can continue to move up. Though it is not right, and not in the best interest of the organization, I think I can make a case where an employee hoarding his skills causes him to shine the brightest over his peers, and therefore becomes the first to be offered more responsibility.
In my case, I try to share my knowledge with others as I work with them, but the pace of corporate life makes teaching a challenge. Many don’t want to know how I do what I do, they just want to send me a file and work my magic. Others are pressed for a deadline, so they try to follow along as a work, but can’t keep up. They simply say “you’ll have to teach me this stuff sometime,” but sometime will never come.
As a final thought for this side of the argument, there is no one else in my office that can model like I can, or generate analysis as accurate and as fast as me. None the less, I just got a promotion to a position where I will use Excel very little. I think I got the promotion because I was noticed and found valuable, not because any knowledge I shared with others, or showing my leadership capabilities. Clearly there were other reasons, but when it comes down to it, I was catching some nice fish.
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