- Principles of CAD Management [2]
- Division of Work – Principles of CAD Management [3]
- Authority – Principles of CAD Management [4]
- Discipline – Principles of CAD Management [5]
- One “CAD Boss” – Principles of CAD Management [6]
- Unity of Direction – Principles of CAD Management [7]
- Take a Back Seat – Principles of CAD Management
- A Fair Wage – Principles of CAD Management [8]
- Centralization – Principles of CAD Management [9]
- Can we talk? – Principles of CAD Management [10]
- Can you Talk? – Principles of CAD Management [11]
- Hidden Org Charts – Principles of CAD Management [12]
- Order – Principles of CAD Management [13]
- Fairness – Principles of CAD Management [14]
- Stability – Principles of CAD Management [15]
- Initiative – Principles of CAD Management [16]
- Esprit de Corps – Principles of CAD Management [17]
Are you a “Company Man”? Not that you have to be a man to do that. It is a term used for those that have sold out to the company they work for and will do anything for that firm, even lie or cheat. The “Company Man” will sell out his friends and coworkers to get ahead. That is not what this principle is all about.
This concept is that the individual employee should subordinate their personal goals to achieve the goals of the firm. Taken to an extreme, this can be very negative to the individual. When forced upon the employee, this can prove to be oppressive. The employee should balance their individual aspirations, goals and plans in order to work well with others. No one wants to work with someone that is not a team player.
This is not a requirement to just blindly do what you are told by anyone that is above you in the pecking order. It also does not mean that the individual complains, drags their feet or derails initiatives just because they do not like them.
CAD and BIM users need to subordinate their desires to avoid the standard and use the company wide guidelines. Individuals must take a back seat from time to time in order to make progress as a whole. The firm you work for has strategic plans that call for employees to muster their efforts in one direction or another. The employee decided to follow or to go in another direction.
Companies are looking for those that can align themselves to the firms vision and help make progress to those goals. Employees that contribute and sacrifice are seen as more valuable. It is a balance each employee has to wrestle with. Go along with the firms means and methods, work ethic, demands and such – or choose to go to another firm (or start your own).
Falling after the prior two principles of unified leadership and direction comes this one – sacrifice for the team. Everybody does this to some level. the prima donna’s do not and may soon find themselves on the street is they are too inflexible.
Talking a back seat does not mean that you are inferior. It is a choice that you make to set aside personal agendas for the common agenda.
1 Comment To "Take a Back Seat – Principles of CAD Management"
#1 Comment By Mungo On July 6, 2011 @ 6:00 AM
This Company Man principle is similar to my position I am currently in. My previous comment in your post “One “CAD Boss” – Principles of CAD Management” went some way to explain my current situation. As far as being the “Company Man” it seems (as you say) you need to strike a balance. When you have to deal with people not listening to you, or making decisions they are not qualified to make, this can be extremely frustrating. But I think I have found a balance in my current role. Things are far from ideal but I have found that rather than losing sleep over it, I have tried to win small battles rather than the whole war! I have also tried to gain the trust of my employee by showing willing and agreeing to some things (I am not entirely happy with) but I know won’t call too much carnage. I have also found over time, that some of my points have been proven and some people are starting to realise “this guy might know what he is talking about”. I assumed that was the reason they employed me. I have also thought carefully about how I want the system to be in 5 years time and put things in place to make it go that way over time. Your SWOT Analysis really helped. I have found that you can sometimes add really useful things to a CAD system that Non-CAD people don’t understand, because to them, it seems insignificant. Usually this is because they don’t always understand the implications you propose.