My top managers are always complaining about why i am so slow. how should i react?

Question

I am computer programmer and hanged on single project for about 8 months. I won’t be able to promote to take the position of my manager who left the company because of personal reasons and issues he has in the company. Similar to this project was never done before in the company history and no one can continue the job I am doing. It is because every one who wanted to take over my source code at least takes 1 month to understand each part of it. So they are too dependant on me. The customer always reports his satisfaction of my job to Top managers. The manager replaced is fully incompetent and to me will lead the company to closure. I brought this manager to company as my employee actually he was living in my neighborhood they never even taken my idea into consideration before completion of the project. My thought always fluctuates so that I cannot concentrate well. Is it my problem or it is the problem of company mismanagement?

Answer 1

I got bored half way through your story.

You are so invested in your your story, and being right that you can't see the forest for the trees.

You feel you are smarter than all of them, but don't understand that your niche in the corporate food chain rides on far more than your technical ability. The corporate world is not a meritocracy.

I'm sure your superiors believe that code is just code and programmers are labor units that can be easily interchanged. I know they think things should be far easier and cheaper to get done than they ever are. That also is not the case.

I am also sure that your code is to some degree an impenetrable mass that only you really understand. Part of that is your fault since at least unconsciously you intentionally propped yourself up to give yourself job security and to make you seem godlike.

I am just as sure that you constantly over promise and under deliver, because you are too eager to please, and want so much to be the star, but don't even have a firm grasp on what it really takes to get a thing done.

Another huge part of your predicament is probably due to a lack of proper "program analyst" function during the design process. I have never met a single programmer, including the most brilliant code writer I ever knew who could be given the task of writing two functionalities and not tangle the two together so that they could never ever be separated again. You have to give absolute blinders to a programmer by never letting them see beyond each little piece they are expect to deliver. But since Program Analysts don't actually produce code, and since most managers and especially executives think it should be so easy they could write it themselves if they had the time, this important function is bypassed, almost universally in small companies.

The rest is just the nature of the beast.

I have seen on many occasions multi million dollar projects hit what I call the "point of maximum entropy" where the code is so complex, tangled, and dependent on specific individuals knowledge of it that they simply can progress no further.

It's not an easy thing to pull the plug on more than a million dollars of investment, but I've had to personally do it 3 times*, although the lead on one of those failures went on to waste 15 million dollars of one of our competitor's money before they too pulled the plug. Hopefully you are not at the end stage of one of those disasters. (*Projects I didn't start, but was brought in to save if I could, too often they were simply good money chasing bad. But they weren't all failures, like this one that had an entire staff working on it for 18 months. I came in, took a step back, and revised the specs throwing out the minor piece that was causing all the trouble. It was a solution that actually enhanced the quality of the overall result, but they all had been too busy trying to solve the problem to ever see past it. The project was then delivered in 3 weeks.)

I have seen frustrations such as yours turn to anger and workplace problems so unpleasant that the individuals had to be fired for cause. I pray that is not you. Nor do these problems go away with just that, but they seem to repeat employer after employer till the person becomes virtually unemployable regardless of their skills.

My advice to you is this, although I know you will not take it, is to get yourself some counseling and learn to relate to your workplace and your coworkers in a different way. For an immediate impact look into things like the Mankind Project or Landmark Education. It has helped some, and others not so much, but remember that just looking outside yourself takes guts and is an important step in the process.

Just remember this: What you are doing now is not working. Doing more of the same and expecting a different result is simply put, insanity.

Good Luck

Answer 2

Sounds like clueless mismanagement. Unfortunately you will see it more and more.

The real issue is the nature of corporations Especially during lean times. All managers see is $$$$

I am an IT guy too. I work for a small company and i think I do my job well. All that matters though is how much billable time I have. So I am encouraged to prioritize based on $$$$ and do more work in a mediocre way. Hey if it breaks we can charge to fix it later.

This leads to cheapness, poor infrastructure, and eventual customer service issues. However NOW NOW NOW is all bean counters see

It didnt used to be this bad. I think you should get out. You may find something better.

Office Space and Dilbert are the current business model in many places.

If you can go into business for yourself, you will be lucky. I am trying to get out of IT if I can find another living wage career. They want to suck the life out of you and blame you for what breaks

Answer 3

You are a typical enginneer IT TEch Guy
You do not see the big business picture
The managers dont unbdetrstand nor do they want to understand your job they just think dates expense etc..
Draft a plan with dates and goals
Present the plan to management
Once they agree to dates and goals
You need to learn more about the business and work with the managers so they personally like and trust you

Answer 4

Sounds as though you may be a little unfocused. Companies always want things done rapidly, it saves them money. On the other hand, they want things done error free. So, we get into that lovely catch 22 that you and most of working Americans are in.

Answer 5

Look for a new job and sod them. If they see you are actively seeking a new post then they will have to take you seriously or be left in the doodoo.

It isn't unusual that useless people are made managers, in fact it may as well be in the job description! It makes no sense to me either, it's just that these are the types of people who know how to blag and sell themselves.

Answer 6

it's probably mismanagement, most managers are incompetent and don't know the details of most worker bees' duties.


I would plant a virus in their server and since they dont' know how to do anything, fix it so you can come out on top.

just a thought

Answer 7

Display your plastic medals of individual achivement from the Special Olympics in your cubicle.

Answer 8

I think its your problem and sounds more like sour grapes, since you probably wanted the managerial job yourself.

Just get on with your job, and enjoy the weekends.

Answer 9

mismagement, all they want is good little brown nosers & backstabbers