Dear Lazy Drafter #5 - Dreaming of Designing

I often get asked for CAD advice and I might have an idea about what to do. Then again, I often have stupid ideas too. Oh well, if you are seeking CAD advice, and don't care who you get it from, drop me a line at lazydrafter@gmail.com. I'll do my best not to make you feel worse.
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Dear Lazy Drafter,


I am in a rut in my career. I like my job at (Company name withheld) , but I want to progress into design, not just picking up redlines. I have been working hard here for 5 years. I work overtime without question when they need it, I help solve problems. I'm on the team when they need drafting done quick and accurate, and I'm well respected. But I feel like I have topped out. I get raises, but I don't get to design. Do you have any suggestions on how to break through the drafting glass ceiling.


Signed 
Dreaming of Designing


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Dear Dreaming of Designing,


It sounds like you are a valuable part of the team that has gotten type-cast as the drafting savior. You are recognized for your drafting skills, but your dreams of designing are going unnoticed. Here are a few things to give a go.

• Just because you know something, doesn't mean it is common knowledge. Tell your supervisor in no uncertain terms of your aspirations and ask for his/her help.
• Find a mentor. Having somebody that can not only teach you design skills but open doors for your will expedite your growth.
• I keep saying this, but one more time... change yourself. You can't do the same old things and expect different results. You need to up your game by being more professional in dress and actions. Mix it up, and put yourself in the circles of people you want to work with. The relationships you make will propel you.
• Invest in yourself. That may mean going back to school or getting training outside of work. Doing this increases your value to the company and yourself and shows a level of commitment that not everyone else has.
• Do something. Demonstrate your skills by taking a crappy job nobody wants or fixing and internal problem, but do it with out being asked. Just tell them you see a problem and say you can fix it.
• Say some good things. This might be hard for some, but find something good about everyone you know at work and tell them. This will greatly enhance the companies perception of you and will jump start your relationship building skills.

Long story short, there are times when you have to meet your company halfway, but if you really want success, go 90% of the way and make it easy for your company to pick up the other 10%.

Dear Lazy Drafter #4 - Revenge by Hasselhoff

I often get asked for CAD advice and I might have an idea about what to do. Then again, I often have stupid ideas too. Oh well, if you are seeking CAD advice, and don't care who you get it from, drop me a line at lazydrafter@gmail.com. I'll do my best not to make you feel worse.
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Dear Lazy Drafter,

Long story short, I have a classmate who crossed boundaries and lacks common decency. I've written a nice macro that I would like to share but don't know how to incorporate it into ACAD yet. The best thing I've heard people talk about redefining commands. Was thinking the "Plot" command would be perfect it's just the matter of HOW to do it. Most all of this is above my skill level right now. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Before you freak out, I've put in a few safety features where their previous work wont be touched. It HIDES previous work. Marks an UNDO
point. Creates a new layer, inserts a nice photo of David Hasselhoff with puppies. Locks that layer. Zoom Extents. and a random Hoff fanclub site opens in the browser.

^C^C^CUNDO;M;LOGFILEONE;(SETQ CL (GETVAR "CLAYER"));HIDEOBJECTS;ALL;;-LA;M;PLAYNICE;;-ATTACH;http://celebrityroast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/david-hasselhoff.jpg;;32;0;LAYLCK;LAST;RIBBONCLOSE;ZOOM;E;-LA;S;!CL;;BROWSER;http://www.facebook.com/;BROWSER;http://www.davidhasselhoffonline.com/originalfanclub.html

Signed

Revenge by Hasselhoff

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Dear Revenge by Hasselhoff,

You are a genius. it doesn't matter if your classmate is up for an international humanitarian award, giving someone the "Hasselhoff" is too good to pass up. Here's how to do it. Instead of redefining a command like plot, just incorporate you macro into a lisp. (For more on Lisp see my post on Basic Lisp). This lisp can be placed into your classmate's startup suite. From there, use the aliasedit command to associate the lisp with a quick key-in like "L" which will normally start the line command.

If your target never uses any key-ins, you can use the Custom User Interface (CUI command) to change any thing on the ribbon to Revenge by Hasselhoff.

Dear Lazy Drafter #3 - Unconscious Incompetance

I often get asked for CAD advice and I might have an idea about what to do. Then again, I often have stupid ideas too. Oh well, if you are seeking CAD advice, and don't care who you get it from, drop me a line at lazydrafter@gmail.com. I'll do my best not to make you feel worse.
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Dear Lazy Drafter,


I am a Lead Drafter for a team of 8 drafters. I just hired a kid out of a 2 year technical school. During the interview, he spoke well and had good confidence. I look for this because the drafters here need to work interdependently. Now that he has been on the job for 7 weeks, it has become clear that he is not that confident with the software. He takes longer than he needs to. He really cares about doing good work but, he can't seem to do it very quick. the hard part for me is that he thinks speed is not the issue, and he just needs overtime to make deadlines. I have showed him tricks like using key-ins and leveraging his selection sets, but I don't think any of it is sticking. How do you tell someone, they need to improve, when they think they are great? He really believes it!


The Emperor's New CAD Man
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Dear Emperor,


According to a wise old man named Abraham Maslow, there are four stages to learning..


Unconscious Incompetence - You don't know what you don't know.
Conscious Incompetence - You know you don't know something.
Conscious Competence - You know how to do something.
Unconscious Competence - You do something so well, it doesn't take conscious thought.


I think your new drafter is at stage 1. That would make your next step, finding a way to let them know that the expectation is higher than they thought. If there is no problem perceived, the behavior will never change. I do have more patience for someone who is unaware they are a problem than someone who is perfectly aware they are. I hope you will find that once your drafter accepts that speed is a real issue, that he will progress into stage 2 where he should begin dealing with the speed problem. Before long he should be at stage 3 by focusing on the speed issue. You may not even notice when stage 4 happens and he is executing commands without thought. Think of how often you hit the enter key or the space bar. Do you think about it each time, or does hand just do it out of habit?


Being aware that everyone is at a different stage of learning with just about everything they do, helps me deal with their behaviors better. It's also cool to think that I learned something in college that I still apply in my daily life.

Dear Lazy Drafter #2 - Do That Thing

I often get asked for CAD advice and what better way to share the wisdom of my advanced years than to throw out my shingle as the Dear Abbie of the CAD World. Then again, I often have stupid ideas too. Oh well, only one way to find out. If you are seeking CAD advice, and don't care who you get it from, drop me a line at lazydrafter@gmail.com. I'll do my best not to make you feel worse.
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Dear Lazy Drafter,
I don't want to sound full of myself, but this place would fall to pieces without me, but I don't get treated like it. I do my production work and help everybody that has a mouse in the place. I do everything from write LISP to download pictures off my boss' phone. There are IT things I do, I order paper for the plotter, and kick it when required. I am freaking Super CAD-Man. I fly around the office saving everyone that gets in trouble, and just like Superman, nobody is cutting me a check for it. I feel like I have a lot more responsibilities than a lot of the loafers around here, but I hardly make more than the moron I sit next to. What do I have to do to get some respect and the extra cash I deserve?


Super CAD-Man
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Dear Super CAD-Man,


You would be awesome if you were not so full of yourself. 


The fact that your office is doing jobs in this economy, tells me that other people in your office are working hard too. So, my first piece of advice is to forget about what other people make for doing their job. It may seem unfair that there are supermodels making way more than you, but that argument is not going to make your boss respect you more or pay you more.If you want respect, you must earn it. Calling people "loafers" and "morons" will not get you respected. Try this; think of someone you respect and ask yourself why you respect them. Now do that thing they do.


On the money side, I have found money to be quite an additive thing. The more people make, the more they need. I have never seen a PC that someone said was too fast, or a person with too much money. It is probably hard to hear, but work hard and the money will come. If you need to accelerate things, have an honest conversation with your boss. I would not start with "I'm freaking Super CAD-Man". Just tell your boss the way you feel and ask "What can I do to provide more value to the firm?" The do that thing.


I have found that if you want to move up, the best way is to go ahead and move up. What I mean is, don't get hung up on "I want a promotion." Think about what you would do for your job if you got that promotion, and do that. Keep thinking of things you would do if you could, and try to do as many of them as you can. I think that going above and beyond in your job, will result in the desired effects of respect and money.


I don't know everything. Maybe you are in a dead-end job. If you think so too, start thinking of the job you deserve and.... well, do that.

Dear Lazy Drafter #1 - Dueling Drafters

I had an epiphany the other day. I often get asked for CAD advice and what better way to share the wisdom of my advanced years than to throw out my shingle as the Dear Abbie of the CAD World. Then again, I often have stupid ideas too. Oh well, only one way to find out. Below is the first installment of Dear Lazy Drafter. I’ll do my best to give good advice and let’s see if this works or blows up in my face. Either way, it should make interesting reading. If you are seeking CAD advice, and don't care who you get it from, drop me a line at lazydrafter@gmail.com. I'll do my best not to make you feel worse.

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Dear Lazy Drafter,


I am a CAD Manager, and I have 2 highly capable drafters that just can't seem to get along. Every chance they get they stab each other in the back, or report minor drafting standards violations on each other. In our office the drafters are supposed to work together on projects, but when I have a job that I need these two to work together on, no one will do it because we know it will end in a bad way. Apart they are the two best drafters I have, together they are a disaster that kills moral and slows down important projects. Can you help me?


                                                                                            Desperate CAD-dergarden Manager
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Dear Desperate CAD-dergarden Manager,


Sounds like like a personal problem to me, my people all love each other. 


Alright, I'm kidding. Where ever people get together they will have agreements and disagreements, every manager deals with this same problem you are having. The bad news is you can't make anyone like anyone else, but the good news is there are things you can try. Maybe all of these will help, but probably not all at once, so pick and choose what you think will be most effective.

1. Sit them next to each other. It sounds crazy, but they will have a much more difficult time bad mouthing each other when they are constantly in ear shot. Being close together will also give them opportunities to discover when they do agree.
2. In concert with #1, ask the two of them to help you with something that none of the other drafters are qualified to do. Not regular work, but a special project that they will find challenging, force them to find common ground, and free up more of your time.  
3. Don't ignore the issue. Meet with them together and get it out in the open. Allow them limited time to air their thoughts in the most constructive way possible, then explain how their behavior is affecting moral and projects. 
4. In no uncertain terms, tell them that it can not continue. Let them know they are skilled, valuable employees, but their feud is a cancer and sooner or latter, measures will have to be taken to deal with it.
5. Check in often, individually, after taking any steps and make course corrections to best deal with the evolving situation.

Chances are, good respectable people can get along with a little encouragement. If on the other hand they show that they can not, your firm is better off without either one.