Do I have the worlds cheapest boss?

I'm reminded of Peter Falk's character in the 1981 movie "The California Dolls" (aka "All The Marbles").

His response to complaints about why everything his team did or got was so cheap was invariably, "Those frills cost money."

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia
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Lane,

Just from your message header I was prepared to explain why you don't have the cheapest boss ever. But after reading your post, if he's not the cheapest, he's probably in the top 10.

Keep your eyes open for another job, it's not going to get any better where you're at now...

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

"Lane" wrote

Faith is being able to step off of a cliff, and know in that moment that God will either put stones under your feet, or teach you to fly.

Faith didn't come easily and quickly to me.

I've always had a hard knocks life starting with a mother that ran off with a truck driver when I was four. A neglectful father. Sexual abuse by a neighbor. Left home when I was fifteen, and lived on the streets before it became popular.

Seven years ago, I left a bad situation, a bad marriage, and a depressed area in the United States. In the next seven years, I filed bankruptcy, I had progressive heart problems, kidney surgery, cancer surgery, two shoulder surgeries, and a 5 way bypass with an aortic valve replacement. I had two industrial accidents, the last one four months ago that might (I hope) allow me to permanently retire.

I am eager to get through all the paperwork and legal mumbojumbo going on right now. From what I hear, it could drag on for another eight months. I want it to end, because in the meantime, I have bought an Internet domain, wroughtironpotracks.com. I have been to trade shows in Las Vegas and Los Angeles finding lines of goods I can sell there. I have been active on ebay for the last two years, and will be expanding my store. I'm too busy and having too much fun now that I am not working and can look at other angles. Maybe you need to back up a little bit and look around. Sometimes one is so close to an elephant that they don't know what they are looking at.

But no matter what happens, you have to stop, look around, and ask yourself the best way to play the cards you have been dealt. For you, that might mean going back to school, changing jobs, starting a side job making things, or welding for others, or doing side work. Or researching something entirely new like ebay or hairdressing.

Your answers are all locked inside you already. You just have to take the inward painful journey and find them. You and only you know where you want to be and what you want to be doing.

Have faith that you will figure it out, because if you really want to, you will. There is some indication that you do because there are hints of it in your original post.

You'll get there. Good luck.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

"Lane" wrote

I have to say that your post is the one that made me stop

Thank you for the great compliment.

Reply to
SteveB

I'm a little late in diving in here, but my personal philosophy is so similar to SteveB's that I couldn't resist. "Play TO your strengths, and AWAY from your weaknesses" is what I have I have learned is best for me. Like Steve, I believe that a Higher Power has endowed us strengths and weaknesses, and that there is a purpose behind that endowment.

It's become chic in the self-improvement culture of the last 20 years or so to advocate confronting and conquering your weaknesses, overcoming fears, etc, etc. A better investment of your time, though, is developing your strong characteristics to be even better. Sometimes your strengths seem inconsequential and not worth much. And often, it's very uncomfortable to admit what your weaknesses are.

Example: I am a procrastinator. But I've discovered that, in the pursuit of my remodeling business, I procrastinate more in the afternoon than in the morning. I've learned to schedule the detailed work that requires concentration, i.e., estimating, in the morning. Paying bills, CAD work, and going to the dump don't require that same level of concentration and can be done anytime.

Finding your own strengths that can make a difference can be elusive. It often helps to write them all down, whether they pertain to your career, or otherwise. After a while you'll see a pattern emerge that can better your life. Remember, you're not looking for earth-shattering improvements here, just a combination of subtle improvements that can make a difference over time. Life is given to us one day and a time, and that's the way we have to change it. I believe that a daily awareness of the need to improve is better than a 4 hour brainstorming session on a weekend.

Good luck in your current position. Certainly, I've worked for some dickheads before and know how disturbing it can be.

Reply to
Gary Brady

Taking a "leap of faith" can be scary as hell....however the fear is ONLY fear of the unknown. We are familiar with the crappy situation that we are in yet people tend to wrap the crapitude around them like a blanket to cuddle and protect. Infinate possibilities exist when one takes that leap..from great things to even crappier than the current situation. When we don't take that leap, the only possibility is continued "same old crap".

Reading this post gave me time to think about the leaps that I know I need to take and the stupidity of the excuses not to take them.

Act upon things, don't react to things is something I don't tell myself often enough.

Thanks for the comments, Steve

Koz

Reply to
Koz

Getting the "cheapass" story out of the way first: Old boss took a paper cup to the bank while doing a deposit one day. Told bank teller that he had been paying for paperclips to hold deposits together over the years and they should re-fill his cup as they owed those paperclips back to him.

One business model that people like to follow is treating all aspects of a business as completely distposble and without value. This includes employees, tooling, fixtures and even customers. I suppose that some people see a business as simply a profit generator that has no intrinsic value and should be set up to throw out on a moment's notice like any trash.

I guess when Boeing has treated many of their suppliers like that over the years, some suppliers begin to act that way.

It aint gunna change. To this boss, the business has no value except to pay his day to day bills. There's no concept of maximizing ROI because the boss doesn't seem to consider anything as an "investment"...to this boss, there is nothing of value to invest in. It appears to be all focused on the "return" half.

Boss' choice on this one. Either you start repeating to yourself "why ask why?" becasue it aint gonna change or take a leap of faith that there are better companies to work for. And....although I can't speak for (Mt Vernon?) or places north of Seattle, there certainly are places in the south end that you could probably do better with your skills. People tend to wait Waaaaaaay too long to get divorced due to fear and years of trying to convince themselves that it can only get better. Changing jobs is often like a divorce: Costs a bundle but it's worth every penny if only to one's sanity.

Koz

Reply to
Koz

"Koz" wrote

Money is easy to get. Peace of mind is not.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Had lunch a few weeks ago with someone I worked with in a horrible situation. We came to the conclusion a bad job is like an abusive relationship...One does not realize how bad it was till it is over. The day-to-day anaesthesia of just getting by makes one unable to see it clearly for what it is.

Reply to
Grunty Grogan

I think you should expect more than your current situation, but it may never again be like an aerospace company- if the stories I've heard are even half true. Grumman had fantastic resources and very knowledgeable people- but little financial accountability. For the technically inclined, it must have been a fascinating place to work.

WRT your current situation, in the northeast at least, highly skilled shop labor usually makes less than semi-skilled construction trades. The seasonal nature of construction is a factor, but good tradesmen have a knack for staying busy. I think mechanically inclined guys who can do more than the typical robot will always be in demand on a jobsite, particularly for tackling tough punchlist items, solving unusual problems, etc.. Put together a sharp mind and an ability to do some simple machining when needed and you should be able to make a good living in construction.

Reply to
ATP*

I'm doing that! Turned in an app and resume to another place today in fact. Lane

Reply to
Lane

Well, I WAS thinking about sending a resume to Sony....until now.

Shawn

Reply to
Shawn

You might want to try looking at <

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> Another large aerospace company looking for people to work a few miles west of Seattle. They are mostly looking for people with ordnance experience, but also other jobs.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Fascinating set of responses to a message that most likely should have been posted to a psychology discussion group. Most likely this is his life style and not his business model. As such, logic will have little to do with anything and argument is largely a waste of time for both him and you.

The danger here is that we tend to become like the people we associate with, and we spend more time at work than anywhere else. If you have a [subjectively] crazy owner/boss, over time he will become surrounded by the same type of people. These people either had the same general attitudes or acquired these over time on the job [gives new meaning to the phrase OJT doesn't it?] If you stay there any length of time you run the danger of acquiring their general worldview and becoming as 'crazy' as they are. The reason 'crazy' is in quotes is because their worldview is most likely entirely rational when evaluated using their conscious and sub-liminal assumptions.

This of course can be expanded to organizations of any size.

GmcD

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

YUP George you're 100% correct. Like talking to a brick wall.

I'm not going to stay around long enough for that to happen

Lane

Reply to
Lane

It doesn't take much looking to find a very large 'crazy' organization, just look at DC ;)

Reply to
Nick Hull

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