Comments on: On Doing Things.

By: Bookmarks about Reputation

Bookmarks about Reputation — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:15:26 +0000

[...] – bookmarked by 2 members originally found by kchanasyk on 2008-07-18 On Doing Things. http://collegewebguy.com/2008/07/16/on-doing-things/ – bookmarked by 4 members originally found by [...]

By: Higher Education Internet Marketers Links of the Week July 19th, 2008 | .eduGuru

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:56:26 +0000

[...] On Doing Things. – Drew starts a great discussion about getting through the web politics and actually getting to work. What’s your experience? Go leave a comment. [...]

By: Drew

Drew — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:52:12 +0000

So now Bob Johnson is on my side. How about that Karlyn? I think I should explain my current situation and give some background. My web-services boss has grown into a great advocate of well-produced, standards based web development. And he now has the ear of the higher-ups and administrative decision-makers. The result being the rest of our campus web team isn’t forced to politic and attend meetings and exert the kind of evangelical energy that we did in the past. Only now though, things are going so well, and in such a positive direction that I’ve got tons of very important web projects in the works. Big stuff relating to the core of our university’s web presence; the kind of projects we’ve been wanting to address for ages. ….So the struggle for me, now that we’ve been given the green light to go forth and create massive change, is the struggle to fend off and keep at bay the side projects and special initiatives that all seem to have web components and committees attached to them.

I’m trying to eat my steak and these other waiters are steadily approaching and demanding I eat these other entrees. And they want me to stop what I’m doing to talk / discuss.

I just want to eat my steak for a few months and get these really important projects out the door. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m not interested in those discussions, it just means I’ve got plenty to chew on at the moment and have been struggling with the management of my time. There I said it.

By: Karine Joly

Karine Joly — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:49:33 +0000

When I started to work remotely, I was able to skip de facto most of the meetings where my presence wasn’t absolutely required. Still, I spent a lot of time in conference calls that weren’t that productive either, but that’s another story.

As a result, I was able to complete a lot more projects than before, but I think I also lost touch with the campus office politics and dynamics – which resulted in some major road blocks.

So, you bring your laptop to the meetings? How do they react if they see you surfing or doing something not related to the meeting? I’m curious.

By: Kyle James

Kyle James — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:54:46 +0000

For the record… Karlyn’s wrong on this one.

I’ve sat through plently of meetings that were not only not productive, but totally ruined my mojo for the rest of the day.

By: Bob Johnson

Bob Johnson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:13:39 +0000

After working 20+ years in various level of college and university administration, I’d say you’ve nailed this pretty well. Not that there won’t be exceptions, but the higher education commitment to “consensus” indeed inhibits decision making and reduces the committee outcome to things that achieve the widest possible agreement. And that too often means watering things way down.

And so one of the things I don’t miss as a consultant now is committee meetings. My best times in administration were when a few people who worked well together were on a project team working on something where everybody understood the final goal and was willing to share ideas about the best way to get there. But we never, ever called them “committees.”

By: If you don’t read anything else today « Higher Ed Web Marketing

If you don’t read anything else today « Higher Ed Web Marketing — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:00:02 +0000

[...] “On doing things” http://collegewebguy.com/2008/07/16/on-doing-things/ [...]

By: Paul Redfern

Paul Redfern — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:54:00 +0000

After a long day of meetings this post was really interesting. I do think there is value to being a part of “meetings” or conversations that don’t always have to do with your area but are part of the larger picture at your institution.

By: Kyle James

Kyle James — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:50:54 +0000

Drew,
Great post here… but one problem… you promise me 10 steps then only give 6! I feel cheated cause your totally onto something here!

Also reading through the comments I’m going to also have to agree w/ you there too Drew. Sounds like my school isn’t the only one, but there are plenty of meetings that I go through that are absolutely POINTLESS! What’s worse than worse is when you have a meeting w/ a department and accomplish nothing and then a month later do the same thing again… It becomes a regular ritual and at that point I bring my Laptop as Karlyn suggested.

By: Karlyn

Karlyn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:45:24 +0000

“Karlyn, you know, sometimes you’re just wrong.”

But Kyle James says I’m never wrong

What I’m saying is that sometimes meetings don’t SEEM relevant, but then people start brainstorming and go off topic and they become EXTREMELY relevant. It doesn’t always happen, which is why I bring my computer to all meetings – if it doesn’t apply to me, I’m working on something else.