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Emotions Matter

Ox

Diamond
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Location
Northwest Ohio
"And now for something completely different!" (in my best Rocky the squirrel voice)


For any of you that doo not have your own copy of Modern Machine Shop magazine, this is a link to a different approach to running a shop.

Doesn't seem like anything that I am personally comfortable with, but - hey, it's working for them!
It's an interesting read if nothing else.

Modern Machine Shop - JAN 219



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Emotional Rescue
Ox
 
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I think what is not said is as important as what is said[I only skimmed the article]

A bunch of people left

Hmmm, bossman wants me to take some hippy dippy courses instead of work, what is the big deal?

I think the big deal might have been a totally toxic culture, led by the people who left.


I say this because I had a lead man for some 7 years, best machinist I have ever even heard of. But when I think back, thank god he got mad at me and quit, because he was toxic. I relied on him so much at the time I did not give it enough weight, and we all had fun more or less. But he could be a real dick..........I am extrapolating here, but with this guys [much larger] shop, what do you do when you realize key people might be holding you back?
 
Also - I forgot to add that this was the last issue for Mark Albert being a full-time employee of the magazine.
I have been reading "Mark My Word" for nigh on 30 years now.

ALSO - his co-hort over at the Production Machining Magazine side of things - Chris Koepfer - has also retired at the same time.
Both are Gardner Publication magazines.

A bit change of the guards if you will.
Not seen this much change since Production Machining Magazine started back around 2000 to compete with Automatic Machining Magazine.
Not that there was much competition there.
Don was tired and milking it for quite some time... But I miss him none the less.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
I have been reading "Mark My Word" for nigh on 30 years now.
Eh, he was okay as a kid but he's been writing pretty much the same thing for the past thirty years, too.

The one I miss is that cranky old bastard at Machine Design (I think) ... Irving Krohl, or something like that ? Even when he was wrong, he wrote a great column. And when he was right, he hit it out of the ballpark :)
 
Maybe to attract the newest generation to the trade a “softer” approach is needed?

I don’t know, not for me. I earned my crankiness.
 
Eh, he was okay as a kid but he's been writing pretty much the same thing for the past thirty years, too.

The one I miss is that cranky old bastard at Machine Design (I think) ... Irving Krohl, or something like that ? Even when he was wrong, he wrote a great column. And when he was right, he hit it out of the ballpark :)

I'm not saying that I thought that there was anything especially _ special about his columns, just that it's been a constant for many years, and ethics seemed to be a recurring concern of his.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
. . . The one I miss is that cranky old bastard at Machine Design (I think) ... Irving Krohl, or something like that ? Even when he was wrong, he wrote a great column. And when he was right, he hit it out of the ballpark :)

John Krouse?? Good writer, good guy. If that's your guy, he went from Machine Design to editor in chief of CAE Magazine to his own writing business.

Could have been Ron Khol as well?
 
At work in the mornings we all hold hands and sing kumbiya....then we spend the rest of the day doing what we get paid to do, work on molds and bust balls....seems to work out pretty good.
 
Cant imagine why a bunch of toolmakers who spent years making their bones quit over this dribble, rather than coddle a bunch of snowflakes afraid of getting their feelings hurt.
 
With the number of women getting into the field, it's probably a good idea to reevaluate how "team members" are expected to relate/communicate with one another. Especially now, it doesn't take much to have things go legal when interpersonal stuff goes TU (oops, now I have to report myself).

Seriously, it's not 1950 anymore. At least until the AI revolution takes over we have to get young blood into the game, and if that means adapting - well, adapt or perish.
 
Cant imagine why a bunch of toolmakers who spent years making their bones quit over this dribble, rather than coddle a bunch of snowflakes afraid of getting their feelings hurt.

Cannot imagine why a bunch of toolmakers who spent years making their bones cannot behave like civilized adults for 8 hours a day then go home and take it out on their wives like every one else.

Seriously, no amount of expertise give you the right to act like a dick.

Since when is being treated with respect either optional or being a snowflake?

I get to be a dick, I own the place

Everyone else gets to listen to what I say, and if I say be nice, you will fookin-a be nice
 
Cannot imagine why a bunch of toolmakers who spent years making their bones cannot behave like civilized adults for 8 hours a day then go home and take it out on their wives like every one else.

Seriously, no amount of expertise give you the right to act like a dick.

Since when is being treated with respect either optional or being a snowflake?

I get to be a dick, I own the place

Everyone else gets to listen to what I say, and if I say be nice, you will fookin-a be nice


Obviously never served an apprenticeship. Nothing to do with acting like a Dick, Richard
 
My concern here is the rather breezy assertion that people with two to five years in total work experience are doing the job as well as people who had 30 in the trade. Yes, there are some truly terrible "experienced" employees and there are some absolute wunderkinds, but this seems awfully hand-wavey. The only proof of success seems to be "well, after 5 years we finally bought one new machine." That seems... unimpressive because all their other machines are now five years closer to worn out.
 
My concern here is the rather breezy assertion that people with two to five years in total work experience are doing the job as well as people who had 30 in the trade. Yes, there are some truly terrible "experienced" employees and there are some absolute wunderkinds, but this seems awfully hand-wavey. The only proof of success seems to be "well, after 5 years we finally bought one new machine." That seems... unimpressive because all their other machines are now five years closer to worn out.

Any croney from off the street can be taught to run a machine and make adjustments. If you have half a brain it doesn't take 2 years to learn how to make adjustments.

There was a program of training at Zimmer biomet, every year you had to go through pages of crap on the intranet. After the training, the people who knew what they are doing stayed the same, the people who didn't know what they were doing stayed the same...awesome idea :)
 
Didn't have a chance to read the article yet but am looking forward to now that there is a discussion.

If it is about how to shift shop culture from "toxic" to inclusive then it is probably coming at a good time. In every shop I have been in the culture is set by the owner without exception.

My first job out of school was in a shop where the owner was nice half the time but would fly off the handle and scream at employees. It was a truly toxic place to try and start a career. employees would hold grudges and talk behind the backs of their boss and fellow employees. That is a recipe for disaster.

Now I work for an honest boss who truly has the interest of his employees front and center. The shop runs smoothly with everyone respecting one another and sharing the load. He helps clean the coolant tank when the time comes which doesn't go unnoticed.

I am of the opinion that the younger generation is to focused on touchy-feely emotions. I would be fine to come to work and not talk to or see another person while I'm there. That doesn't change the fact that we need to continue to draw both young men and women into this field, if smiling and eating lunch together makes the difference so be it.
 
I'm thinking a number of people here missed the point of the article. It's not about being "touchy-feely" and "coddling snowflakes" but about how understanding oneself and others in one's workplace makes attempting to communicate and function easier and more effective. You can run a sports team and give everyone a left-handed stick and tell them "too bad that's how we operate around here" or you could take the extra effort to determine what works for each individual, and slot them into a role they are best suited to.

At my last job, we all did a categorization evaluation similar to the one they mentioned in the article. It seemed like nobody took it seriously, and because of that, nothing really changed because of it. But, it led me to a deeper understanding of myself, and I'm still using lessons learned from that one-day training to better communicate with my own father and others in general. From understanding comes control.

Also, I married a social worker so I see the impacts of this kind of stuff first-hand on a daily basis. Seeing her "social work" friends and family is a tremendous pleasure to watch, as she does it so subtly that most of the time the recipient of the counseling doesn't even realize what is going on. It works, but only if you let it. If you reject the concept of emotions impacting your thoughts and actions, you will constantly either be actively struggling against yourself or influenced anyway and unable to control it.
 








 
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