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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

2001.0. "Enough is Enough" by SWAM2::SIMKINS_GI () Mon Jul 20 1992 23:27

    I don't know about you, but I am getting tired of the sarcasm that is
    filling the notes in this file.  I usually don't spend time in the
    notes file for 2 reasons: one because I usually don't have the time,
    and two because of the sarcastic remarks and off-the-wall tangents
    some people go off on.  I always wonder how some people have so much
    time to spend in the notes file, and how much this costs Digital in
    system costs and wages.
    
    It is one thing share valuable information.  It is another to add to
    the already low morale with sarcastic comments by individuals with bad
    attitudes or to waste time going off on a tangent because someone made
    a spelling error.  Let's not encourage poor remarks that add to our
    anxiety.  We can't control the situation, but we do need to carry on,
    let's make the best of it.
    
    One last thing.  I can't believe the derrogatory remarks people are
    making about Ken.  I for one think he has lot's to be proud of in his
    accomplishments.  And I think he deserves applaudes.
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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2001.1How can one not comment... :^)CSC32::J_OPPELTI like it this way.Mon Jul 20 1992 23:316
>    One last thing.  I can't believe the derrogatory remarks people are
>    making about Ken.  I for one think he has lot's to be proud of in his
>    accomplishments.  And I think he deserves applaudes.

    	Uh, that's "derogatory" and "applause", I believe...
    
2001.2FSOA::OGRADYGeorge, 297-5322, US Retail/Wholesale SWMon Jul 20 1992 23:552
    
    Joe, were you the guy I saw throwing gas on that fire? :-))))))
2001.3Ken is a GREAT manSMAUG::GARRODFloating on a wooden DECk chairTue Jul 21 1992 00:1332
    Re .0
    
    For what it's worth Ken Olsen got two standing ovations today at
    beginning and end of his talk in Parker Street. I believe he deserved
    both of them. I have a huge amount of respect for his achievements.
    Sure he's made some mistakes but so have all of us.
    
    Ken gave an extremely frank and informative talk today. I just wish
    he'd started doing this a few years ago. Part of his talk concerned the
    frustrations he's had trying to get people to change to turn this
    company around in the last few years.
    
    The sad part is that I believe strongly that if his ideas had been
    implemented this company would have turned round long ago. He was
    railing on about the same sort of things that many people have
    complained about in this notesfile (stovepiping, functional monopolies,
    no clear strategy etc). It appears that he was unable to shift the
    senior management. Maybe if he'd have communicated as openly to us
    'regular' people before and hence bypassing the ossification he could
    have been successful in recovering the company. But I guess that was
    not to be.
    
    He made an interesting comment. He said he'd been talking to Bob Palmer
    (this moring I think) and said how patient he'd been with people. He
    said that Bob said something like (my memory is not quite clear on
    this) that Bob had some of the same goals that Ken had but "didn't
    intend to be so patient".
    
    He also made a number of other interesting comments... I'll leave
    others to enter them.
    
    Dave
2001.4don't blame Notes!ANARKY::BREWERJohn Brewer Component Engr. @ABOTue Jul 21 1992 03:1611
    
    	I would surmise that a great deal of the sarcasm and caustic
    remarks stem from the fact that the policy and decision makers
    that led this place down the path to where we are now will not bear the
    same consequences as the tens of thousands that will be let go.
    
    	A notesfile is a relatively harmless vent for the pain and
    frustration we all feel. Morale problems are certainly more influenced
    by business conditions than by this file.  
    
    	/john
2001.5in ReviewSDSVAX::SWEENEYRum, Romanism, RebellionTue Jul 21 1992 11:488
    A lot of this "sarcasm" is, to use the DEC jargon, "payback".

    The critics of Digital management who are represented here in abundance
    were right and Digital management and their defenders here were wrong.

    The claim that one could allow the company to lose 85% of market value
    and not have made serious mistakes in the last four years seems a bit
    arrogant and sarcastic in itself.
2001.6Get it off your chestUNYEM::HALLCTue Jul 21 1992 13:378
    I think that if management would level with us "common" people
    regarding what is really going to happen and when, you would see alot
    less of the "sarcasm" that is here in the notes file.
    
    Where are we to release if we can't do it here?  I know that the people
    here in my office write in here when they are really fed up.  It
    doesn't change anything but it always help to get it off your chest.
    
2001.7On employee-management relationsWHO301::BOWERSDave Bowers @WHOTue Jul 21 1992 13:4813
While discussing the DEC management/worker problems with my wife, I realized
something really interesting:  

In my seven years with DEC I have never had a personal conversation, lunch,
or a cup of coffee, even, with any of my level 2 managers (I've had 5 of them).
 Prior to DEC, I worked at the corporate HQ of a Fortune 500 company.  Social 
contact with folks 2 steps up the management chain was quite common, even 
though the "level 2"s were corporate VPs.

I don't know what lesson to draw from this, except that maybe DEC isn't quite
as democratic as we like to think it is.

\dave
2001.8BLUMON::QUODLINGOLIVER is the Solution!Tue Jul 21 1992 13:506
    Of course, suppression of "Sarcasm" is the first step towards the loss
    of free speech, which is the first step towards the destruction of
    creativity in individuals...
    
    q
    
2001.9Sour timesHELIX::KALLISPumpkins ... Nature's greatest gift.Tue Jul 21 1992 14:0532
    Re Ken:

    Not enough good can be said about him.  He is not the problem.

    Re "sarcasm," etc.:

    These are rough times, with a Damoclesian Sword hanging over _every_
    employee.  For some, the thread has broken; for others, it's still
    whole, but fraying....

    The morale of the rank-and-file employee is at a nadir.  We all are
    under incredible pressures; for many of us, this includes a whole
    secondary set of pressures on the home front, which can be at least as
    intense as what we're facing at work.  

    Every layoff is a personal tragedy, and it's even more so in a company
    where there has been a decades-long "no layoff" policy, which
    psychologically sets people's expectations that their work isn't a job,
    but a profession.  This is augmented by a mechanism where such items as
    seniority don't count, save "in case of ties."

    The upshot is that Digital employees are particularly and especially
    unprepared for the dislocation and pain of a layoff.  And, humans being
    human, the pressure has to "vent."  In some cases, it does so via
    cynicism and snide remarks (sarcasm and bitterness); in other cases, by
    self-destructive things such as markedly increased consumption of
    alcohol.  In yet others, by picking fights.  In any case, when things
    get Really Bad, regrettably, negative attitudes surface.

    It's an unfortunate consequence of the process.

    Steve Kallis, Jr.   
2001.10Notesfile is a privilegeTRCOA::KOTHARITue Jul 21 1992 14:2712
    The notesfile is a privilege which all Digital employees enjoy. As
    such, it should be exercised and nurtured with care, caution and the
    respect it deserves.
    
    Let's not get sucked into using it as the vehicle to criticize KO whose
    accomplishments are monumental, and whose message we all failed to
    grasp.
    
    Anybody out there who can articulate the vision of new DEC in less than
    100 words? The notesfile awaits your valued input.
    
    Dhanu
2001.11HemingwayBOOKS::HAMILTONAll models are false; some are useful - Dr. G. BoxTue Jul 21 1992 14:398
    
    re: venting
    
    "If he wrote it he could get rid of it.  He had gotten rid of
    many things by writing them."
    
       Ernest Hemingway
    
2001.12SMAUG::CARROLLTue Jul 21 1992 15:1311
    
    
  Re .3
    
    You say K.O. expressed some frustration at not being able to get people
    below him to change.  I would have to ask, if he is the president and
    CEO of this company, it must seem rather impotent for a CEO to not be
    able to get his people to work HIS way.  I feel his resignation is in
    the best interest of the company, as I have said many times in this
    notesfile over the past four years.
    
2001.132 steps forward, not 2 steps back!BTOVT::REDDING_DANA pocket full of KryptoniteTue Jul 21 1992 18:0637
    
      I also believe K.O. overstayed his welcome.  His greatness shall
    or never will be deminished in my eyes.  The man is one in a million
    and in the truest of forms, a hero!  As I see it, those top level
    VP's who disagreeded or inhibited future business decisions / future
    plans were shown the door.  Right or wrong, his hand and eyes could 
    only reach so far down into the organization.  Similar to loosing
    a piece of jewlry in the water, your hand only reaches so far towards
    retrieving before you employ more drastic measures.  Which brings
    me to the topic of Mr. Palmer. I see him taking the bull by the horns
    and shaking the ever lov'n (word of choice) out of it.  I just hope
    Palmer has the insight to "WIPE-OUT" ineffective layers of middle
    management throughout the entire company, stop the hemorrhaging
    of technical people and talent and institute a maximum of 4 to 5 
    management layers, top to bottom!
    
      But I ramble...As far as morale and the notes files, attribute the
    personal venting to years of pent-up frustration with layer upon
    layer of inactive and indecisive middle management.  They build
    lilly pad empires and protect their own, that is until someone turns
    the heat up a tad.  Hopefully Bob Palmer will weed the garden instead
    of adding more fertilizer...

      If you take each insult, slur, joke, whatever to a personal level,
    it's perhaps a sign of stress, you take yourself to seriously, or
    least favorable closing in on the self destruct mode.  Remember, 
    each and everyone of us has a viewpoint or opinion or flavor
    towards a discussion/topic.  And you and I won't always totally 
    understand what is going on in an individuals head at the time
    of said statement.  If necessary, ask for clairification. Don't
    take it so personal...We have the right to express ourselves in    
    the notesfiles, in a professional manner.  Now let's move forward
    or you will for ever be caught up in the past and present.
    
    just my $ .02 worth....djr

    P.S.  Thanks Joe!
2001.14When is criticism to muchCANYON::NEVEUWCAG Sales Support ConsulantTue Jul 21 1992 19:0963
The request that criticism be tempered and channeled
is often met with flames from the critics.  They claim
they are being silenced and their creativity reigned in.
but are they justified in their claims?

When someone ask for a breather, for an uplifting rather
than continuing spiral downwards in the converation are
they truly reigning in creativity or is the mob trying
to silence its critics!

Digital needs to pull together, not pull apart.  What
purpose does it accomplish to pull down someone who is
leaving, what better purpose would it serve to aid his
replacement to see what must be done to move forward.

Offer suggestions for how we grow business and how we
improve the processes which constrain our ability to
satisfy customer requirements.  Don't tell me why you
can't do something!  Tell me what you need in order to
get your job done.  Don't blame your inaction on some-
one above you, tell us what decisions need to be made
and why your option is the best approach.

If you haven't had a social encounter with a manager
2 levels above you, it may not be that managers fault.

If you think having these types of encounters would get
more business done, then why aren't you trying to make
it happen.  I am not a mind reader and neither are the
people we are faulting for the mess we are in.  It has
become to easy to blame our problems on the process and
the people who create the process.

Althought it is easy to assume that Ken could have been
more forceful and fired the people who would not do it
his way.  Would you really want to work for that kind
of company!!!!  Is this the message we want to send to
Bob Palmer (fire anyone who won't do it your way)!  I
hope we value ourselves and our contributions more than
that.

Tell me what Digital needs done (not how to do it)!

Listen to my concerns and the value my experience in
getting things done.  Measure me on results and help
me change the processes which add no value but sap my
energy and productivity!

Work with me.  I can only be accountable to plans that
I make and agree with.  Giving me unreasonable dead-
lines and impossible workloads will not lead me to
work better or more productively. They will lead me to
rebel and resent the process for setting metrics.  I
am willing to be measured on my efforts and for the
things that I control.  I am not willing to be mea-
sured using arbitary ideas about what I can or should
accomplish.

I think Ken understood this and possibly was too close
to some of the people to make them accountable.  I hope
that we do not lose some of the compassion and under-
standing that Ken showed us over the years, even as we
get more clearly focused on what need to be done.
2001.15SHIPS::WYNN_RWed Jul 22 1992 12:1121
    Re -1 and Base note
    
    Congratualtions. 
    
    At last someone is trying to create a notes topic free
    of one line sarcasm and "Oh woe is the company."
    
    Will others now follow this start and make this conference useful
    again ?
    
    When I first started reading Notes conferences, it was to find out
    useful information that wasn't available easily through the normal
    channels. At first it wasn't too much of a bore reading others'
    bikkering eogs, but when you spend your lunch hour going through a
    conference reading petty arguments over spelling and punctuation, you 
    just give up and leave the conference.
    
    As my lunch time is finishing, I'm going to set this conference to SET
    SEEN and forget the remaining hundreds of entries. 
    
    I hope tomorrow's reading is more interesting.
2001.16NOTIME::SACKSGerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085Wed Jul 22 1992 13:413
re .15:

A bikkering eog?  I must have missed that episode of "Star Trek."
2001.17More lunchtime wasted ?CHEFS::HEELANWed Jul 22 1992 14:089
    
    Could somebody please explain to me the informational value reply .15 
    added to the sum of knowledge of this conference ?
    
    Perhaps we should discipline ourselves _not_ to comment positively
    or negatively without adding fresh information of some kind.
    
    John
    
2001.18Reality SAURUS::AICHERWed Jul 22 1992 15:0625
    re .0
    
    Sarcasm?  Indeed.  Well, I was laid off yesterday.
    
    I hope you are feeling quite safe in your position.
    
    However, if you are wondering what criteria might save your job,
    I have been rated a "1" performer for two years now.
    Didn't help me a bit.
    
    As for skills, I was contacted not long ago by a technical
    service firm to go to a place that needs *5* people with 
    my skills.  Where you might ask?  Digital Equipment.  
    Of course I cannot come back, even on contract for six 
    months anyway, even though I wouldn't be employed by DEC.
    
    Yes.  Enough is Enough.  I would love to sit here and worry 
    about my job for another six months or so, but two years
    of this has been quite enough.
    
    I'll just sell it to somebody else.
    
    Like IBM....Starting Aug 10th.
    
    Mark
2001.20re .18PATS::DWESSELSWed Jul 22 1992 18:4916
    Mark,
    
    I'm sorry to see you go.  Your situation epitomizes what's
    wrong with the process we've been going through for 2+ years now.
    DEC is losing a valuable, *needed* contributor due to an inability
    to manage its own workforce.  
    
    SERP-ers are back as consultants, why should TFSO-ers be barred from 
    contributing their expertise as consultants if they're so inclined?
    Why is a 1 performer not assisted in locating the other 5 areas of the
    company in which his skills are needed?  I'm sure you've asked these
    and many other questions...
    
    I wish you the best,
    
    Diane
2001.21VANGA::KERRELLDave Kerrell @REO 830-2279Thu Jul 23 1992 08:1211
re.15:

Robert, there are a lot of people out there very upset by what's happening in
this company, because they *care*. I still read this conference because there
is still good information to be found and a lot of positive contributions, they
are just take a little longer to find nowadays. 

Tell us what kind of information you seek and maybe we can point you to a
conference where the pain is but a faint and distant groan.

/Dave.
2001.22Customer impactSWAM1::TRENT_JOThu Jul 23 1992 16:517
    A point missed in all of this is the fact that those of us who work in
    the "field" with our customers carry our morale problems with us.  We
    are just human.  The customers pick up on this and start to question
    their continued dependence on a company in such disarray.  The
    customers allso read the trade and financial papers.  If you think all
    of this effects just dec employees, think again.  The longer the
    turmoil continues the fewer customers to sell to.  Think about it!!
2001.23TENAYA::RAHno hang timeSat Jul 25 1992 05:1811
    
    Remember that the articles are just opinions, or worse, 
    deliberately calculated to undermine customer confidence.
    
    We must not allow private fears to create this negative
    impression on vendors, however many trade rags they say
    they've read.
    
    I look forward to making them eat their words in the next 
    couple of years.
     
2001.24F.E.A.R. is realCTOAVX::HEALTHCAREYou are what you culture!Wed Jul 29 1992 22:2416
    F E A R
    a v p e
    l i p a
    s d e l
    e e e
      n a
      c r
      e i
        n
        g
    
    
    Where will DECs business come from? Who will buy our services and
    products?   
    
    
2001.25NO MORE WHINING!ODIXIE::RHARRISBowhunters never hold back!Tue Aug 04 1992 21:5534
    I haven't been in this file for a few days, and since it is
    after hours, I thought I would catch up on what's going on.
    Well, after reading about 50 replies in different notes, I just
    got sick to my stomach.  What the hell is wrong with everyone!
    Nothing but whining, complaining, finger pointing, bitching etc.
    People need to realize a few things.  DEC is kind enough to give
    a check with the TFSO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO!  People should quit
    complaining about their problems and FIX them!  Wow, what a concept.
    Just think if everyone was doing their job this company would not
    be where it is.
    
    I feel very positive about DEC.  I am not a "DEChead".  I work here.
    I get paid here.  I earn my pay.  If DEC chooses to TFSO me, so be
    it.  If they don't, so be it.  This company is what the employees
    make it to be.
    
    So if you don't like the way things are, either get off your butt
    and fix them, or get out!
    
    Now, isn't it a beautiful day?  I think so.  How about some positive
    uplifting news?
    
    Digital stock is a good buy right now
    We have a new captain at the helm
    We still have customers
    We still have jobs
    We have our health
    There is alot of hope for the future, and I truly believe DEC will be
    there.
    
    
    Have a wonderful life!
    Bob
    
2001.26We need Bumper StickersCOMET::BARRIANOchoke me in the shallow water...Tue Aug 04 1992 22:2118
RE      <<< Note 2036.0 by ODIXIE::RHARRIS "Bowhunters never hold back!" >>>
                             -< NO MORE WHINING! >-
>    Nothing but whining, complaining, finger pointing, bitching etc.

Of course there's always the occasional, self serving note, whining,complaining
finger pointing, bitching etc. about notes that point out real problem's, in an
attempt fix them. 

 Maybe we could have some bumper stickers made:

   Digital Love it or Leave it

  if you don't have one on your car, than you obviously aren't the kind of 
person we want here.

Regards
Barry

2001.27RUSURE::MELVINTen Zero, Eleven Zero Zero by Zero 2Tue Aug 04 1992 22:5631
re: .0

>    a check with the TFSO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO!  People should quit
>    complaining about their problems and FIX them!  

So, how does one go about 'fixing' the problem of getting layed off?  Sure,
find another job... Easier said than done, wouldn't you agree?

>    Just think if everyone was doing their job this company would not
>    be where it is.

What makes you think they are not?  People who HAVE been doing there jobs
(and well) have been TFSOed.  

>    it.  If they don't, so be it.  This company is what the employees
>    make it to be.

In so far as management are employees, yes.  Otherwise, not as easy as you make
it sound.  

>    Digital stock is a good buy right now

Of course, if you are trying to SELL the stock to get money to make it through
tough times, then it is not such good news... Wouldn't you agree?

>    We have our health

Yes, well with all the stress getting dumped on people recently, I would not
make this particular claim.  Perhaps you do not find it stressful to have
friends/coworkers let go, but some people find it so.  Perhaps you like having
the Sword Of Damacles hanging over you head in terms of getting layed off.
2001.28As Orwell would say...FORTSC::CHABANPray for Peter Pumpkinhead!Tue Aug 04 1992 23:029
    
    
    Re: .0
    
    I hear choco rations will be doubled!  doubleplusgood eh?
    
    -Winston Smith
    
    
2001.29whose life is it anyway?GUIDUK::ELLENBECKER...a world so hard and dirtyTue Aug 04 1992 23:524
A Gary Larson cartoon just came to mind.  There's a lone sheep standing
in a large flock milling about, shouting "We don't have to be just sheep!"

Have you received your self-determination booster shot lately?
2001.30No more whining about whiningSDSVAX::SWEENEYWill I make it to my 18th Anniversary?Wed Aug 05 1992 00:2324
    re: .0                 

    Obviously you didn't do enough reading because if you read 2001.*
    "Enough is enough" you would have read your sentiments expressed there.

    But if our moderators can tolerate 20 layoff notes, then we can
    tolerate 2 "whining about whining" notes or is that "Enough is enough"?

    The critics here were right.  The defenders of Digital's plans and
    processes were wrong and it's time to acknowledge that and get back on
    the track to profitability.

    Sentimentalism in the form of "Ken Olsen was criticized before and was
    ultimately proved right" is now a moot point.  Palmer must succeed
    where Olsen failed.

    The criticism continues because while Ken Olsen has gotten the message,
    the entrenched management layers still have not.

    The idea that "if I just do my job the best I can, then things will be
    fine" is one that I believe is often just stated without explanation.

    Digital's current costs and competitiveness are not compatible with
    long-term survival.  That's not a "whine", that's a fact.
2001.31Make the best happenVISE::LEVESQUENever ever enoughWed Aug 05 1992 00:367
    
      A couple of days ago there was an article in the paper about
     a former DEC employee. I think his name was Jim Hayes. He has
     MS (Mutiple Sclerosis). He's in real rough shape. Makes alot
     of these notes seem mute.
    
     BAL happy to be anywhere
2001.32:-)FSOA::JHENDRYJohn Hendry, DTN 297-2623Wed Aug 05 1992 12:174
    About the only thing I'm whining about is too many notes in this
    conference that discuss the same subjects over and over again.
    
    John
2001.33SQM::MACDONALDWed Aug 05 1992 13:137
    
    
    This conference is starting to resemble SOAPBOX.
    
    fwiw,
    Steve
    
2001.34different strokes, and all that rot ...CUPTAY::BAILEYSeason of the WinchWed Aug 05 1992 13:4241
    RE .25
    
    Actually, this Notes conference is a good case study of the way
    different humans react to stressful situations ... in this case,
    watching their jobs go away and their benefits decrease while at the
    same time having to cope with higher and higher cost of living.
    
    Most folks react with anger and frustration ... blaming the "powers
    that be" for a bad situation they feel they have no control over. 
    Others, such as yourself, choose to take the optimistic approach.  And
    that's good, because we need that optimism to maintain a sense of
    balance in our perspective of things.  Still others, such as myself,
    choose to use humor ... if you can't fight it and you can't fix it,
    laugh at it.
    
    This is all very good, IMO.  We all need an outlet to express our
    concern and frustration, to voice our fear or anger, or to reassure
    each other.  No one is hurt by the "whining", and no matter how you
    look at it, you're better off by being able to put a voice to your
    feelings than you'd be if you kept it all bottled up inside.
    
    >> 					This company is what the employees
    >> make it to be.
    
    >> So if you don't like the way things are, either get off your butt
    >> and fix them, or get out!
    
    You're right, of course.  We've always had the power to fix what's
    wrong with this company ... we just have to believe that we do.
    
    Now everyone close your eyes, tap your shoes together three times, and
    repeat after me ...
    
    	There's no place like DEC
    	There's no place like DEC
    	There's no place like DEC
    
    					^!^
    					`-'
    							... Bob
    
2001.35it wooorks !!!STAR::ABBASIi^(-i) = SQRT(exp(PI))Wed Aug 05 1992 14:5013
    > Now everyone close your eyes, tap your shoes together three times, and
    > repeat after me ...

    >        There's no place like DEC
    >        There's no place like DEC
    >        There's no place like DEC

    you'r right !
    I just did exactly that, and feel so much better afterwards.
    thanks! I needed that.
    
    /nasser

2001.36Plonk alert!OAXCEL::DOYLEIt's a long distance to Camino RealWed Aug 05 1992 15:188
    RE: .35
    
    Nasser,
    
    Are you plonking again?
    
    Popeye (of the Plonker Police)
    
2001.37my glass is completely fullODIXIE::RHARRISBowhunters never hold back!Wed Aug 05 1992 16:2748
    RE.27
    
    So how does one fix the problem of getting laid off?
    
    answer: maybe not be so picky on getting another job.  If the company
    has to lay off, that is what they should do.  If someone is doing an
    excellent job at what they do, and that job is no longer needed, I am
    sorry, but that job should go away.  If you can find something internal
    thats great, if you can't, best of luck outside the company.
    
    in reference to everyone doing their job; I am not saying that EVERYONE
    is not doing their job, I am saying that the company is not performing
    the way it should.  That includes ALL divisions of the company.  You
    know it, I know it.  There are individuals who exceed job expectations,
    yet the company is not performing to its fullest.
    
    In reference to the employees make the company, a statement was given
    if you are management yes, and employee not so easy.  I am not a
    manager, and I take that as manager bashing.  If you have a problem
    with a manager, escalate until you get results.  I don't blame
    management for the state of the company.  It is a company problem,  and
    you and I and everyone else is part of the company.
    
    Digital stock being a good buy; not if you are trying to sell is the
    comment.  Ever heard of buy low and sell high?
    
    In reference to the "Sword of Damacles hanging over your head", why
    worry about being laid off?  You can't do anything about it anyway.
    Just line up your ducks in a row, be prepared, and do your job.  If it
    hits us, it hits us.  If it doesn't, thats great.
    
    In summary, sure, easier said than done.  I would rather look to the
    sky and be positive, than look down a drain and be pessimistic. Of
    course being realistic, but is the glass half empty, or half full.
    
    Now back to the scheduled program.
    
    IT IS A WONDERFUL DAY AT DIGITAL EQUIPMENT.  I am glad to be alive and
    be working today.
    
    btw, this is not a "self serving note".  Look at the company any way
    you want to.  Just don't bring other people down with negativity.  It
    is easier to breed negativity than  be positive.  Why not try being
    optimistic for a change.  Who knows, it might even feel good.
    
    signing off the soapbox, and getting back to work.
    bob
    
2001.38RUSURE::MELVINTen Zero, Eleven Zero Zero by Zero 2Wed Aug 05 1992 17:5556
>    In reference to the employees make the company, a statement was given
>    if you are management yes, and employee not so easy.  I am not a
>    manager, and I take that as manager bashing.  

Take it as you will.  Management has the authority to do things; they also have
the responsibility that goes with it.  Non management employees can do some 
things, but there are just somethings (important) that requires management.
Try signing a lucrative contract for Digital sometime if you think you can.

>If you have a problem
>    with a manager, escalate until you get results.  

Actually, I do not have problems.  However, read through the conference and see
people who have escalated things through the ODP.  See how they fared with
that.

>    Digital stock being a good buy; not if you are trying to sell is the
>    comment.  Ever heard of buy low and sell high?

Yes.  Ever hear of HAVING to seel to make ends meet?  
    
>    In reference to the "Sword of Damacles hanging over your head", why
>   worry about being laid off?  

Why worry about anything, then?  

>    In summary, sure, easier said than done.  I would rather look to the
>    sky and be positive, than look down a drain and be pessimistic. Of
>    course being realistic, but is the glass half empty, or half full.

Except that attitude of 'gee, nothing is wrong if we keep a positive attitude'
has helped to create the situtation.  I agree PESSIMISM does not help; however,
REALISM does.  And all you optimism will not get quality products out the
door.  

>    IT IS A WONDERFUL DAY AT DIGITAL EQUIPMENT.  I am glad to be alive and
>    be working today.

Good for you, Mr Rogers :-)

>    you want to.  Just don't bring other people down with negativity.  It
>    is easier to breed negativity than  be positive.  

It is much easier to hide you head in the sand that face a charging rhino :-).

>Why not try being
>    optimistic for a change.  Who knows, it might even feel good.

Why not try being more realistic for a change?  You might find problems can be
solved and even avoided with a realistic view of what is going on.  I have
generally found at Digital that people with over optimism can (and do) create 
problems that other people have to fix. I am not saying you are the one, BTW.
It is very easy to optimistic if someone gets to clean up the mess made.

Yes, back to work...  One of things we agree on :-).
2001.39OXNARD::KOLLINGKaren/Sweetie/Holly/Little Bit Ca.Wed Aug 05 1992 18:189
    Re: .31  A couple of days ago there was an article in the paper about
         a former DEC employee. I think his name was Jim Hayes. He has
         MS (Mutiple Sclerosis). He's in real rough shape. Makes alot
         of these notes seem mute.
    
    Does he have problems that are fixable, like trouble with insurance or
    money?  There is a national MS society that helps out that someone
    might point him at.
         
2001.40He has good friendsVISE::LEVESQUENever ever enoughThu Aug 06 1992 00:2710
    
    
       I read the article again today before sending the paper to
      one of Jims former co-workers that read my note. Jim is writing
      a book and the article was promoting the book. The book of course
      is about his struggle with MS.
    
       The article is in the Monday August 3, 1992 T&G.
    
      BAL
2001.41He's been on tv as wellMUDHWK::LAWLEREmployee says 15000 analysts must go!Thu Aug 06 1992 11:038
    
    
      He was also on TV a few months ago  in some program on 
    	health-care costs.
    
    
    						-al
    
2001.42The man on tv was ...MCIS5::KAMPFDon't think we're in Kansas any moreFri Aug 07 1992 03:3014
 Re: Note 2001.41 
    
>      He was also on TV a few months ago  in some program on 
>    	health-care costs.
    
That was Mike Kaiser on the t.v. news segment about health care costs.  He
has MS as well, but he still sits next to me at work in UPO, and is not yet 
writing a book, although I am sure that he could.  He and his wife together
couldwrite volumes!

- Diane