Sunday, June 21, 2009

It's-not-my-job


This is the easiest answer to an embarrassing situation.

The Accountant and the Programmer Story
For example, imagine you are a developer. You are developing an application for an accounting firm. There is an accountant allocated to test the application as you develop.

Lets go through this flow.

1. The accountant finds an error in the results, asks you to fix it, and explains why its an error.

2. You fix it. and you forward it back to him to test it.

3. He found another error of the same type, asks you to fix it, and explains why its an error (again).

4. You fix it (again).

5. He found the same error of the same type but in another report. So he tells you, "Please, if you just test the application more for these similar errors before sending it to me."

6. You reply: "Listen, It's not my job to detect the errors that may emerge in the result, I don't know accounting, I'm not an accountant. My job is to only fix errors not detecting them "


True, but silly. Right? Just like the picture I'm sharing here, the guy who marked the road said his job is to mark the road not to move the tree.


Do you have the same scenario at your work?
Apply this example to your business. I'm sure you have similar mindsets. The It's-not-my-job mindset is the exact opposite of proactivity.

If you hear your manager asking you to be proactive, maybe you need to start breaking your it's-not-my-job mindset.

6 comments:

  1. Hussein,

    Everyone has to handle the tasks related to him in an integrable and well dedicate environment especially when it comes to chain tasks included in a business process, whereby when you deliver your job others will be able to proceed easily. It is not only to complete the job but to complete it in a good way.

    Hence the developer has to provide as much as possible a bug free application and it is up for the engineer to fetch in the special cases to see whether it will fail in a case.

    Thanks for refreshing our minds with you interesting blogs...

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Kamal
    My friend
    I thank you for an interesting comment
    And I agree with you,
    regardless of the developement envirment , someone should be proactive enough to search and try to learn instead of waiting for others all the time

    I recall the time you when we work together in an application related to electric modules that I don't know about, you thought me how to ask and not just develop a set of requirement I should know what I am developing so I can help you ease your job..

    I thank you for that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are giving a credit that I don't own my good friend ... All luck

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Kamal,
    you own it,
    you know me i don't speak for nothing

    ReplyDelete
  5. it's always fun to torment accountants :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Firas! its great to have you here to teacher!

    ReplyDelete

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