The trials and tribulations of being in IT for a retail company - Part 2 (Yesterdays and Todays)

(Continuing on this earlier post)

When last we left off ...

I was performing a role within IT - for which I didn't have the title, nor the level - for close to two years. 

Naturally working like this benefits the employer as opposed to the employee - they get more work and labor from me at a lower amount of compensation. On top of all this, I was subjected to a regular and routine hostile work environment thanks to a toxic individual (who due to perceiving me as some sort of threat to their existence and status, chose to denigrate and deride everything I did - right or wrong), along with several project managers who had a rather dubious relationship with the manager PM.

And at that time, despite all the success in our group, the company chose to lay a bunch of employees off as cost-cutting measure. We all knew this was coming months in advance.

... you can probably imagine the stress I was under that week ... because at the time none of us knew whom exactly they were gonna let go, and who'd survive. Me and the lead PM talked about it ... we figured best to update our resumes. On top of that, I had just bought a house not too long ago.

When that fateful day came, the company had sealed off one of the floors, and had black screens blocking of the hallways. If you were scheduled for an early morning meeting on that floor, you would be taken into a conference room, told your job was eliminated, and exited from the building by security.

A meeting did come on my calendar ... but it as from my then director for all of us. When I got there, it was only then that I noticed the fellow Lead Test Analysts in various areas were not present. That's when we got the news ... all of them had been laid off.

I sat there listening to the director talking ... he said all who were at this meeting had their jobs in tact. This left me w/a strange feeling, though I was to performing this role, I was technically still listed as 'Lead Test Analyst' -how and why am I still here?

After the meeting, the director and my then-manager stayed behind and told me that I was moving to a new group, and that my job title and level would officially change to match what I was doing (production deployment).

Well I found out which group, and I tell you - I wasn't exactly ready.

It was one that let's just say, had a 'reputation'.

That reputation was one of being VERY difficult to work with, to engage with, to get any assistance with issue with, that had a variety of strong and challenging personalities, and so on. They were also a team that was always on the radar of upper management due to a number of high-profile and high-severity issues.

I remember the first time I met with them and THEIR leadership. The idea of someone dedicated to production deployments - and I in particular - wasn't too well received. I even recall one of them saying (in polite terms) that I wasn't needed.

Fortunately - that VP who had previously supported me - was also at this meeting. He believed in me and was confident I could help this group. So on I proceeded.

Life certainly wasn't fun. I had no guide on how to help this group, other than being told - 'fix their problems and tell them how things should be done'.

Somehow, something told me that wouldn't work in this group. Plus as I would later find out, some of the managers were either incompetent, toxic, and both.

So I decided to take a different approach. I decided to observe, listen and ask folks where they needed help. Despite some resistance and skepticism from many, some did speak up and tell me - they needed help sequencing and communicating their deployments; they needed help navigating the IT change management process; they needed help with some of the maintenance windows, and so on. And one by one, I started helping the teams by taking on some of those tasks, and by helping teams organizing their releases. I also took over owning the outage windows from our infrastructure vendor, and turned it into a regularly cadenced event with a plan and all the necessary communications.

This wasn't by no means easy. After all, I was still reporting to my previous manager reporting to that previous director who didn't really offer any kind of support. And some of the toxic managers in this group took every opportunity to belittle any accomplishments, or magnify any mistakes along the way.  Of course still, there was resistance to me as an 'outsider' and as someone who wasn't a developer or analyst.

But over time, and with some patience - the organization got more disciplined and got better. As well, one of toxic managers toxified their way out of their job. And after awhile, I even shepherded some regular release schedules for each team - to allow for for predictable deliveries of solutions. Of course, all of this took time and effort and energy AND well ... time mostly.

Lots of late evenings, lots of overnights, lost of weekends. Most of that time I never have ever really gotten back in the sense that it's never been really compensated for.

But over time the group got better, and eventually we succeeded in being one of (if not the) top producers of changes for our respective business areas and customers.

So ... did any of this lead to anything more or better? Tune into Part 3 to find out.

A podcast I'll want to check out this weekend - you should too.

https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/29/max-blumenthal-where-did-it-all-go-wrong-for-the-internet/

Somehow I suspect this will go over most people who suffer from TDS, but I have to give it a shot anyways.

Definitely a dangerous article, but even more useful to watch.

https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/23/silent-coup-how-capitalism-defeated-decolonization/

I look at all of this, as the ruling's class' next step to replacing capitalism to fascism.

You have to admit - addressing the UN Security Council is quite an accomplishment.

Even better when you can actually reveal some actual facts and reality.

https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20230927/16235430/Jimmy-Dore-throws-truth-bombs-at-the-UN.htm

The trials and tribulations of being in IT for a retail company - Part 1 (Background)

This seems to be a trend in my professional career. 1st some background -

I work for a retail company, in their IT department. I've worked there a number of years.

When I started, I was a Test Analyst Lead working under a Test Analyst title,  but still doing the work of a Test Analyst Lead.

It was really good for the company, but a complete Catch-22 for me - why?

Turned out whenever I would demonstrate any 'leadership' skills, I'd be told I wasn't focused enough on actual testing of the solution, and so on.

And when I'd show that this was false - that I had in fact understood how the various solutions worked, and ran enough tests and found enough issues to get fixed - I'd be told that I didn't show enough 'leadership'.

Pretty good for my employer - they got the work of a Test Analyst AND and Test Analyst Lead, for the salary of a Test Analyst.

I got tired of watching people I'd train (or were less competent at the role; or who viewed me as some sort of threat to them) move upward and onward on my accomplishments. In fact it wasn't until I keyed a director who supported one of the solutions I tested onto this, that things began to change. Only then did I finally earn a promotion to that lead-level role - and likely because doing so was also in the interests of the management.

Of course my own management probably didn't like this approach to getting what I had demonstrated I had accomplished years ago. So I got buried in a number of projects. Indeed my-then manager had by this time been further promoted, and I had had enough. But then something unexpected happened.

Along the way our group got a new VP. And he took an interest in me. And this person was different than previous ones. This VP actually seemed to respect me. This VP actually asked ME to set up time w/THEM so they could get to know ME.

Fucked up, eh?

Anyways, he took the time to inquire as to what my interests were, where I wanted to head, and all that. I was honest and was candid, and he even took down notes. When I expressed an interest in a project that was brand new to the company, he said he'd look into whether I could be a Lead Test Analyst there.

Well that didn't sit well with my management. They told me I was wasting my time. They told me I wasn't qualified. They told me I didn't have enough skill, or passion, or fortitude to survive, and that I shouldn't bother to apply. Only after did I find out that they had in fact chosen someone else for the role in that project; and that they were really only trying to not have me apply, so I wouldn't be even considered.

That VP I mentioned - well when I told him what happened, he got really pissed, and he said he'd do something about it. A couple of days later, my director contacted me and told me that there - suddenly - was an opening, but for a different role. He said that I could try working on supporting production deployments. I talked with a couple of people, and they advised me to pursue it, as it was an opportunity in this particular project that I'd never get a chance to otherwise be in. So I decided to give it a shot.

(One thing to note - even though I took on this role, it didn't result in a change in pay or title).

What shit I went through.

Remember how I mentioned that some people felt threatened by me - my mere existence? Well it turns out one of those people never stopped seeing me that way because they taunted me at every turn starting from Day 1. If I didn't know something, or got something wrong, I was vilified by this person. I was taunted, and told I didn't belong there. And whenever there was some degree of conflict, this person's m.o. was to simply add more layers of management to any communication about the issue, which resulted in them coming down on me. Only the lead project manager would stand up for me back then.

Now in all fairness, I was new in both the project and the role. And I'm thinking this person felt that I had 'complained' my way into the role. What I later found out from the PM was that this person had in fact applied for the very role I was assigned to. That they didn't get it, and I did must have bothered them (despite the fact they'd been doing this role for few years in another area). 

But I didn't 'get' this role - I was given a shot at it. Remember, no title change or pay increase - which meant I had to prove I could do the job.

Of course it helped that - except for most of other PMs aside from the lead PM - practically everyone on the project was more than helpful and willing to help me out. And I did listen and learn - both about the underlying technology and the way to deploy things to production that made sense for our business. I even learned things from this other person as well.

And in time, I earned peoples' respect and trust. The project delivered successfully, and even something better was achieved. Together with the lead PM (and other leads on the project), we worked out a scaled and continuous deployment process that allowed for maximum delivery in a cadenced fashion. Along the way, I literally wrote the guide for doing this form of scaled deployment in our company.

Eventually by the time the project began winding down, I was finally rewarded with a title change and pay increase. Which perhaps was good timing in that the portfolio I was in chose to eliminate all Lead Test Analysts as employees. You could say I dodged a bullet.

But wait - there's more to come ... Stay tuned for Part 2.

Well this is a good sign - not tolerating crapitalist bullshit.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230918IPR05412/eu-to-ban-greenwashing-and-improve-consumer-information-on-product-durability

Negotiators from Parliament and Council agreed to proscribe the following:

• generic environmental claims, e.g. “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral” or “eco”, without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim;
• commercial communications about a good with a feature that limits its durability if information is available on the feature and its effects on the durability;
• claims based on emissions offsetting schemes that a product has neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment;
• sustainability labels not based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities;
• durability claims in terms of usage time or intensity under normal conditions, if not proven;
• prompting the consumer to replace consumables, such as printer ink cartridges, earlier than strictly necessary;
• presenting software updates as necessary even if they only enhance functionality features;
• presenting goods as repairable when they are not.

 

Who knew that HFCS and global warming were connected?

https://theconversation.com/ultra-processed-foods-are-not-only-bad-for-our-bodies-their-production-damages-our-environments-211815

UPFs rely on energy-intensive manufacturing processes and long supply chains, leading to substantial greenhouse gas emissions.

The most substantial environmental impacts of UPF-rich diets predominantly stem from the post-farm stages, specifically the final product creation and packaging processes.

One specific additive that has the most environmental impact is palm oil. Palm oil is responsible for deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests. It is the world’s most consumed vegetable oil that can be found in half of our food.

Another villain is high-fructose corn syrup, which not only leaves a long carbon footprint but is also linked to obesity, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.