Navigating the Workspace
Last Update 2013.06.20
1.1.0
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D.
www.chipps.com
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Navigating the Workspace
• In this presentation I will provide one
example of how to navigate through the
40, 50, or 60 something years you will be
employed
• Some of these techniques may be of use
to you as well
• Some were successful
• Some were not
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
2
60s and 70s
• I was a child of the 60s
• I took in all of the influences of the times
• When John Kennedy said
– ...the belief that the rights of man come not
from the generosity of the state, but from the
hand of God
– Let the word go forth.....that the torch has
been passed to a new generation of
Americans
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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60s and 70s
– Let every nation know... that we shall pay any
price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure
the survival and the success of liberty
– If a free society cannot help the many who are
poor, it cannot save the few who are rich
– And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what
your country can do for you – ask what you
can do for your country
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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60s and 70s
– With a good conscience our only sure reward,
with history the final judge of our deeds, let us
go forth to lead the land we love, asking His
blessing and His help, but knowing that here
on Earth God's work must truly be our own
• I signed up
• Not that exact day as I was only 10, but
the idea grew slowly over the next 12
years
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• In 1972 as I approached graduation the
question was
– Which way to go
• History
• Law
• Social Work
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
– All I had to do was take one more course in
one of three fields to decide on my major
• History
• Political Science
• Sociology
• But then what
• Something in business in the private
sector
• The public sector
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• But what, where
• I decided on public service
• Kennedy planted the general idea and
Lyndon Johnson suggested the method of
execution when he declared a War on
Poverty
• I enlisted
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• The question was how to put this decision
into practice
– I happened to find someone working for the
state welfare department
– That should do
– I arranged a visit at her office
• I was advised how to interact
– Most of the staff at the time were spouses of the local
Baptists seminary students
– So all day I was a Baptist
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• I decided that that had worked well I would
lay a little more groundwork for after
graduation in a few months
• I make an appointment with the director of
HR
• At this point the ground fails out from
under me while being interviewed by a
psychopath
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• Hum, that did not work out well
• Even worse as graduation approaches the
state instituted a hiring freeze
• Time to rethink as I was now stuck in the
useless job I had been doing while in
school
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Then that Fall I find that the hiring freeze
has been lifted when I received a letter
inviting me in for an interview
• I do considerably more preparation for my
second meeting with the HR psychopath
• I find this interview with the assistant HR
director consists of an extended
handshake mostly to see if I am indeed
not dead
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Evidently as long as I am alive, I have the
job
• There seems to be a lot of turnover in
these positions
• I wonder why
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
13
Success
• I know I am working for the welfare
department when on the very first day on
the job the phone rings
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
14
The Plan
• Always
– Have a job
– Know exactly what the next job you want is
and be working on getting it
– Have a fallback plan if everything goes to crap
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• After a year on the job it was time to move
up as it is quite clear why there is a lot of
turnover in this position
• I am at the 4th Street office
• All of the important people are at the 7th
Street office
• Clearly I need to find a job at the 7th Street
office
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• A piece of you know what type of job
opens at the 7th Street office
• I land this job and move to the 7th Street
office
• I am now at the 7th Street office, but part of
this job is to establish what – Paternity
• I do that by asking what
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Oh well, at least I am in the right building
• But I find I am on first floor
• All of the important people are on the
second floor
• I drink soft drinks a few times a day while
working
• I find that the only drink machine is at the
back of the second floor breakroom
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
18
Success
• I am not fully awake until about noon so I
wander into the breakroom a bit after 8 am
or a little later
• Over the course of time, I observe that
– The important people gather at 7am in the
breakroom to drink coffee, and then wander
out about 8 am
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• A plan is formed
• Despite being half asleep the initial trip to
the drink machine starts to occur before 8
am
• Slowly, very slowly
• Never be in too much of a hurry
• Never be too obvious
• Never be too pushy
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Day by day, week by week I wander in and
out of the breakroom in most, not all,
never all, mornings
• Of course at some point someone says
– What is your name
– What do you do here
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Over time, remember slowly, always
slowly, someone says
– Have a seat – Tell us about yourself
• Oh you are working on a masters degree
• What in
– Ah, an MPA degree
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• But the breakroom is outside of the magic
doors
• How to get on the other side of those
magic doors is now the question
• As I wander in and out morning by
morning, never joining them unless asked,
of course eventually someone asks
– What is the topic of your thesis
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
•
•
•
•
On what
Mapping
Mapping using a computer
I didn’t know you could do that
– Remember this was a long time ago
• Our offices to bus routes you say
• Really, how interesting
• So you are interested in planning
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• At this point the next part of the plan is
executed when I ask
– I wonder if I could get access to some data
• Of course the response is
– Probably, come by my office this afternoon
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• I am now no longer outside, but inside the
magic doors
• After a brief discussion of what I need the
statement I expected to hear floats though
the room
– I will have to check to see if this data can be
shared
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• This requires asking the highest of the
local higher ups if this will be ok
– Who of course say, he is working on what,
who is this fellow, what is his name, that
sounds interesting, let me know if he gets it to
work
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Everyone who matters now knows who I
am
• Knows I am working on a graduate degree
• Knows I am working on a project that
might be useful to them
• Sees me often in the breakroom,
restrooms, and inside the magic doors as I
ask questions about the data
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Later on I notice a position for a planner
appears on the job openings board
• While walking down the hall, one of the
important persons says – Have you
applied for that job yet
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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70s and 80s
• Things are moving along well
• I am inside the local inner circle
• A minor player, but inside never the less
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• Then the welfare department decides
planning ahead is a waste of time
• They will just play it by ear
• Who cares if nothing works
• See slide 14 above as it is time to put the
fallback plan into operation
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Semi-Success
• As the entire planning department tries to
find a chair to sit in in the course of a
conversation on this the phrase
– Oh you used to be the assistant to an
accountant while in school
• We’ll transfer you to the budget
department
• You do know what is fund accounting is
don’t you
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Semi-Success
• Sure I say
• I have never heard of it
• Time to study day and night
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• After a number of years the local budget
director leaves
• I am now the new budget director
• No job posting
• No interview
• Just an offhand, oh by the way Mr. Chipps
is the new budget director so ask him
about that
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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90s
• Things are indeed working along well
• I have actually learned how to manage a
multimillion dollar budget using fund
accounting and various expenditure
forecasting techniques
• But I sense that this is not really my area
of interest, but whatever a job is a job
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
•
•
•
•
•
Perfect storm
Blame must be assigned
Musical chairs ensues
I am left standing
I remove sword and fall to the floor
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• No, no, no - no loss in pay
• You can move over to this project team
and help them out since you know so
much about computers
– Notice fallback plan put into operation on
short notice
– The fallback plan being during the 80s as PCs
and LANs began to appear I found I had a
naturallinterest and talent in working with
these
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
– So I helped the IT people, whether they
wanted the help or not since after all this is a
fallback plan, as we start to use PCs and
LANs
• Unfortunately the new team has no
interest in a new team member
• While pleasant at all times it is clear this
will go nowhere
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Time to create a new fallback plan
• As noted above IT was switching from
mainframes to LANs
• The local IT staff knew nothing at all as
this new PC and LAN support staff’s
pervious job was data entry clerk
• They just shifted the whole bunch over to
PC and LAN support
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• This is kind of like having the truck driver
for a NASCAR equipment truck take over
for the driver of the race car since after all
they both know how to drive don’t they
• I had assisted with implementation of this
since I brought the very first computer
most of them had seen when I carried my
own Campaq luggable back and forth to
work while budget director
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• I must say they did object at times to this
help as it did not show them in a good light
• Implementation of the current fallback plan
now commences
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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90s and 2000s
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• I had noticed that the IT director, who used
to be the data entry clerk supervisor,
smokes outside of the same door several
times everyday
• I make sure I always enter and leave the
building through this door regardless of
where I am outside or inside the building
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• When the headquarters staff in Austin
eventually figures out that moving the data
entry staff from that to IT support was not
such a good idea after all a job for a
network analyst is posted
• While chatting as I walk in to work through
that door which is way out of my way the
local IT director says – Have you applied
for that job
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• I am now a network analyst who is a whiz
on PCs, but knows absolutely nothing
about networks of any sort
• Time to study fast, day and night
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• The local IT director retires
• The new director is the stupidest, most
spineless, most useless person I have
every encountered
• His only interest is in staying out of trouble
• As the reason he is in this job is that he
has failed at every other job he ever had
with the welfare department
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
46
Failure
• Clearly I need a new fallback plan as this
job is now very uninteresting since he
refuses to take on any interesting work for
fear it will go wrong
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• A memo arrives
• Yes on paper
• Memos used to be on paper
– It says something about the legislature met
– They changed the retirement rules
– Something about a Rule of 80
– Age and years of service
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Wait, wait, wait
– I am forty something
– I have twenty something years of service
– I have a year of vacation time and a year of
sick leave
• Let’s add all of this together
• I can retire when ?
• In a couple of years
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Alright
• But what will I do retired at 50
• I still have to work
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Failure
• I am not a consultant
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Remember all those years back when I
was a social worker
• The fellow who showed me around way
back then in the 70s calls
• He says he is teaching at DeVry
• They need some part-time teachers due to
the Internet boom
• Would I be interested
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teaching at a trade school
I don’t know about that
Oh DeVry is not a trade school
Whatever, I always need more money
Notice where the call came from
How long ago did I make that contact
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• So I teach one course, make 1,000
• They ask could you teach two courses this
time
• Teach two courses, make 1,000 times 2
• Yes, I can do that
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• While chatting with fulltime faculty over the
course of time
• Remember, slowly, always slowly
• Never too obvious
• Never too pushy
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Oh you teach three courses as fulltime
faculty
• Oh you make how much
• So I am teaching two courses three times
a year for a total of 6,000
• You are teaching just one more course
and you are making 8 times what I am
making
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Hum, time to implement campaign for a
fulltime job with DeVry so that when I retire
I can just slide over here
• How to do this
• How to do this
• A Christmas party is announced
• I discover that none of the faculty in my
program area goes anymore
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
•
•
•
•
•
The program dean must attend
The program dean is new
He does not know anyone
He is a nerd
He will likely be found in the back of the
room, leaning against a wall, checking his
watch every minute, figuring out how soon
he can duck out
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
58
Success
• The plan is executed
• My wife and I arrive
• Dean and Mrs Dean are spotted in the
back of the room, leaning against a wall,
checking their watches every minute,
figuring out how soon they can duck out
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
59
Success
• I make sure the dean sees a familiar face
of sorts, mine
• As we slowly wander toward each other a
conversation ensues as being social
animals we always engage in conversation
whether we really want to or not
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
60
Success
• At one point he says
• You teach part-time for us don’t you
• Yes I do
• Well come have a seat with us here at this
table
• The dean now has someone to talk to,
someone with some common interest
• The dean stops checking his watch
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• Further conversation ensues
– What do you do
– Oh you can retire soon
– At so young an age
– What are you going to do
– Really, you like teaching here, we will be
adding fulltime faculty
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Success
• While I am walking down the hall to class
one evening as the dean leaves for the
day the words – Have you applied for that
job – drift through the air
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
63
Other Points
• Take advantage of fortuitous
circumstances
– Nissan Sentra
• Observe your environment
– NFL
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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Other Points
• Always stay slightly ahead of everyone
else
– Know how it works so you do not have to look
at your shoes
– CCNA
– PhD
• Growth to 10
• Reduction to 2
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
65
Other Points
• But do not stand out too much or someone
will chop you back
Copyright 2013 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com
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