"Understanding Geeks" — the 100-word version
When Inc. posted a 1,279-word "Field Guide to Your Tech Staff," I couldn't shake the suspicion the piece's real intent was hey Slashdotters! Everybody click here! For those of us unable to spend 10 minutes looking busy by reading the printer-friendly version, I've boiled it down to a PowerPoint stack of bullet points. Because they hate that.
Habitat
- Dark room — allows focus, rests eyes
- Headphones — get deeper into the zone
- Desk organization — pristine or cluttered, it's intentional. Touch nothing.
Psychology
- Perfectionism — "good enough" isn't good enough
- Gadget lust — latest gizmo is badget of honor
- Intellectual curiosity — figure out how things work, absorb info from multiple channels at once
- Systematic thinking — nothing is magic, it just needs to be problem-solved
- Wrong? Never! — hoo boy, no kidding. Wrong = failure
- Competitive nature — being smartest is important
Motivation
- Recognition — take them to lunch and let them talk about latest accomplishment
- Playtime — Google's "20% Time" policy leads to huge R&D breakthroughs
DO to get along with geeks
- Try to gain basic understanding of technology
- Provide context — Not "will it work?" but "will it work by June for 1,000,00 hits per day?"
- Cross-pollinate IT with other departments
DON'T
- Wait until you need their help to befriend IT people
- Add a tiny last-minute request without bumping deadlines
- Let non-tech employees bypass proper channels for IT requests
