Seven deadly sins

Everybody likes a good challenge, but not every challenge is right for everybody. Last week, John Gallant laid out some habits for effective network managers. What about the flip side? Let's look at the habits of ineffective managers.

1. Ignore the Y2K issue. Hey, you might not even be working at your present job by the time the issue becomes a problem. Right? Wrong. It already is a problem, and you can't run. With the federal government recently getting a D-minus on it Y2K planning (estimates are now for only two-thirds of all federal systems to be totally effective on 01/01/00), expect prospective employers - in any industry - to ask about past performance on the Y2K issue. This means that you might want to be prepared to shift funding from your networking plans to software development on a moment's notice. To be fair, you may be one of those smart firms that has already solved the problem. Even still, you should probably buy some "insurance" just in case some new problem appears on the horizon. Saving a dollar or two now could be just what's saves the day next year.

2. Always accept the lowest priced bid for your network project. I'm not saying that the lowest bid isn't ever the correct choice (occasionally vendors have been known to pad things up a bit). But we see an increasing trend to cut costs by bidding lower- function products that, while they meet the general technical specification of the RFP, may not offer the best long-term value for the dollar. Going for the fancy featured product (with limited proven track record) rather than the somewhat un-featured product with a solid history of performance can be a career limiting move.

3. Always think one project at a time. Network adapters and routers have nothing in common. Right? That is true, unless you want to implement any type of real end-to-end network system. VLANs, SLAs and policy management are all going to require coordination between all network components. Should you be concerned about LAN hubs when deciding on an IP network service? Probably not. But I'd sure want to know that the LAN switches I was installing would be able to share SLA policy information with the Frame Relay service I was implementing next quarter.

4. Ignore SLAs - especially for your internal network. All they will do is restrict your ability to be creative. Wrong. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. SLAs are inevitable so why not use them to your advantage. Rather than let them "lock you in" to limited performance, think of them as the ideal way to accurately set reasonable expectations within your user community.

5. Surprise your users with new and innovative ways to improve their business. Nobody likes surprises, especially your supposedly loyal customer base. Work for them, rather than against them. There is a big difference between showing how technologies might improve your customer's business opportunities and trying to rework their businesses to meet your business plans.

6. Always take credit for everything you are involved in – don't ever pass credit to others. Why let them look good when you could look better? The answer is loyalty. Staff loyalty is critical to the success of any networking program Loyalty comes from many things, including pride of ownership. If your staff doesn't feel like they are contributing, and being recognized publicly, they probably won't care enough to give 100% effort every day.

7. Consider networking a "core" competency of your firm. Wrong. Being essential to the success of your firm and being an area of competency are two different things. Remember that your firm should be focused on building and delivering their core products, not on support items like building or network maintenance. This means that while networking is critical to the firm's well-being, it is in a support role, rather than a spotlight role. The best network is one that nobody knows exists.

If you've got some other nasty habits you've seen in management, or if you've got some hot habits to add, check out our Forum.