I need to get some opinions here.
What do you do when someone gets employed to assist you and you spend time training them up and trying to teach them all you know.
Then you come to the realisation that in a year or two, that person will almost certainly surpass you, therefore start to make you look bad to the boss. I need to avoid having my boss look at me and think
" Who is this grumpy Harley-riding chainsmoker i have on the payroll and do i really need him".

I think i need to start a new thread called "How to sabotage your co-workers and make yourself look better".

Any thoughts?

Simon.

Any ideas to counteract said sabotage would also be appreciated...

Glenn

Simon
Same thing happened to me some time back, i turned around and said that my hourly rate would double as i was contracted to do installations not training. But the best way to train them is to give them the cable rough in jobs especially the ones in the roof space and under the house. As our summer is on its way that will surely be enough especially if we get many days in the 40's like the weather men are predicting.
As for showing how to terminated and lace in the cables dont as your bos has probaly not covered the expense for the work to be redone.
Guy

oops

Not sure if this has already been said but.....
Your install looks great..........But does it work well.
Just because it looks good does not necessarily mean it works great.
Awesome install though!

I use precision wire snips to make a clean cut on zip ties. I've never had to worry about scratches on my arms when I use those snips.

Nice rack, I must say that I've never really had a customer who wanted a rack, but when I get one I hope they let me go all out and do it up like yours. Further more, you can hook up a fair few components in the rack (if it isn't to big) at the office first and then move it onsite (if you are careful). I've completely strayed from using distributed sound systems that all reside in the one rack, so my racks are never really that big and I prefer to place the equipment in custom joinery and make it look pretty in there.

Although you end up with the inevitable pile of spaghetti when you push it all back into the joinery.

Your standard of cable management is excellent though, I am very impressed.

Thanks for the comments guys and there are no sharp edges on my cable ties, i use Lindstrom precision cutters.

Just in case anyone is interested, the sabotage didn't work and my assistant from 2005 is now my project manager and is being sent to Singapore for B & O training soon. I.............have not been invited. :(

Simon.

Any ideas to respond to said sabotage would also be appreciated...

looks nice. clean


velcro :)


audoslayve

-How about some small improvements. Labeling could be better, P-Touch. Service is a big issue at companies. A piece of white tape and sharpie is not a good label. Give it a year or two and that "label" will be nothing but residue, and faded wording

-Lacing bars???

-More service loop on speaker wires.

-It would also look cleaner if all wires came in through top of rack and have all wires straight and zip tied tighter.

Other than that It is a clean rack.

B-Stock

Over the course of 35 years or more out in the wonderful "working world" I've been on both sides of that situation.
We are always in danger of the boss hiring some young ass-kissing punk who'll come in with a fresh attitude and work his ass off and call a lot of attention to his or her triumphs, so he / she can move up the ladder. Some dude or dudess who laughs hysterically at all the boss' corny assed jokes, makes it a point to be seen rolling in after regular shop hours, or getting to the shop early to "be there" when the boss rolls up before the rest of "the guys".
That young punk doesn't have any real "history" with the boss or job, and is just grateful to have a job, and, really no mortal can keep that bullshit up for 20 years or so with a company.

...Meanwhile your boss seems to forget all the efforts and sacrifices you have contributed to the organization, and all the times you have saved his ass on projects, and all the guys you've helped train--- he only recalls last week when you called in late, because your water pump on your car blew, or Mr. Neverhappy's phone call bitching about you for supposedly scratching the wall in a hallway when you were moving the equipment rack out (that was F'd up by the new punk)!

I hired and trained more than a few guys when I ran a Custom Dept. (that I started), and one guy caught the bosses eye, when he spent several nights at home working on a really nice looking "proposal template" and brought it in one morning to show it off to the owners. Nobody asked for or really saw the need for a new "Template" but he took it upon himself to "improve" our old one with groovey "Apple Fonts" and all that other Steve Jobs apple artsy fartsy wannabe bullshit. The boss was SO impressed in fact that, he eventually got my job, even though I worked my arse off, and started what is now their main part of the business.

"Selective memory"... So your boss is sitting there looking at the payroll... Hmmm we have been paying Simon (who knows everything, and has stuck with us through thick and thin, and knows ALL of our projects, and clients) $27 an hour, and this new boot-licker is getting 1/2 that?!?!?! (The boss in his or her mind, may conveniently forget all that is involved in your job, and your skill and talent level, along with your ability to at times "just get it done"), and think in his or her mind this fresh faced smiley new puke may be able to learn all that in "no time".

When I was younger, I always rose up through the ranks at work pretty quickly, but the older I got, the longer it took -- if it happened at all - not due to my skills or experience level... but I just think it is nature's way.
The new guy has this limitless enthusiasm (like a puppy), while the wiser older sages, who quietly go about the day kicking ass without trying to boast or draw attention to themselves, do the installs correctly without call backs, disappear into the background.

If you are really having a tough time with your boss there, maybe you should entertain the thought of going out on your own with one of the other guys at work?

Otherwise, you could do what I see at a lot of companies, where there is always ONE guy who is the programming Guru, who keeps that skill-set largely to himself for job security purposes --- or the one guy who their best architects or builders like the most.


The guys who I've seen that have staying power at their jobs are the guys who were smart enough to train guys just enough to make them dangerous, and coveted enough of the really significant part of their work for themselves, so they would always be needed... A few of these guys were / are pure genius' at cloaking a few of the things they know in mystery, and making it appear to be some magical god- given talent that only THEY possess I used to work with a guy who was the only guy who could converge the big Runco's and there was no way he was going to let ANYBODY else enter his "territory"! He made such a production out of it, everybody else was afraid to even ask to be trained!

Maybe you could even "secede" from the copmpany and be an outside sales / installer / consultant at a lower $$$ rate, but also be able to do jobs for yourself???

...Or you could call attention to the young guys screw-ups and mistakes, but that will only backfire on you.

If all else fails tell the boss you suspect the new guy is having an affair with the boss' wife or daughter?

Good Luck. jmo.

Mr Stanly brings up some very valid points. I started out in this business as a temporary worker for a mid-size CI firm because I could not find a job when I graduated from engineering school (remember the dot com bust?). A year and a half later I left the company and went out on my own. Now my company is doing higher quality installs than my original employer ever dreamed of. And I have snagged half of their old clients and general contractors to boot. You are wise to fear this young punk overtaking your standing with the boss, however my recommendation would not be to try and preserve your current job. You clearly have the skills to do this kind of work on your own, I would suggest you start working towards starting your own company. It's a lot of work, but in the end it's far more rewarding. Just my take on the situation.

Simon,
i agree with these guys. before I was on my own I worked for a company that basically brought me in for a few years and then brushed me aside. It's funny, they have since then dropped back to mostly being circ city's b$tch!! They actually offered for me to come back for less $$$$$. It is very nerve racking to go on your own, but i took that road last june. You do have the client base, I am sure you have done installs for people that only want to talk to you and you have everyone here to help you out. Your installs are amazing, probably some of the best work the world has seen. When you are on your own you are not limited by anyone. I think you should start getting some things put together and when you are ready leave them and go on your own. Just my $.02

Lol, cop that chuckmonkey.

Look truth be told, he is actually a great guy and i definitely wouldn't be without him. He has never showed me disrespect and i'm still the go-to guy for the difficult stuff. I'm quite happy for him to be my project manager and frankly would not want the job myself anyway.
My post about wanting to sabotage him, was more than anything a compliment to him with a bit of humor. I say this now because the responses look like they are taking what i said literally. Thanks for those responses anyway, i know they were well intended.

Simon.