Geek Motivation....

Intersting read here... posted by a fellow gamer who got it from some website someplace. (As you can tell I was really paying attention). I found it to be true enough.... and hey who knows you post something enough times maybe just maybe it will be read by the right person.

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Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks
Posted @ 6:45 am.

Being a geek myself, I think this is a subject I think needs to penetrate all levels of management in every company that values their geeks. By no means is this a rant, but for the last 10 years Ive seen what motivates us and what doesnt. Ive seen the managers that just dont get it. Ive seen those that understand completely and react accordingly. So, I thought Id share my observations and see what everyone has to add as well.

1. Geeks are curious. Let them feed their desire to learn things

I dont know how much emphasis I can place on this point. You can take the ultimate geekgive them a rockin compensation packageand give them rubber-stamped projects (same tasks over and over) for two years and theyll probably quit anyway. This point is based on the notion that if a geek feels his ability to gain knowledge is hindered hell try to find it somewhere else. Let them satisfy their curiosities with the task of picking up the latest technologies and applying them as they see fit. (Even if its just for a prototype.)

2. Geeks like to be self-sustaining. Let them figure things out on their own.

I havent met a true geek yet that wants you to hold their hand through every step of an implementation. In fact Ive seen quite the opposite. They want to do things their way. If you suggest something, odds are the solution is wrong in their mind because its not what they would have come up with first. Theres many ways to complete a task in the technical arena, why cram your solution down their throats? Dont hinder their creativity, just let them figure it out. The exception to this is probably in design. You obviously have to define your interfaces between components and have your requirements for the implementation. Let the details get figured out by whoevers doing the dirty work. You can optimize things later if they arent up to par.

3. Geeks are creative even if they dont know it. Give them a chance.

One thing Ive seen is that most geeks dont see themselves as very creative. Give them the task of creating a GUI tool of some sort and theyll butcher it up and say get someone with art talent on the job; I just know how to make it work. Now this may be true as far as whats appealing to the eye, but geeks have creativity inside them somewhere.

When you give them a requirement for a component thats just out of reach with the normal cookie-cutter solutions, whos jumping at the chance to dig on the web for solutions that could work? Whos rattling off a dozen ideas for things to try that might work with the newfound constraints? Thats right, its management. (Just kidding, though everyone has their momentwho knows? Some managers are geeks too.)

Even if none of the solutions the geeks come up with will work, its a vast pool of creative ideas to feed from. Though they see themselves as equation-solvers with little creativity, I see it as opportunity. Let them apply their creativity. They love to be in the brainstorm process instead of pushed to the wayside as a later-used resource.

4. Geeks need tools, good ones. Give them more than they need.

Ive seen way too many people get frustrated over their hardwares inability to keep up with them. Theres nothing worse than having a machine that you have to wait on. Bill Gates based his entire company idea on the fact that hardware was going to be unlimited and it allowed him to grow an empire. Had the PC not been able to gain ground as fast as it did in the marketplace Microsoft may have had a different story.

With geeks its not much different. Give them unlimited hardware (hell, just give them just a little more than they think they need) and their productivity and creativity will definitely increase. Best of all, itll motivate them. Geeks cant wait to see what they can do with the ultimate environment. Give a geek the latest-released workstation with maxed hardware and youll most likely get a little more than you bargained for from them just because theyre motivated enough to push the system to its limits.

5. Private, yet collaborative. Geeks need to be left alone, but not too alone.

Im really on the fence with this one depending on the project. Ive seen the case for both putting geeks in offices with doors, and Ive seen the case for putting everyone in a big non-walled room with the extreme environment at its best. Personally, I like a combination of both. Geeks want to be left alone when they know what their assignment is. Give geeks a problem to solve, and first thing theyll want to do is run off and come back with something that fits.

Isolation is great for getting things done when you know whats there, but collaboration is ideal for environments where people can feed off of each other. I think geeks are motivated by the idea of a collaborative environment with their team where they can retreat to a hole-in-the-wall somewhere and not be disturbed while they get into the zone and crunch out their tasks.

6. Free stuff. T-shirts, food, desktop widgets, whatever.

It amazes me to no end how free stuff can motivate someone. Geeks could care less about the free company logo pens you hand out. Im talking real free stuff here. I was on a project once where for two solid months dinner was ordered every night for anyone working late to meet the deadline. I couldnt believe how many people stayed just because it was easy to do it. Not only that, they were happy to do it!

The power of free things is that its generally more motivating when its a surprise. If everyone expects it all the time, its not really as cool. In my opinion, even if a geek expects free food every Friday afternoon its not going to motivate him any less than if you do it every random(6) Fridays.

Ive seen geeks go out of their way doing some pretty silly things just to get free t-shirts at conferences. The vendors caught onto something right away and have been milking it for everything its worth. They know geeks love free stuff, even if its crap.

7. Control

This particular point amuses me somewhat actually. Ive never really met a true geek that didnt love power. Not the kind of power that an executive has in a company. Im talking about the power of knowing the inner workings of a complex system that the company benefits from. The power of being able to hop onto a server and manage to be in the top three frag-count players on every mapwhile everyone else just watches in amazement. The power of knowing that no matter what comes along as a surprise you can figure something out that will work no matter what.

More to the point, geeks like to control their lives. Most of them (well, us) are control freaks that like to do things their own way. Be it control over how to implement their component, design their circuit board, cross out mundane sections of documentation that make no sense except to the business user until its re-written, see where theyre headed after the current projectwhatever. If a geek doesnt feel in control, the anxiety will kick in and chip away until greener grass starts to grow on another companys lawn. Lay out the plans, stick to the plans, and give a comfortable level of control to the geeks and their motivation will feed itself.

8. Geeks need recognition

Having a purpose plays a big role in geek motivation. If geeks dont feel like theyre needed or appreciated, theyll begin to wonder if they belong. If someone pulls off some completely unexpected progress by using their creative genius mind, by all means give them some public praise. Feed their desire to do more by giving them the reputation they deserve. The first couple times I was put in front of a VP that really liked what Id done for their bottom line with my applications, I had such an adrenaline rush that I couldnt wait to get out there and kick some more ass.

Some may claim to just do it for the general cause of figuring things out and being just another team member, but deep down inside it still has to feel great to know that others are motivated by your accomplishments. Taking credit for a project at a high level in front of management w/o praising the hands-on folks is never the way to go. Giving proper recognition to the true hands-on geeks that are doing most of the grunt-work really motivates them to do more.

9. Freedom

Now, I dont mean for everyone to get some picture in their mind of geeks lining up to see the last scene of Braveheart, but sometimes I just want to lean back and re-enact that scene in front of everyone I know. Hindering geeks ability to use the applications they want or being able to configure their machines they way they like is not the way to go. Give them the tools, but then motivate them by allowing them to really use them the way they can by giving them the free reign to set things up however they want. Companies try to hinder their employees so much by limiting access to things when it really just doesnt matter. If the geek cant get his job done with all the freedom given to him, then you dont want that geek working for you anyway.

This probably lines up with the control point quite a bit, but I think its a bit separate in whats being controlled. Keep the freedom for the geek as much as possible, and theyll hesitate to look elsewhere since most places dont do this.

10. Compensation - Saved this for last, but geeks gotta live too

This one goes without saying in my opinion. Its an implied motivator. Not everyone is as motivated by money as managers think, but most of them are from what Ive seen. All the other stuff definitely adds up, but compensation is generally the first and primary motivator for most. This applies less for people starting out I think. Geeks just at the beginning of their career are more interested in what they can learn and create. Later on its more about compensation and perks. This point could probably be an entire post in itself, so maybe Ill save that for later. For now, just know that proper compensation and benefits are a very key to motivating geeks.

Thats the set of motivators I think are key to really pumping up your geeks to perform. Ive seen them work, and Ive seen the absence of these motivators crush morale and productivity. Please feel free to add motivators that have worked for you and your geeks. What doesnt work for you? Im interested in hearing what others see on this subject.