The Unspoken Truth About Managing Geeks (2009)

The Unspoken Truth About Managing Geeks (2009)(computerworld.com)

17 points by legacy2013 11 years ago | 4 comments

danelectro 11 years ago |

I call it "herding cats".

Definitely an uncommon skill, and the top 1% are not even good enough.

PaulHoule 11 years ago |

I find "managing geeks" to be about as offensive as an 1850 book about "managing niggers".

"geek" is a term that is used to suggest that technical people are somewhat subhuman and of course inferior to managers.

simon 11 years ago | |

I do not see the negative connotations that you do with the word "geek". I describe myself as a geek or geeky.

That aside, the article is a good one and I have read it several times before and feel that it gets much right.

crpatino 11 years ago | | |

The term has evolved over time, but it definitively had negative connotations, at least at the beginning.

From the Wikipedia article> This word comes from English dialect geek or geck (meaning a "fool" or "freak"; from Middle Low German Geck)... In 19th century North America, the term geek referred to a performer in a geek show in a circus, traveling carnival or travelling funfair sideshows (see also freak show).