[geeks] observations and rants.

[Tom Borton]

I only came close to a situation like that once.  In my case, I had to
evaluate someone who was dead weight.  This guy had a pet development
tool, and even when his project with that tool ended, he kept trying to
use it for every other project he was assigned.  

My boss finally asked me to give him and another guy (a non-programmer)
a programming assignment and guidance to them both.  Despite repeated
suggestions from several people that the dead weight drop his pet tool
because it wouldn't work, he insisted on trying to use it.  The
non-programmer borrowed a book from me, wrote lots of throw-away code
that he constantly asked me about, had me explain every warning and
error he encountered, and eventually wrote a respectable piece of
software.

The part that tied me in knots was knowing that it was the dead weight's
last chance to stay with the company, and even though he didn't
contribute much, I still hated playing a role in seeing him fired.

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: geeks-admin at sunhelp.org [mailto:geeks-admin at sunhelp.org]On Behalf
Of Adam Kropelin
Sent: 17 February 2002 18:47
To: geeks at sunhelp.org
Subject: Re: [geeks] observations and rants.


> I came close to quitting right then. I had nightmares every night for
a week.