Suggestions for dealing with an old-school boss

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

... It was wasteful, but it made him happy. He could see the finished product first, then make changes until it was what  wanted. It does not align with any overall company campaigns or objectives, but its what he wanted. It does not align with any modern design or readability research or best practices, but he likes it.  UGH. 

Did it cost you anything? Did you miss out on making more money for yourself? Did you have to spend more hours working than you would have otherwise?

If not, then don't worry.

It's not your company. It's not your department. It's not your job to ensure that your boss is effectively using his allocated resources. That's your boss' boss' responsibility.

If you work a set number of hours each week and get a set salary for it, he's not even wasting your time. He's wasting the owner's money paying you to be unproductive.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

You're turning into Frenchy. 

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

I debated replying to this, because my message isn't going to be positive.  Take it with a grain of salt.  Here goes;

Either find a new job, get moved to a different area so you have a different boss, or just get used to it because he's not changing.  I've never had a boss that was really eager to keep changing what they accepted.  They might not sing their songs as loudly but they'll never forget the words.

Good luck with this one.

I don't see that as negative at all, in fact, its right on the nose. The new boss has no reason to change, he is successful, secure in his job, the owner loves him, and the COO couldn't care less. Plus, he's the one in charge, not me. I have no hope of changing him or moving to another role, so my options are adjust or find a new job. I am looking at what else is out there, maybe a great new opportunity comes my way. Until that happens however, myself and a few other people who are affected by, this are strategizing on how to deal with the situation. 

Here's an example, he wanted to make a 2-page flyer about a product. I skipped over asking why we needed a printed flyer when we have zero people in the field, the reason to do it is that he wants it. Normally, I have a process to outline and plan the document, determine target audience, voice, message, etc etc, then review/approve the copy, then review/approve designs.  But I skipped all of that because it is 100% digital. Instead, I created the flyer and printed the final version for him to review. He had plenty of revisions since there was no input up front and I had no idea what he wanted, but I took the redlined paper copies and redid everything a few times until he was happy. It was wasteful, but it made him happy. He could see the finished product first, then make changes until it was what  wanted. It does not align with any overall company campaigns or objectives, but its what he wanted. It does not align with any modern design or readability research or best practices, but he likes it.  UGH. 

 

I feel this in my bones. With our new product (still very few users compared to the current, like less than 0.01%), we are changing the direction and design of our documentation. And there is nothing wrong with that. The problem is we have people who have never held UX/Tech Writing positions as writers, developers, managers, etc, dictating how things should be written, designed, layouts, and all that jazz. 

It's infuriating. I'm hoping I can stay on the current product until I can find something different. 

In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :

The issue is that in marketing, you can become a dinosaur pretty quickly.  If you are not up on the latest trends and technology, good luck finding a job in Healthcare or Software, the industries that pay good money and are hiring in my area. If I felt like I could kick it old school for another 20 years, then fine. I am old enough to know how to do print and direct mail and cold-calling. But the job market is fickle, especially in marketing, so you have to keep your skills current and your portfolio up-to-date if you want to keep food on the table let alone pay your kid's college tuition.  So I need to find a balance between keeping the boss happy and not rotting on the vine. 

I hear a lot of the same BS (no offense) on this thread that I hear at work "I never click on ads, so I know they don't work" Yep, that's empirical data right there. How did Google make billions of dollars then? Or "old people are the ones who buy things". Interesting, they don't retire and get replaced by young people?  Or "I never read anything that comes in the mail" or "I only buy from companies I already buy from" or  "I never pay attention to online ads/billboards/radio ads/tv ads/product placements/sponsorships..."  I've heard them all.  All of these are valid, and all of these are complete horsepuckey as well.  Marketing is different for everyone, you have to do the research, run the numbers, and know what works for your audience, and that may change yearly, monthly, even hourly. 

And hey, if the boss wants to ignore the data and just do things the way he did 30 years ago, fine, I was a very successful regional sales manager 20 years ago, I can do that too. But you have to DO IT.  Hire salespeople (we have none) put them in the field (we don't leave the office) and teach them how to sell (our people are scientists). So again, I am stuck waiting for someone to make a decision, make a move, do SOMETHING to move forward.  

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :

The issue is that in marketing, you can become a dinosaur pretty quickly.  If you are not up on the latest trends and technology, good luck finding a job in Healthcare or Software, the industries that pay good money and are hiring in my area. If I felt like I could kick it old school for another 20 years, then fine. I am old enough to know how to do print and direct mail and cold-calling. But the job market is fickle, especially in marketing, so you have to keep your skills current and your portfolio up-to-date if you want to keep food on the table let alone pay your kid's college tuition.  So I need to find a balance between keeping the boss happy and not rotting on the vine. 

All of this

Plus, if the new-old guy is actually doing a poor job, it may be evidence that "marketing is worthless" and end up with the elimination of jobs.
 

I don't have any advice.  Just watching this thread.  Seems like a very frustrating position.  I think many posters are overlooking the level of antiquated behavior.  Its not black and white.  Face to face communication is absolutely valuable, and not mutually exclusive with email, zoom, or other digital communication.  A skilled employee will leverage the necessary tools in the right way to achieve the best possible outcome, and it doesn't sound like this is happening in this environment.

I haven't read all of this, so I don't have any advice about the new-old boss,  but based on this last page of the thread  this is the type of scenario where I would be polishing the resume and reaching out to my network to see what's available. 

If you aren't learning new skills, new technology, or new responsibilities, your value is depreciating. 
 

In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :

Okay. But you gave an example of one b.s. thing he's had you do. How representative of your average working situation is that story? Is every task he gives you outdated? Most? Roughly half? Some but in the minority?

Do you have opportunity in your position to continue honing and improving skills and building your portfolio? Within your standard work week, or would you have to work outside of it?

You're not going to put *everything* you've done in your portfolio when job hunting. Just the highlights. Are you still able to do that in this position or not?

Keep in mind that stupid bosses who ask employees to do pointless and/or antiquated work are the norm, not the exception.

Sounds like your options are:

1. Leave and get a new job.
2. Start a side hustle.
3. Do guerrilla work within your position to keep your resume fresh
4. Make a run to have the boss replaced (by yourself or someone else)
5. Get multiple people in your department with similar concerns to voice them to your boss' boss as a group.
6. Try to get a separate mini-department carved out that is not under the current boss.

I would probably...
If there's still room to improve skills and build my portfolio, stick with the position and accept that some amount of b.s. busywork is part of every job.

If there is not that opportunity, get my resume and portfolio together. Start interviewing and hunting jobs. Figure out if the grass is actually greener. Get a job offer. Once I have a job offer, talk to current boss' boss, and explain my concerns. Use job offer as negotiating tool to potential reform things, but most likely walk because businesses tend to calcify and don't like to change.

In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :

You forgot #7 bitch about it and do nothing.