Madison SectionNewsletter

Volume 9, Number 5 May 2006Serving IEEE Members of South Central Wisconsin

Building IceCube, A Neutrino Telescope at the South PoleDate/Time: Thursday,May18,2006,11:45AM-1:00PMSpeaker: JeffCherwinka,IceCube-EHWDLocation: RockyRococo’sPizza,7952TreeLane(Madison

BeltlineHwy.atMineralPt.Rd.),608.829.1444Menu: Pizzabuffet,saladandsoftdrinks(cost$10.00,free

forstudentmembers)RSVP: byMay15thtoLesSchroederviae-mail

(l.schroeder@ieee.org)orcall608.444.9144

Non-member guests are always welcome!

IceCubeisthelargestneutrinotelescopeintheworldaftertwosea-sonsofconstructionattheSouthPole.Thistalkwillpresentabriefintroductiontowhatneutrinosare,whattheymighttellusabouttheuniverse,andhowIceCubeisdesignedtogatherthisinformation.TheconstructionofIceCuberequiresdrilling2.5kmdeepholesintheiceattheSouthPoletoallowinstallationofsophisticatedlightdetectionequipmentinthedeepclearice.Someofthedetailsandchallengesofthelogistics,drilling,andinstrumentdeploymentwillalsobediscussedMoreinformationabouttheIceCubeprojectcanbefoundonlineat<http://icecube.wisc.edu/>.

IEEE Region 4 – Expanding Teacher In-Service Program ParticipationAsanengineer,areyouinterestedinworkingwithyourlocalpre-universityschools,schooldistrictsorteachers?Doyouwanttohelpimprovetheleveloftechnologicalliteracyofteachersandtheirstudentsinyourcommunity?ThenyoushouldattendIEEE’supcomingTeacherIn-ServiceProgram(TISP)TrainingWorkshopinIndianapolison16-17June!

Startedin2001,TISPfeaturesIEEEvolunteersdevelopingandpresent-ingtechnologicallyorientedsubjectmattertoeducatorsinaprofessionaldevelopment(or“in-service”)setting.Inthelastfouryears,IEEEvolunteershavemademorethan35presentationstoover675pre-universityeducatorswithintheUnitedStatesandSouthAfrica–theseeducatorsreachmorethan70,000students.

NowyoucanbeaTISPchampion!TheIEEEEducationalActivitiesDepartmentandtheCentralIndianaIEEESectionarehostingaTISPTrainingWorkshopforRegion4volunteerson16-17JuneatUniversityPlaceConferenceCenterandHotelinIndianapolis,IN.

TheworkshopwillcoverhowtoorganizevolunteersforTISPandhowtobringtheprogramtoyourlocalschooldistricts.ThankstothesupportofIEEEUSAtheeventisfreeforallIEEEmembers.Therewillbea$75feefornon-IEEEmembers.IEEEwillreimbursemembersforanytraining-relatedtravelcostsincurred.Fundingisalsoavailabletocoverthecostforsuppliesandmaterialsneededforpresentationstoeducators.

Toregisterfortheworkshopvisithttp://www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/tispindy.html.

TheeventwillbeginonFriday16Juneat4:30PMwitha2hourpresentationfollowedbydinnerat7:00PM.

OnSaturday17Junetheeventwillrunfrom9:00AMto3:00PMandwillincludehands-onpresentations,aquestionandanswerperiod,anddiscussiononnumeroustopics,suchas:programbackgroundandscope,gettingstarted,potentialcoststosectionsandeduca-tors,suggestionsonmakingcontactwithyourlocalpre-universitycommunity,andthealignmentofanactivitywitheducationstandards.

IEEE Madison Section Newsletter

Published9timesperyear( Jan.-May&Sep.-Dec.)bytheMadison,WisconsinSectionoftheInstituteofElectricalandElectronicEngineers(IEEE),asaservicetoitsmembersinsouth-centralWisconsin.

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Permissiontocopywithoutfeeallorpartofanymaterialwithoutacopyrightnoticeisgrantedprovidedthatthecopiesarenotmadeordistributedfordirectcommercialadvantage,andthetitleofthepublicationanditsdateappearoneachcopy.Tocopyma-terialwithacopyrightnoticerequiresspecificpermission.PleasedirectallinquiriesorrequeststoIEEECopyrightsOffice.

BreakfastandLunchwillbeprovidedforattendees.

Thegoalofthetrainingsessionistoimpactatleast1000pre-univer-sityeducatorsinRegion4throughthisprogramandtohelpIEEEvolunteersimplementTISPintheirlocalpre-universityeducationcommunities.

DuringanactualTeacherIn-ServicePresentation,IEEEvolunteersprovideteacherswithactivitymaterialsandthenhelptheteachersastheyworktheirwaythroughtheactivity.Byhelpingtheteachersastheyworktheirwaythroughatechnicalactivity,theteachersgettothepointwheretheyfeelcomfortableenoughtopresentitontheirown.Theideaisfortheteacherstoreturntotheirschoolsandleadthesameactivityintheirclassrooms.

FormoreinformationontheupcomingTISPtrainingsessionorTISPparticipation,pleasecontact:DougGorham,DirectorofEducationalOutreach,+17325625483,d.g.gorham@ieee.org,orAllisonIckowicz,AssociateProjectCoordinator,+17325625496,a.m.ickowicz@ieee.org.

Picking a Good BossBy Donald Christiansen

Mostexperiencedengineersagreethathavingagoodbossisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofone’sjob.Yourbosscanservenotonlyasaprofessionalcolleague,mentorandleader,butoftenasashieldfromthewhimsofanoppressivebureaucracy.

Buthowtofindagoodboss?Theoddsseeminyourfavoratacompanyknownbyitsemployeesasagoodplacetowork.Thelikeli-hoodisenhancedifitsculture(policiesandpractices)appealstoyoupersonally.

Overthepastfewdecades,severallistsof“100BestCompaniestoWorkFor”havebeenpublished.Compiledbyateamofbusinessjournalistsandresearchersin1983,oneversionincluded17high-techcompanies,amongthemIntel,IBM,GeneralElectric,Hewlett-Pack-ardandAppleComputer.Thisyear,usingsimilarbutnotidenticalcriteria,Fortunemagazine’slistincludedonlyoneoftheaforemen-tioned17—Intel.Fivenotonthe1983listwereQualcomm,CiscoSystems,Microsoft,NationalInstruments,andTexasInstruments.AmongtheplusescitedbyFortuneforthebest-to-work-forcompa-nieswerethese:generousfringes(Microsoft);neveralayoff(NationalInstruments);stockfornewemployees(Qualcomm);andafriendlyconfrontationalculture(Intel).

Buttheselistsmustbetakenwithagrainofsalt.Infairness,itshouldbenotedthatthesurveysandinterviewsundertakentocompiletheFortunelistsincludearandomselectionofemployees,notjustengi-neers,andthatthecompanies’cooperationisneededtocompletetheexhaustiveratingprocess(e.g.,Appledeclinedtoparticipate).

Themostsuccessfulcompaniesarenotnecessarilythoseratedthebesttoworkfor.In2005,GeneralElectric,IBM,Hewlett-Packard,Motorola,Verizon,Dell,BellSouth,Intel,CiscoSystems,andMicro-softwereamongFortune’stop100inrevenues,butofthoseonlyIn-tel,Cisco,andMicrosoftmadethecurrentFortunebest-to-work-forlist.Andifbest-to-work-forandmost-successfullistsareinsufficient,thereisstillathird—Fortune’s“mostadmired.”Forthislist,ajuryofcorporatedirectors,topexecutives,andfinancialanalystsinvokeadif-ferentmeasureforratingcompanies.Forexample,inFortune’s2006ratings,againstcriteriathatincludedinvestmentvalueandfinancial

soundness,this“juryofpeers”putGeneralElectricfirst.Alsoamongthetop20wereDell,Microsoft,AppleandIBM.

Big BossesWhencorporateCEOsaremorethanfigureheads,theirstylesofleadershipcanpermeatetheentireorganization,andlower-levelmanagementandstaffmayreactwellorbadlytotheomnipresenthandofthetopdog.Severalcompaniesfoundedbyengineersbecamenotedfortheircollegialworkenvironmentandenlightenedcorporatecultures.

FoundersBillHewlettandDavePackardsetthetonefortheHewlett-Packard(HP)culturethatlastedthroughouttheirtenureasactiveheadsofthecompany.Asurveyofmorethan7,900HPemployeesin1979showedsuchhighregardforthecompanythatthemanagementsurveygroupplacedHPinthetop0.5percentof1,000companiessurveyed.

FoundedbyengineerHowardVollum,TektronixfollowedtheHPstyleofmanagementclosely.FromvisitstoTek,Irecallthelow-walled,carpetlessspacesofitsdepartmentheadsthatmadeforquickandeasycommunicationwithallemployees,whowereonafirst-namebasiswiththeirbosses.

Ontheotherhand,anewCEOarrivingonthescenecansometimessendshockwavesthroughthemanagementpatternofanestablishedorganization.

UponsucceedingReginaldJonesasCEOofGeneralElectric,JackWelchradicallychangedtheconservativenatureofthecompany,disruptingtheingrainedmanagementstyleofmanyGEveterans.AmongWelch’sreformswastherequirementthatGEbusinessleadersearmark10percentoftheirmanagersaspoorperform-ersduringtheannualevaluationprocess.Thosesodesignatedgotnoraiseand“generallyhadtogo,”accordingtoWelch.Theyknewwhotheywere,andthattheyhadbettershapeuporshipout.Butexecutiveswhohadbuiltamanagementteamwithwhichtheywerecompletelysatisfiedrebelled.Somewouldevenlistmanagersabouttoretire,or,inonecase,amanagerwhohaddied.Welchmadeitclearthatexecutiveswhofailedtocomplywouldfindthemselvesonthebottomrung.Inhismemoir,Jack:StraightfromtheGut,WelchboastedthatfindingorcreatingGEmanagersinhisownaggressiveleadershipimagevastlyimprovedGE’sbottomline.

Hot ProjectsAtthetopofthelistofimportantjobcharacteristics,engineersputthetechnicalsophisticationoftheprojecttowhichtheyareassigned.Butthosechosentotakepartinachallengingprojectmaynotalwaysfindthebosstobethemostpersonableleader.Nevertheless,aleader’sidiosyncrasiesmaybeoutweighedbytheexcitementand,perhaps,thegloryofworkingontheproject.InOrganizingGenius,WarrenBen-nisgivesthefollowingexamples.

FamedastheinspirationalleaderoftheAppleMacintoshcom-puterproject,SteveJobswasnotedforhisarrogantandacerbic“walkingaround”managementstyle,inwhichhewouldoftenblindsidetechnicalstaffmemberswithscathingcommentsaboutsomethingtheyweredeveloping,butaboutwhichhehimselfoftenhadnorelevantexpertise.

XeroxPARC’sBobTaylorwasabletoshieldPARCstafffromtheconventionalthinkingoftheXeroxbureaucracy.Yet,accordingto

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oneofhisstaffmembers(asreportedbyBennis),Taylorratedmostofthosehedealtwithona“binaryscale”—aseither“thegreatestthingthatwalkedtheearth”or“beneathconsideration,”toputitkindly.

ClarenceKellyJohnson,whoheadedLockheed’sAdvancedDe-velopmentProjects(thefamous“SkunkWorks”),wasaneminentaeronauticalengineernotedforhisbullyingstubbornnessandhair-triggertemper.Hissuccessor,BenRich(selectedbyJohnson),calledhimthetoughestbosswestoftheMississippi.Johnsonneverthelesswasrespectedandadmiredforhisaeronauticalgenius.(RichdidnotcontinueJohnson’spracticeofcallingalltheshots,tellingtheSkunkWorksteam“I’llbedecisiveintellingyouwhatIwant,thenstepoutofthewayandletyoudoit.”)

TomWestwasaloofanduncommunicativewiththetalentedmem-bersofhisEaglecomputer(SoulofaNewMachine)developmentteam,buthefoughtDataGeneral’suppermanagementtogetthemtheresourcestheyneeded.

No Silver BulletIntheend,althoughyoumaycarefullystudyacompany’scultureandthenatureofitsproductsandprojects,agooddealofluckisinvolvedinselectingagoodboss.

Myadviceisthis:Ifyouhappentopickabossyoudon’tlike,don’tblameitonhim(orher).Moveon.Findanewboss.

Unless,ofcourse,youelecttobecomesubversive,instigateacabal,enjoysleeplessnights,upsetyourintestinaltract,andaggravateyourfamily—andpossiblybecomepresidentofthecompany.

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What’s InsIde

Meeting Notices

Expanding Teacher In-Service Program Par-ticipation

Picking a Good Boss

ResourcesFormoreon“good”companies,projects,andbosses:

R.Levering,M.Moskowitz,andM.Katz,The100BestCompaniestoWorkforinAmerica,Addison-Wesley,1984.

“The100BestCompaniestoWorkFor:2006,”Fortunemagazine,23January2006.

“TheFortune500:2005,”Fortunemagazine,18April2005.

W.BennisandP.W.Biederman,OrganizingGenius:TheSecretsofCreativeCollaboration,Addison-Wesley,1997.

J.Welch,Jack:StraightfromtheGut,WarnerBusinessBooks,2001.

B.RichandL.Janos,SkunkWorks,Little,Brown,1994.

T.Kidder,TheSoulofaNewMachine,Atlantic(Little,Brown),1981.

InsideOut:Microsoft—InOurOwnWords,WarnerBusinessBooks,2000(25thAnniversaryinterviewswithMicrosoftmanagersandexecutives).

F.A.Maxwell,BadBoyBallmer:TheManWhoRulesMicrosoft,William

Morrow,2002.

R.Slater,MicrosoftRebooted,Portfolio,2004.

J.Young,CiscoUnauthorized,Forum,2001.

G.Dorsey,SiliconSky,Perseus,1999(aboutOrbitalSciencesCorpo-ration).

D.Packard,TheHPWay,HarperCollins,1995.

“America’sMostAdmiredCompanies”,Fortunemagazine,6March2006.

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