Continuing from my previous post... Perhaps I should have started this weeks’ blogs with these thoughts. But that may have allowed some of you engineers and technicians to have more time to absolve yourself from responsibility for year-end results. You know what they call everyone who went “down with the ship?” Lost at sea or killed in action. Your teammates will want to know what you did or did not do to avoid a disaster. Want to know why upper management does not give your ideas the weight as those from other departments? Consider for a moment that it might be because you or your department are often “missing-in-action” when things get tough. Stay connected to the ongoing story; help in the fact gathering, and step up when the opportunity for a “special assignment” comes up. Do not hide in your office, afraid some bit of “bad news” will stick to you simply because you revealed it. Re-acquire the “Eddie Haskell” skill of your teenage years to put a positive spin on things when you present bad news; instead of using your powers to place blame, help the team consider alternate plans. [It just occurred to me that most of our readers may have no idea who Eddie Haskell was. Cue the “OK, Boomer” insults now.] The end of December can be long and boring if you are stuck working, but it can be a great chance to learn new skills and demonstrate ones you are in a position to use infrequently when fully staffed. Switching machine groups? Someone needs to find the formula for that. Getting replacement material from a “new supplier”? You may be the only person in the plant who knows what a Jominy test is or how to calculate the end-quench results from the chemistry. Well, maybe you are the only person who knows that the Gear Technology archives never take a moment off. 24/7/365, it is keyword-searchable for the answers you need. [OK, full disclosure — the questions need to be about gears. Late night takeout ratings are beyond its skill set.]