Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - It's the end of the world as we know it

[Emmet]

close to perfection

[RichieM]

I told my team to spend 1 day a week on AI. Hopefully they come up with enough smart ideas to make me look good ( or the AI does ).

Let me know when you teach it excel. The company I am in seems to be just a collection of spreadsheets with very annoying people controlling admin rights so they have to be invited to meetings.

[Murdrum]

Let me know when you teach it excel. The company I am in seems to be just a collection of spreadsheets with very annoying people controlling admin rights so they have to be invited to meetings.

I’ve worked in and interviewed for companies in recent years and the unnecessary reliance on excel/Google sheets never ceases to amaze me.

[Raoul Duke III]

Let me know when you teach it excel. The company I am in seems to be just a collection of spreadsheets with very annoying people controlling admin rights so they have to be invited to meetings.

I didn't realise we worked in the same place. Stop by my floor for a coffee sometime.

[Raoul Duke III]

Ever been on a call where somebody says 'if this doesn't work, somebody is going to get fired'.

The reaction to this statement was not quite what this dude intended. Everyone cracked up laughing, having correctly deduced that the person who would get shitcanned was the speaker himself. He looked thoroughly confused that his little motivational speech had not had the intended effect.

[DeadParrot]

Let me know when you teach it excel. The company I am in seems to be just a collection of spreadsheets with very annoying people controlling admin rights so they have to be invited to meetings.

I'm working very closely with a large reinsurance firm and I was quite surprised how much of big Bermudan money stuff is on excel.
They do seem to see how the wind is blowing though and are firing money at it now.

[coillcam]

Let me know when you teach it excel. The company I am in seems to be just a collection of spreadsheets with very annoying people controlling admin rights so they have to be invited to meetings.

I’ve worked in and interviewed for companies in recent years and the unnecessary reliance on excel/Google sheets never ceases to amaze me.

I hear ye lads.

BOSS: Sure why would we invest in a software package or database for that? Mick over here is a genius on the calculator and excel. Did you not see the pivot tables and graphs he has done to revolutionise the business?

**Mick goes on holiday (the beer) and doesn't answer his phone for 3 days**

BOSS: We're fucked lads, how come no one can get me Mick's numbers/data for the meeting?

US: Well that's because it's on Mick's desktop folder and password protected. They are not backed up on the network and he won't share passwords/notes. If he loses or damages his laptop, all of that work is gone forever. Or if he simply forgets the password or leaves the company. We mentioned this before along with numerous advantages to using a proper system. We did a business case with risks and benefits, it's a small investment for peace of mind plus the other improvements....(cut off by the boss mid sentence)

BOSS: Just get Mick on the phone, I'm not spending 5 grand a year when I have a good lad like Mick to do the job.


Rinse/repeat across various companies of micro to SMEs I've come across. So many owners or classic-style entrepreneurs have this insane focus on squeezing every drop out of resources. It's all about keeping costs low and never about benefits, data/knowledge or efficiencies from investments. All ways to grow the business and make more profit. Unless our customers or regulators say we need it, I'm not spending a penny.... Or wait until the competition does something and then ape them so they're not left behind.

They've become very risk-averse balance sheet/excel merchants rather than risk takers with a vision when they started out. Not to mention the conflicts of their strategy/mission statements vs what actually happens IRL.

[DeadParrot]

I’ve worked in and interviewed for companies in recent years and the unnecessary reliance on excel/Google sheets never ceases to amaze me.

There is a lot of soul destroyed people who went in with clear eyes and full hearts determined to modernise these places only to be fought every step and
eventually gave up and perpetuate it now.

Also, from experience, there are a lot of middle managment types that their big weekly thing is the XXX Mega Report.xlxs and they are loathe to have that "Big Vital Important Thing" taken off them.

[Raoul Duke III]

There is a lot of soul destroyed people who went in with clear eyes and full hearts determined to modernise these places only to be fought every step and
eventually gave up and perpetuate it now.

Also, from experience, there are a lot of middle managment types that their big weekly thing is the XXX Mega Report.xlxs and they are loathe to have that "Big Vital Important Thing" taken off them.

100% - the biggest barrier to successfully implementing new technology is internal resistance. I've seen at least 2 $50m+ programs go down the shitter for this very reason.

[Denny Crane]

Took me about 3 months of approvals to get python in my place. Took a lot of work because I was the first non-developer to get it in the whole global company.

I also had to work around an old dinosaur that felt threatened by this "new" technology.

[Denny Crane]

Two spots left to make it a round of sixteen for music king

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4w4tC5giRW_lKVJ5mwfwnQF_BprKUf67BxFHNX77ew_DeWg/viewform

[zuutroy]

Obviously I have no understanding of the real world, but all this talk sounds exactly like the things my wife complains about in work. She seems to be the 'Mick' of the operation. She mentioned potentially bringing her laptop on holidays and I told her there's a decent chance it'll end up in the Med if she does. I hear a lot about Microsoft Dynamics, but have no idea what it does.

[Solksjaer!]

So whats the recommended alternative to Excel these days ?

[Raoul Duke III]

Internal branding is important too. I once, many years ago, worked on a transformation program called 'Project Ripple'.

Some smartarse nicknamed it Project Cripple.

The first day I heard that, I said 'this thing is dead'. I tactfully refrained from saying 'told you so' when it was binned 6 months later amidst much firings and recrimination.

[RichieM]

There is a lot of soul destroyed people who went in with clear eyes and full hearts determined to modernise these places only to be fought every step and
eventually gave up and perpetuate it now.

Also, from experience, there are a lot of middle managment types that their big weekly thing is the XXX Mega Report.xlxs and they are loathe to have that "Big Vital Important Thing" taken off them.

One of the first things I did when I joined the company I was in was setup a power bi dashboard that auto populates based on 5 excel sheets and shared it with the c-suite.

Made 5 enemies instantly who no longer get to present their mega report.xlxs weekly to update what I converted essentially into bar charts. Probably saves about 10 hours of tedious meetings a week as people explain why things are taking much longer and costing more than expected.

Not sure If the lesson is to consult people more to make less enemies who are above me or never consult people and hope to make friends higher up again.

[dinekes]

Shop I used to work in part time had the old style till with buttons not connected to the cc machine so 2 inputs needed for most sales. 1 would imagine the Amish community would have more sophisticated systems in place for their shops.

Also we were paying about double the price for our merchant services. You would think it would be a fairly straightforward task to persuade the owner to make a change.....at least a year and a half of "well if you had an EPOS system you would know how many of X you sold, when you sold them, who sold them" "end of day reconciliation would be a cinch" "do much time saved just inputting once" "less mistakes" "Save you €5k a year on CC fees" etc etc etc

Finally 18 months later gets new system with great deal on CC services. Delighted with the new set up.

Any thanks or credit you ask....yeah...SFA

Left that gig.

[Degag]

Excel has many, many uses for most orgs. It shouldn’t be the be all and end all is all.

[Theresa]

LOTS of very smart people in here today.

[Hectorjelly]

AI wanking itself giving the world fake Liam Gallaghers when one of those twats is too many.

Can anyone point me to where it's focusing on solving complex societal problems, and advancing medicine?

Just on this, the reason you hear about AI being used for art and music now, and less pressing matters, is because the barrier is very low to make readily showable progress now.

Art has a high tolerance to failure - if you use mid-journey to make art and 9/10 times you get something good, and 1/10 times it's terrible, then that's great. That's very useful. The same doesn't apply to technology or medicine. In health care especially, the effects will take a long to be seen.

[Goodluck2me]

Just on this, the reason you hear about AI being used for art and music now, and less pressing matters, is because the barrier is very low to make readily showable progress now.

Art has a high tolerance to failure - if you use mid-journey to make art and 9/10 times you get something good, and 1/10 times it's terrible, then that's great. That's very useful. The same doesn't apply to technology or medicine. In health care especially, the effects will take a long to be seen.

Good point

[Keane]

LOTS of very smart people in here today.

Just got an email from Golf Sidekick about your app and then got a plug for it watching Not A Scratch Golfer as well. Hope it's going well for you.

[Raoul Duke III]

Didn't have a cent on so no skin in the game but this deserves a lengthy, lengthy ban imo.

[Solksjaer!]

filedata/fetch?id=1733975&d=1682019400&type=thumb

[Theresa]

Just got an email from Golf Sidekick about your app and then got a plug for it watching Not A Scratch Golfer as well. Hope it's going well for you.

Ah I genuinely haven’t a breeze what I’m doing, but im
not doing nothing I guess, that’s a win. Thanks for the welll wishes.

[Raoul Duke III]

Great article about the Murdoch\Succession family (long but engrossing).

[Strewelpeter]

close to perfection

I enjoyed this bit of musical fan fiction

[Murdrum]

Given all the AI talk, one of the people in my shared workspace is organising this event titled “Is AI eating or Aiding Design?”

The first two events in the series have been well received so if anyone happens to be in the area it’s free to attend.

[dobby]

My god, Ghosts at the Abbey was fantastic. Very intense and well worth a visit.

Dinner in M&L (think RD3 recommended?) beforehand hit the spot and a pint in the Flowing Tide made for an enjoyable evening.

[BennyHiFi]

My god, Ghosts at the Abbey was fantastic. Very intense and well worth a visit.

Dinner in M&L (think RD3 recommended?) beforehand hit the spot and a pint in the Flowing Tide made for an enjoyable evening.

Spending your winnings like a boss. Nice!

[coillcam]

Ah I genuinely haven’t a breeze what I’m doing, but im
not doing nothing I guess, that’s a win. Thanks for the welll wishes.

My goal is get Matty Sidekick on the beer whenever he visits Ireland. Then we'll remove the hat and glasses to find out that he's been Elton John all along.

You're making all the right moves man. Golf season now up and running fully. Big few months ahead for you.

[Hectorjelly]

Good article on today's important space X launch - https://www.economist.com/science-an...-new-space-age

[Theresa]

My goal is get Matty Sidekick on the beer whenever he visits Ireland. Then we'll remove the hat and glasses to find out that he's been Elton John all along.

You're making all the right moves man. Golf season now up and running fully. Big few months ahead for you.

Reached out to the tourism board here today to see if they'll co sponsor getting a bunch of the you tube bucks over for a series on mountain golf. Think it would be a win for everyone involved. Am leaning on the investors to scour their networks for strings to pull.

If I get a chance, I'll get the inside scoop on his eltonness.

[Theresa]

I hear ye lads.

BOSS: Sure why would we invest in a software package or database for that? Mick over here is a genius on the calculator and excel. Did you not see the pivot tables and graphs he has done to revolutionise the business?

**Mick goes on holiday (the beer) and doesn't answer his phone for 3 days**

BOSS: We're fucked lads, how come no one can get me Mick's numbers/data for the meeting?

US: Well that's because it's on Mick's desktop folder and password protected. They are not backed up on the network and he won't share passwords/notes. If he loses or damages his laptop, all of that work is gone forever. Or if he simply forgets the password or leaves the company. We mentioned this before along with numerous advantages to using a proper system. We did a business case with risks and benefits, it's a small investment for peace of mind plus the other improvements....(cut off by the boss mid sentence)

BOSS: Just get Mick on the phone, I'm not spending 5 grand a year when I have a good lad like Mick to do the job.


Rinse/repeat across various companies of micro to SMEs I've come across. So many owners or classic-style entrepreneurs have this insane focus on squeezing every drop out of resources. It's all about keeping costs low and never about benefits, data/knowledge or efficiencies from investments. All ways to grow the business and make more profit. Unless our customers or regulators say we need it, I'm not spending a penny.... Or wait until the competition does something and then ape them so they're not left behind.

They've become very risk-averse balance sheet/excel merchants rather than risk takers with a vision when they started out. Not to mention the conflicts of their strategy/mission statements vs what actually happens IRL.

I've a different take on this. This is literally the job. Stay alive long enough to succeed. Capital is your life. Being resourceful is the easiest way to stay alive.
It IS all about keeping costs low. Most of the time, the benefits aren't worth it. In your example, Mick is a low cost, acceptable risk for this point of the business, and your boss was probably aware and accepted that risk. shrug.

[dobby]

Didn't have a cent on so no skin in the game but this deserves a lengthy, lengthy ban imo.

[coillcam]

I've a different take on this. This is literally the job. Stay alive long enough to succeed. Capital is your life. Being resourceful is the easiest way to stay alive.
It IS all about keeping costs low. Most of the time, the benefits aren't worth it. In your example, Mick is a low cost, acceptable risk for this point of the business, and your boss was probably aware and accepted that risk. shrug.

I 100% get your take on this and agree fully but mine is a simplified example. The potential value in the €5k here is that you've systemised a key business process and taken the variable of a person out of the equation (which by nature can leave or be unreliable or lose all of the data/work/knowledge). There's obviously 1 time set-up effort but the regular admin and risk are greatly reduced. If the gaffer was even further more ruthless then Mick could be replaced by a cheaper resource. Also is Mick's report/data actually worth more than €420 quid a month? Furthermore, if Mick becomes freed up to do other tasks of value on his backlog, that could be the real win. In a smaller org, Mick likely keeps plugging away and rightly so as it's largely his main function with no further value available. Anyway, that €5k could be everyone's Christmas bonus, would it be wise to punt that on an unproven system ?

First question is always if we can do it ourselves with the resources/skills we have. It's always the correct question to ask. Tbf I'm stereotyping older business people here but the mantra of don't spend money period, is engrained ruthlessly in so many businesses to the point of being detrimental. My mantra (thanks to a previous boss/mentor) is to care for the money in my job as if it was my own and use it as wisely as possible. This does mean re-negotiating deals, and trimming costs but also looking for opportunities to improve any scenario I can influence for my colleagues or employer's success. We all win.

I guess part of this comes from my frustration with working in IT in manufacturing. Where there's an outdated perception of the department/function being like that of an electricity bill. You need to pay for it to keep the lights on. The idea in manufacturing of being innovators and using technology/engineering as your value proposition is often at striking odds with reality. Racing to the bottom and leaning beyond reason so that an investor/PEF has a tidy finance report to sell on their pedigree pony is something I've seen. The numbers may get better but the human cost down the food chain isn't pretty. Not exclusive to manufacturing and now I'm whinging on a bit too much. I'd love to have a punt in a start-up tech role or different sector tbf. Just not in healthcare, pharma or public sector.

Maybe I need to go back to school and do an MBA or business course.

[Micknail]

If the gaffer was even further more ruthless then Mick could be replaced by a cheaper resource.

Jesus maybe I like my job!
Time to join the Union

[Raoul Duke III]

Got 28 days, which is very lenient imo.

[coillcam]

Jesus maybe I like my job!
Time to join the Union

Ah Mick don't worry. You're not a good lad, you're a great lad! We got your back buddy.

[Degag]

Dominic Raab latest Tory casualty. Never really understood how he made it to Deputy PM. A very dim individual IMO

English politics and the UK in general in such a heap

[Goodluck2me]

Dominic Raab latest Tory casualty. Never really understood how he made it to Deputy PM. A very dim individual IMO

English politics and the UK in general in such a heap

The downside of a one party system for so long. The tallest dwarves eventually take over.

[Raoul Duke III]

The Alec Baldwin manslaughter case has been dropped, in a rare manifestation of common sense.

[Solksjaer!]

The Alec Baldwin manslaughter case has been dropped, in a rare manifestation of common sense.

SNL related imo. Pity he cant do a Trump take on the Charges

[Theresa]

Decent argument to be made that Alec Baldwin the actor shouldn't be charged but Alex Baldwin the producer should face some sort of recrimination.

[Hectorjelly]

Just catching up on succession; I watched Logan's speech last night. Absolutely incredible! It made me want to become a hack and go work for news corp digging up dirt on celebs and demonising immigrants.

Speech here (no plot spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xf8xB_KknA

It's as good as Pacino's inches speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b7bgtu2O4E

[Solksjaer!]

Decent argument to be made that Alec Baldwin the actor shouldn't be charged but Alex Baldwin the producer should face some sort of recrimination.

So in order to convict the guilty party the innocent have to suffer . I think both Alec Baldwins shpuld fight it out ala Tylerdurten.

[Theresa]

So in order to convict the guilty party the innocent have to suffer . I think both Alec Baldwins shpuld fight it out ala Tylerdurten.

wat

[Solksjaer!]

Just catching up on succession; I watched Logan's speech last night. Absolutely incredible! It made me want to become a hack and go work for news corp digging up dirt on celebs and demonising immigrants.

Speech here (no plot spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xf8xB_KknA

It's as good as Pacino's inches speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b7bgtu2O4E

Preferred this one :-)

[Solksjaer!]

wat

Exactly

[Raoul Duke III]

Not often you spend a DART ride chatting away casually with a guy who's worth nine figures.

Guess who?

[Dice75]

Not often you spend a DART ride chatting away casually with a guy who's worth nine figures.

Guess who?

Not often yo go out for a pint a 4.30 and wife tells you to be home by 6 coz we have visitors. Comfortably made it

[Dice75]

Gofundme needed

[ionapaul]

Not often you spend a DART ride chatting away casually with a guy who's worth nine figures.

Guess who?

Larry Mullen on his way home to Howth?

[Raoul Duke III]

Larry Mullen on his way home to Howth?

Not a member of U2.

Older gentleman.

[ComradeCollie]

Not a member of U2.

Older gentleman.

Dermot Desmond?

[oleras]

Some amount of window lickers on that toutless site. The usual is tickets cant be transfered till maybe a day or two before a show...people honestly expected not to even pay half now and half when transferred, we both use an element of trust...no, ill pay when you transfer them Sold now anyway after about 26 interactions.

[Raoul Duke III]

Dermot Desmond?

More a man for the chauffeured Bentley. And wouldn't waste his time with peasantry such as ourselves.

I'd say a few on here know this guy. You would have zero clue he was uber-rich to look at him. Not some Secret Millionaire though.

[shrapnel]

More a man for the chauffeured Bentley. And wouldn't waste his time with peasantry such as ourselves.

I'd say a few on here know this guy. You would have zero clue he was uber-rich to look at him. Not some Secret Millionaire though.

Denis O'brien?

[ComradeCollie]

Barry Humphries RIP

[Strewelpeter]

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[Strewelpeter]

He was on the One show a few days after Phillip Schofield 'Came Out' his timing and your woman's reaction ... Class act.