Sunday, October 3, 2010

First Flights

Today was one of those days that was perfect in lots of ways, not the least of which was the weather. After having nearly 10 inches of rain in the past few days we woke to perfect weather for flying. Luckily my wife had auctioned me off (she prides herself in trying to rid herself of me a piece at a time) for a charity sightseeing flight and today was the day. Perfect. The flight went flawlessly and the "winner" of the auction appreciated having a chance to see the fall colors from the air.

The days activity reminded me of the opportunity I have had to introduce some new college graduates and interns as well as some current students to interesting aspects of IT projects. I am not one to use anything but real life projects and case studies as much as possible. I have spoken to some other IT managers recently who have agreed with me but I know there are some who provide "busy work" to interns, depriving them of the opportunity to prove themselves along with making a contribution at the same time. This is clearly the wrong approach and should be avoided at nearly all costs.

While fall colors come at a predictable time of the year you never know when a younger employee or intern will be able to show their true colors if they do not have the opportunity.

No comments: