A short presentation about “how to manage geeks”… It was part of the academic course “Project Leadership”. You can see the team members in the cover.

1. Article by Russ Mitchell
Frans
Presented & Jingyan Q
Visualized by Matthews
Group 14 Ricardo
Stevie Heru

2. …definition of geeks …
Geek: an unfashionable or socially inept person // a
person with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest
// Origin late 19th cent.: from the related English dialect
geck “fool”, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch
gek´mad, silly” // Oxford American Dictionary

3. …why geeks are important ?…
•The geeks control limits of the business and drive innovation.
innovation
•They also help figure which strategies to follow.
•They help find which partnerships to form.

4. …different type of geeks …
Crave their individuality
Test authority quieter Eccentric work style
& more subtler Enjoy behaving
Work on their eccentric
ti Less interaction
priorities Tend toward
Has followers
? Under
achievement
impatient eccentric disorganized withdrawn
arrogant know it all
Too brilliant to be
Excellent problem Disorganized junks
told twice
solving skills and chaos
Quick understanding
Flout authority Don’t want to spend
Get bored quickly
Challenge time on organizing
No complain
managerial and filing
Leave because of
decisions publicly
d ii bli l
being bored

6. …you ve
…you’ve got to have your own geeks …
Why?
Innovation drives any business
y
you don’t want to outsource your innovation.
Recognize & accept them…

7. …get to know your geek community …
They form groups that get well, and all
of them fights the management
together.
Know what each of them needs as
Individuals
They’re antisocial by societal definition
But social within their own community
They have huge ego s and enjoy the
ego´s
limelight

8. …learn what geeks are looking for …
learn
Expect to share in the wealth that they
create through their innovations.
They are interested in having an impact.
impact
Believe in their ideas
?
Like to win

9. …create new ways to promote your geeks …
Provide forward career path (without
turning them into managers)
Recognition
•More Money
•Awards
•Stocks
•Non financial compensation
•Temporary title (selected by peers)

10. …either geeks are part of the solution
eithe a e pa t sol tion
or they are the problem …
They love to solve really hard problems
Tell them what to do, not how to do it
Give a problem or set of objectives
Provide sufficient resource for them to
work
Engage them in a dialogue

11. …the best judges of geeks
the
are : other geeks !...
Create peer group pressure within
project teams by requiring them to
present each other
( A team approach)
They
Th can also be asked to send progress
lb k dt d
reports to each other at predetermined
intervals along a project. This way teams are
not just judging each other but also
supervising each other.

12. …look for natural leader among your geeks …
look
Not necessarily official project leader
Should be based on,
who gets the job done ?
Once id tifi d
O identified;
Provide resources and direct access to
top management

13. …be prepared for when the geeks hit the fan …
be
There are 2 categories of project team:
1. Absolutely brilliant (preferably)
2. Strong opinion, but on a wrong trek (their
priorities detached from company´s plans)

14. …too many geeks will spoil the soup…
too soup
Keep the teams small, for more
productivity
Smaller team – a shorter schedules
No t
N team should be bigger than the
h ld b bi th th
largest conference room.
Create easy – to understand
communication among team members

16. …how they react if we give
them task… a simple task…
…please help me to
l hl
install
this bulb…

17. …”arrogant” Einstein’s reaction…
arrogant Einstein s reaction
I did not go to
g
TUDelft to install light bulbs.
Give me a rocket engine
Or something
Tolerate
Tole ate a small amount –
amo nt
doesn’t affect other
performance
Listen to them then improve
Listen with intention of doing

18. …”know it all Einstein’s reaction…
know all” Einstein s reaction
He told me to install this
stupid bulb…
This was not in my job
description! Next time I
wont do it.
Control them indirectly
Show appreciation
Make them exposed so that
they can’t work on their own
priority

19. …”impatient” Einstein’s reaction…
impatient Einstein s reaction
… hey…
I just wanted you t
jt td to
install this simple
bulb…
Let them do their assigned
tasks as long as they are in
the expected directions

20. …”eccentric” Einstein’s reaction…
eccentric Einstein s reaction
Encourage healthy
expression of eccentricity
… I think this is
the most innovative,
efficient and easiest
way t install bulb…
to i t ll b lb

21. …”disorganized” Einstein’s reaction…
disorganized Einstein s reaction
… Ok … and now..
now
Where the hell is that stupid
little bulb ?..
Assign an individual to keep
track valuable assets
Be careful with valuable
assets
Be careful to put them in
charge of important assets
and information

22. …”withdrawn” Einstein’s reaction…
withdrawn Einstein s reaction
Help them to be more visible
and involved
Help them to release their
potential
Overcome resistance
Get them to stick to an action
plan that brings out the best
in team

23. Questions
The End…