SA Tenets
This is the first post of a series where I will discuss my general beliefs about System Administration, and in some cases, work in general. I’ll update the links in the “SA Tenets” version of this post linked at the top of the site.
A tenet is a belief held as true by the members of a profession. Here is a list of my tenets, as I understand and believe them. None of these are my own creation – I have learned them from my respected bosses and coworkers.
I stand on the shoulders of giants as I share them with you.
- First, Do No Harm
- If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It
- Manage the Interesting
- If You Can’t Open It, You Don’t Own It
- Automate The Hell Out Of Everything
- Oncall Applies In Both Directions
- Eat Your Own Dog Food
- Mistakes Are OK
- Document everything
- Hire Potential, Train Knowledge
What am I missing? What beliefs do you apply to your work?
Tags: SA Tenets
Reader Comments
The one I’d been thinking about a lot lately :
“You get what you inspect, not what you expect”.
Tm
I have no idea what #6 means.
And:
11. No, trust me, you won’t come back to it. Fix it now.
hahah.. i love #4 :D
i think you’ve got a good list here- i believe in all of them :D i guess on my own extra set of beliefs, i tend to believe that:
- its not as complicated as you’re making it out to be: i’ve watched people spend endless hours trying to figure out the solution to a problem that, if they sat back, thought about it, and tried the easier route, it would have realized it only needed about 2 minutes of their time. seriously.
- dont be bashful: if there’s something new you’re learning, an email thread discussing an issue that you’re not 100% sure you understand, etc, don’t be afraid to jump right in with your thoughts, or to ask questions about how things work. you might be wrong, you might make mistakes, you might sound stupid for not knowing, but you’ll learn from them, and it will pay off in the long run. chances are people will be more than willing to explain how to do something, why you’re wrong (if you give a suggestion).. and all in all it will help you. of course, there’s also the chance you’ll be right, which is always nice too :)
I’ll be explaining all of these over the next ten posts – the first one went up tonight.
Timojhen and Richard, tell us what you mean!