Re: Today (Feb 26) IBM announcements



<docdwarf@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:fq7bn2$eo9$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <62ol07F24be7bU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Pete Dashwood <dashwood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[snip]

I bill by the day, where a day is not less than 6 hours. My daily rate is
around the middle of the market; I charge less than IBM, but more than
some
consultancies. (I justify this by track record and a conditional money
back
guarantee. So far, I have never had to refund, but I came alarmingly close
on one occasion :-))

Usually, I do more than 6 hours (obviously, it depends on what is
needed...), occasionally I will do much more than 6 hours, and sometimes I
do the 6 hours.

Ahhhhhh, the 'Professional Day' routine, or something close to it. I
think I posted about that a while back... let me see... ahhhhh, a decade
or so back, from
<http://groups.google.com/group/comp.software.year-2000/msg/a30a874ee923d7e1?dmode=source>

--begin quoted text:

60 miles from Wall St... my wager is that this is the Summit, NJ office
where I had an interview... it went sorta like this:

PHM: 'We expect a Professional Day out of you... if you have to put in a
little extra time to get the job done then you do it.'

Me: 'That sounds reasonable... and if I get the job done in less time the
I get to go home early?'

PHM: (odd sound of surprise... kinda like a *snoouurk*) 'No, you see it
Just Doesn't Work That Way, there's *always* something more to do.'

Me: 'I understand... well, sir, given that situation I cannot, in Good
Professional Conscience, work with you on this contract; it is not my
habit to allow my time to be stolen and thereby turn my clients into
thieves.'

PHM: 'Hunh?'

Me: 'Simple... if I were to bill you for hours which I did not work then I
would be a thief; monetary matters aside this is not honorable. If I,
being an hourly employee, fulfill your demands that I work hours for which
I do not bill then I allow you to steal time from me; this turns *you*
into thieves and I refuse to put you in such a position.'

--end quoted text

DD

I disagreed then and I disagree now, Doc. :-)

BUT, I disagree less vehemently now... :-) I see your point and given that
that is your position, then you are right that daily billing probably won't
work for you.

For me it works. I don't mind them "stealing" some of my time; in fact, I'm
happy to "donate" it, as long as it works both ways. If the minimum daily
time was 8 hours, then it wouldn't be working both ways and I would move
much closer to your position.

It all comes down to whether hours spent is to be the measure of success or
not. I agree that it currently is in most places, but it doesn't HAVE to be.
Personally, odn't think it should be; achievement of what was set out to be
achieved has to be the only real measure of success.

I believe everything is negotiable, once there is agreement in principle to
do the work.

Pete.
--
"I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."


.

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