02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

Bloodsuckers in Your Midst

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Recent MC Press articles have discussed some of the many and varied personalities that comprise the company workforce. We've examined the go-to people and the floaters—the good and the not-so-good. Now, we turn to the ugly: those preternatural beings with the negative vibes whose sole purpose is to suck the blood out of the company and anyone with whom they come into contact. The bloodsuckers operate on the vampire principle, which states that it's always open season to drain the lifeblood from any warm-blooded creature. Since pets do not comprise most workforces, the only prey are other people and the company itself: its strategic goals, idealistic visions, short-term tactical operations, etc. Nothing and no one escapes the purview of the bloodsucker.

It is important to differentiate the bloodsuckers from the floaters. Floaters are usually benevolent, albeit inchoate, people who disrupt others' work but only do harm when they actually have to get work done because they never think things through in a thorough manner and are likely to forget important details ("Oops, you mean the program didn't run last night because I forgot to hit Enter?"). Floaters can be created by bloodsuckers. Sometimes, becoming a floater is a coping mechanism. After losing their sanity and self-respect because they have been the object of the bloodsucker's abuse and they have no prospects of ever receiving a promotion, raise, or transfer, all these people really are capable of doing is floating in limbo.

Bloodsuckers, on the other hand, are truly driven people. They have a purpose and an agenda—usually nefarious—and their machinations don't simply disrupt the workplace; these people actually prevent ideas from ever becoming realized as projects. They quash ideas, veto new proposals or projects, and squash other employees' hopes and dreams by sucking the life force out them, morphing them into shells of their former selves: bloodless extractions.

Bloodsuckers, much like vampires and shape-shifters (yes, all I learned in life I learned from Star Trek), can take on many forms. Below are a few. I invite the MC Press readership to add to the list.

  • Johnny/Janie on the Spot—These are the garden variety bloodsuckers. When asked to do something by their managers or superiors, they can immediately and without hesitation rattle off at least a hundred reasons why it can't be done, they can't do it, and it's stupid. They provide neither guidance nor support, and if they have power, they're likely to veto any project or idea you proffer.
  • The Marquis de Sade—This flavor of bloodsucker despises people who are bright, eager, competent, and nice—most especially if those people work for them. At every turn, they seek to criticize and torture the employees, driving them to resign, morph into mini Marquis de Sades and/or become floaters.
  • Janus—A truly devious person, the Janus-faced bloodsucker will agree with you and even praise you one-to-one and then, in front of your peers or his/her superiors, denounce you. Other tactics of the Janus-faced bloodsucker are pulling your department budget out from under you and then demanding that you still run the department with efficiency and efficacy—while grinning at you from ear to ear.
  • Passive-Aggressive—Unlike the Janus-faced bloodsucker, these characters will listen to you, agree with you, and tell you that will they champion your cause or bring your ideas to the table at the next meeting—and then do nothing.
  • The Cheatin' ThiefLike the passive-aggressive bloodsucker, he/she will not only listen to your ideas, but then make them his/her own and take the credit for them.
  • The Silicon Avatar/Crystalline Entity—Yep. From the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. These bloodsuckers are the most heinous of all. They leave only death and destruction in their wake. They are ruthless and dictatorial, oftentimes cleaning house immediately upon ascending to their proverbial thrones.

Coping with bloodsuckers is difficult, if not downright impossible, depending on your relationship to and with them. Sometimes, with great skill and cunning, you can beat them at their own game. Other times, not. Oftentimes, we have to be realistic and act before we are entangled in the bloodsucker's web and become either dinner or damned. Human Resources is not always the best place to go unless there are multiple complaints from multiple employees or you have a crackerjack team that knows how to handle and resolve these types of interpersonal issues. If you organize like-minded others, then you might find yourself cast in the role of troublemaker rather than victim (ironic, isn't it?). The avoidance principle also works—for awhile.

I hate to say it, but if the bloodsucker is your manager or supervisor and you are at a point of no return, it is best to update the ol' resume and put your energies into finding a better job. In a large company, you may be able to work on sharpening your skills or acquiring new skills and then applying for another job within the company and/or requesting a transfer. Of course, you can try to reason with the bloodsucker, but remember that vampires have no choice: They must suck the lifeblood from others or perish.

Maria A. DeGiglio is President of, and Principal Analyst for, Maria A. DeGiglio & Associates, an advisory firm that provides clients with accurate and actionable information on business and technology initiatives. You can reach Ms. DeGiglio at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..



MARIA DEGIGLIO

Maria DeGiglio is president and principal analyst of Maria A. DeGiglio & Associates. Current clients of Maria A. DeGiglio & Associates include the Visiting Nurse Service of New York ; Experture, LLC; and MC Press. Ms. DeGiglio has more than 20 years of experience as an IT consultant, industry analyst, and executive. From 1997 to 2005, she worked for Andrews Consulting Group and the Robert Frances Group.

 

Ms. DeGiglio received her Masters Degree in Health Advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College and graduated Cum Laude from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

 

 

Ms. DeGiglio has worked with IT and C-level executives to enable IT alignment with business goals and to implement best practices. She has experience and expertise in both large enterprises and in small- and medium-sized business. Ms. DeGiglio has authored over one hundred articles, reports, and white papers.

 

 

Since 2004, she has worked in the healthcare industry and in health IT investigating the legal, ethical, and regulatory aspects of creating, implementing, and exchanging electronic health records (EHRs). Ms. DeGiglio is an expert in security, privacy, and HIPAA regulatory compliance.

 

 

Ms. DeGiglio may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: