New at the job, advice, guidance...

[cparvez]

I am new at the whole CAD manager thing. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

[Wanderer]

hmm, this is kind of open-ended. :???: :smile:

Is this the kind of thing where you are being promoted within your current workplace or a new employee?

I can't give you advice on managing budgets, and automating upgrades or whatnot, just interpersonal stuff.

If your user has specific knowledge in an area that you aren't as proficient in, let them do their thing and empower them by letting them work their magic without micromanaging.
When delegating tasks, mix stuff up so people aren't doing the same things over and over again. (woman with a chip on her shoulder about having to make photocopies, and NO I am not making a pot of coffee) :roll:
Be direct. Don't do things without explanation. You don't have to make excuses for decisions you make, just let your people know why.

oh, one tech and money thing, though, since you are a CAD manager, you have a bit of equipment, software and training needs. Don't just stay with the same vendors your predecessors chose. Go out and bid out everything, whether it be your cad products, your hardware or your outsourced printing needs. When vendors find out theres a new boss in the house, you have a prime time for renegotiating contracts and getting good deals.

hth. let us know how you do. I am hoping for a promotion within the next 2 years, and I'd like to know the challenges you're facing.

[BrenBren]

I am hoping for a promotion within the next 2 years, and I'd like to know the challenges you're facing.
Be careful what you wish for :razz:

[Ed Jobe]

Robert Green has written a lot about it. You could go to cadalyst.com and in the left sidebar is a link called "Cad Manager".

[RobertB]

Go to this year's Autodesk University. It will be worth it to take as many CAD Manager track courses as you can.

[cparvez]

All good advice, it was a promotion, and yes it is not what I had expected. I am flooded with things to do and prioritizing is tough! I love the challenge though. It is a fun job with more work than I thought. Our last CAD manager and his predecessor made it look so easy... Fortunately one of them is still here to bounce things off of.

[stilesj]

I was first put into this job (IT & CAD Management) about 2 years ago and I love it, but there are a lot of things to keep straight and it is indeed difficult to prioritize.

I started using Tasks in Outlook to the utmost so that I could remember all the little things (and some of the big things) that I need to do. For example, I have a lot of repeated tasks...backup stuff and virus updates I do daily, maintenance I do weekly, budgets I review monthly, etc. I dropped recurrence tasks in Outlook and that has really helped me to remember what I need to get done.

Get organized ASAP; make systems that work for you and stick to them. Keep up with the little stuff so it doesn't build up. And don't be afraid to ask people to wait if they have a question or issue that is not urgent and you have other things to get done...I need to take some of my own advice here :)

Enjoy your job and have fun with the people you work with!

[Wanderer]

Be careful what you wish for :razz:
I am not really wishing to be a manager as much as I am wishing for more help. And, if they hire more people, I want to make sure they are doing things the right way (read: MY way ;-) ).
I have 2 part-time LT users, but CAD isn't their primary responsibility, the main thing I do for them is tech support and upgrades.

I know it will be a whole new ballgame with real CAD people and a budget of my own, BLAH! But, the reason they're even taking me seriously right now is because of my super-organizational skillz, I've worked magic here.

wish me luck.

[ssmith.62044]

get out! get out now...before it's too late!

[Wanderer]

get out! get out now...before it's too late!LOL. It's obviously not too late. No matter how many ROI's, etc and unfinished projects because lack of manpower, here it is, three years later and no additional staff.

~shrug~ At least they're finally letting me do a CAFM pilot. I'll write up another ROI after I've finished this and try again from that angle.

Wish me luck.