The Boss (Sort of) Pilfered My Work

Hi Everybody,

I've been visiting the formula and VBA pages off and on for about a year or so. I always feel reluctant to take others time when so much information is already available here, so I've been a pretty quiet participant. During that time, thanks to the community here I've become pretty proficient with formulas and have started with VBA. At my workplace I have become something of a resource person for evaluating and modifying data. And now that I'm getting familiar with VBA, I'm starting to see there are significant ways I could improve workplace efficiency and quality control at my employer. The company is a good one.

But there's a problem. Recently, my boss has learned the value of my work. So he recently told me to hand over certain elements of my work so he can use it. And that would be fine. I've freely shared my work with others, and have even made formula and VBA-based tools for my co-workers (it makes our entire team look better). But the rub is I'm pretty sure he is going to use my work to make only himself look good. My boss is verbally very gifted, and leads a large and loyal faction within the organization. He's totally untouchable. And given his past behavior, I basically know how this plays out. He gets lauded for innovation. If I don't "go along" then he makes me look like I'm "not a team player", "over-sensitive", or maybe he stealthily undercuts me.

I'm old enough to know things don't always go your way. And because I have a medical condition, I need to be very careful about considering a decision to leave the company. The position does pay fairly well, and with the economy being what it is in the U.S., I can't take that for granted. I'm wondering if anyone out there can relate with my situation (minus the medical condition). How did you deal with it? Suggestions?

Thanks everybody,

AgroData

I have a somewhat jaundiced view of management, and senior management in particular. People don't get to, and remain in, those lofty positions for no good reason. They have to make decisions that many of us would not want to ... and have far reaching effects on people around them. No matter how kind, considerate and supportive they may appear to be, if a decision has been made, they have to, and will, implement it. That often means more work, less people, lower pay, outsourcing, whatever.

But it's not a local phenomenon ... you'll see it everywhere you go. All companies, large or small, have their (very) good points and their (very) bad points. And so you should not consider moving for negative reasons, you should be looking for the positives of moving on ... thinking, frying pan ... fire, rock ... hard place.

It seems as though you have had opportunities to develop your skills in company time, for the benefit of the company, and for other employees. Your skills have been noted and you are seen as a valuable resource. I'm guessing your boss can't just take all the credit for your work, at least, not without putting himself in a potentially embarrassing position when asked how he achieved something and can he build on it ...

You're in a good company, you're reasonably well paid, you have opportunities for personal development and you are recognised for your achievements. That all sounds pretty good. Maybe you could develop skills transfer sessions to help others around you grow their own capability? Or publish/circulate hints and tips that you might have picked up from the forum and practical experience? That might enhance your reputation and be something that you can make advantage of in your performance review(s).

What you should almost certainly not do, in my opinion, is try to undermine your boss. If you do, he will probably, rightly, say you're not a team player and you're not supporting him and his team's goals. Maybe you should also talk to him about how you, and he, see the opportunities for further enhancements to the tools you have made available.

One thing I have discovered over the years is that there is a world of difference between developing and using a spreadsheet for personal tasks and for creating something that is bullet proof when it comes to others using ... and breaking ... it. Just be careful what you wish for.

Regards, TMS

1. He paid you to do the work; it's his to do with as he pleases.
2. No one gets hired unless they can be "used" to:
a) make more money for someone else (you get a little in return)
b) make the boss look good - make him look, ah... (bye-bye!)

Hi TMS,

Sounds like sage advice, and I'll take that advice to heart. Thanks for taking the time to type all that out.

And yes, I've already had a user do an "oopsie" with one of my tools.

Cheers

I did a lot of this in my own time.

Guess that was your choice and you wouldn't have done it if you didn't want to.

Regards, TMS

ever heard of the phrase..going postal?
however if it keeps happening i'd limit the scope of any formulas/vba to the exact workbook they are in. so if the workbook changes in size ,ranges are not referenced unless things get changed.its quite easy to over complicate most functions so that unless you really know what you are doing it becomes difficult to edit

I once had a boss who asked me for my work productivity. I was running a phone software support group. I created a great chart showing call increase numbers for the past 6 months. It showed we were growing and doing an increasingly better job.

When I showed it to my boss, his eyes glazed over as the threw my chart in the trash. I then realized he had flunked Jr. High chart reading. He was a sales motto kind of guy and wanted me to come up with some snappy slogan to inspire sales instead of showing him some graph.

Be happy your boss understands what you are doing and wants to use it himself.

Originally Posted by MarvinP

Be happy your boss understands what you are doing and wants to use it himself.

Goodness me. I hadn't thought of it that way, Marvin. The phrase "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" comes to mind.

I'm really glad I posted because I've gotten a nice selection of feedback from all. Thank you.

Cheers, AgroData

Another way to look at its...give him what he wants/needs, but in a way that if he needs more, he needs you to do it for him - that way, he needs you!! And dont worry about getting gold stars for your work, as an Industrial Engineer, and Lean manufacturing coach, I let my teams (and my boss) get all the praise, knowing that those that really knew what was going on, sooner or later would know where it all came from

You're welcome. Thanks for the rep.

If you learned something, then you cant be stupid Thanks for the rep

An interesting read - bide your time - you will become indispensable - my company got merged - until the last moment they had let everyone else go

We've all seen examples of "working code that is very difficult to understand" and "working code that is commented and extremely easy to decipher and edit".

As noted in the other's comments, perhaps you would benefit by leaning towards the former.

Esoteric or Elegant? Some sort of principle is involved

Put some protection in the files and have some code fire off every time something needs to be printed that puts your name at the bottom. Same with files saved as well. Then every one will know they were yours.

Then every one will know they were yours.

Maybe not just for the sake of it. Perhaps something along the lines of: "if you need assistance on this ..., please contact ... " and your contact details.

Then it looks as though you're being helpful, not just parochial

Regards, TMS

Yeah, that pretty much summed up what I was unsuccessfully trying to say.

that pretty much summed up what I was ... trying to say.

I knew that ...

Good ideas - Dave and Trevor

Hi AgroData,

Thanks for the rep! Maybe you could put something incriminating in the status bar while your routine is running

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Originally Posted by xladept

Hi AgroData,

Thanks for the rep! Maybe you could put something incriminating in the status bar while your routine is running

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Well I'll be darned. Nice!

Thanks, AgroData

I'd suggest:

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Originally Posted by snb

I'd suggest:

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Thanks snb. Nice subtle style and it stays up there. I like it.

AgroData