Technical Support Essentials: Advice You Can Use to Succeed in Technical Support

Prelim......Page 1
Contents at a Glance......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
About the Author......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Preface......Page 16
Introduction......Page 18
Part 1: Advice for Dealing with Yourself and Your Work......Page 21
Your Work Ethic......Page 23
The Value of Technical Support Work......Page 24
A Dynamic Career: Moving Up Laterally, and Even Down When Necessary......Page 25
Keep Your Job......Page 27
Yeah, It’s a Job, But Make It More......Page 29
Look Out for Your Company......Page 30
Tell It Like It Is......Page 32
You Either Have It or You Don’t—Troubleshooting......Page 34
Leave the Work Where It Belongs......Page 35
Make a Difference in Every Call......Page 37
Success is Up to You......Page 38
Take the Initiative......Page 40
Specialize in Something......Page 41
Intricacies of the Field......Page 45
The Status of the Profession......Page 46
The Curse of the One-Eyed Man......Page 47
The Paradox of the Solo-Solver......Page 49
Technical/Mechanical Support Style Theory......Page 50
The Avit Phenomenon......Page 52
Support Demand Function......Page 53
The Multidisciplinary Field......Page 55
The Vernacular of the Profession......Page 57
The Expert Proletariat......Page 58
One Last Note About Science......Page 60
Your Work Practices......Page 63
Write Down Anything New Immediately After You Learn It......Page 64
The Above-Average Performer......Page 65
The Resource Collector......Page 67
Work Smarter, Not Harder......Page 69
Following the Watson Way......Page 71
Don’t Be Afraid of the Tough Issues......Page 72
Find Your Zebra......Page 74
The Knowledge Seeker......Page 75
Reinventing the Wheel......Page 77
The Technology Contributor......Page 79
Recognizing Opportunities......Page 80
The Approachable Expert......Page 82
Part 2: Working with Others......Page 85
The Technical Support Group......Page 87
Group or Team: Which Is It?......Page 88
Informal Groups......Page 89
What’s So Good About Groups Anyway?......Page 91
Groups: What’s In It for the Individual?......Page 93
The Vision of a Group......Page 95
Group Communication......Page 97
The Involved Group......Page 99
The Open Group......Page 101
The Group Crisis......Page 103
The Constructive Group......Page 105
Support Group Development Cycle......Page 107
Cohesiveness......Page 109
Collaboration......Page 110
Sympathy......Page 111
Total Value = 9 — The Communal Group......Page 112
The Technical Support Colleague......Page 115
Work on Trust......Page 116
Respect Among Colleagues......Page 117
Coworker Solidarity......Page 119
Teach Them How to Fish......Page 121
Personal Conflict......Page 123
The Power of Criticism......Page 125
Comforting the Demoralized Colleague......Page 127
Understanding Your Colleagues’ Behaviors......Page 128
The Customer Within......Page 130
The High Performer Vs. the High Producer......Page 132
The Self-Sustaining Colleagues......Page 134
Dealing with the Impossible Coworker......Page 135
Leadership in Support......Page 139
What Is a Leader?......Page 140
The Leader: Made or Born?......Page 141
The Major Leadership Models......Page 143
The Pragmatic Leader......Page 145
The Linda Effect......Page 146
Characteristics of a Support Leader......Page 148
Leadership Development......Page 150
The Situational Support Leader......Page 152
Leading by Involving Others......Page 154
Cultivating Leaders Within the Support Group......Page 156
Part 3: The Support Organization......Page 159
Your Excess Value......Page 161
The Contributor Role in Regard to Management......Page 163
The Role of the Support Manager......Page 165
The Nature of Management......Page 167
Systems Theory in Support......Page 169
Managing Behaviors......Page 171
The Davila Cycle......Page 172
The Price of Recognition......Page 174
The Management Support Structure......Page 175
The Fallible Manager......Page 177
Structures and Tiers......Page 181
The Structure Dilemma......Page 182
The Tiered Approach......Page 183
Technology vs. Skill......Page 185
The Service-Oriented Structure......Page 187
The Meaningful Support Structure......Page 188
The Reactive/Proactive Tiered Approach......Page 190
The Performance-Driven Structure......Page 192
Common Mistakes from the Upper Tiers......Page 194
Wiping Off the Tiers: The Flat Structure......Page 196
The Hybrid Support Structure......Page 197
Process and Practice......Page 201
What’s a Process?......Page 202
Discretionary Process Principle......Page 204
The Reasons Behind Process Changes......Page 205
The Support Practice: A Definition......Page 207
Group Process Evolution......Page 209
Process and Maturity......Page 211
Practice and Incompetence......Page 213
The Process Map: Friend or Foe?......Page 215
Problem Solving: A Waste of Time......Page 217
Part 4: Working with Customers......Page 219
Customer Service......Page 221
Customer Service: A Dimensional Explanation......Page 222
Customer Reality......Page 224
The Customer’s Iceberg......Page 226
Find the Affliction......Page 227
All About the Behaviors......Page 228
The Open Mind Approach......Page 231
Problematic Interactions and Coping Strategies......Page 233
Systematic Desensitization Therapy......Page 235
Customer Service: The Hierarchical Approach......Page 236
Address the Customer’s Requirements......Page 237
Consider the Customer’s Suggestions......Page 238
Reshape the Customer’s Unrealistic Demands......Page 239
The People Business......Page 240
Talk Is Not Cheap......Page 241
Buying Time......Page 242
Inefficient Processes......Page 243
Communications......Page 245
At the Core of Our Work......Page 246
Colleague Communication: It’s All About Us......Page 248
Speak a Common Language......Page 249
Communication Challenges with Language Accent......Page 250
Get to the Point: Cutting the Useless Chatter......Page 252
Situational Communication......Page 254
Online Chat......Page 255
Phone Support......Page 256
When All Else Fails......Page 257
Spinning the No......Page 259
Perspectives......Page 263
What the Future Holds......Page 264
The Renaissance Professional......Page 265
The Preventive Support Model......Page 267
No More Training Down the Drain......Page 268
The Support Contractor......Page 270
Opportunities in Global Labor Dynamics......Page 271
The Need for Uniformity......Page 273
Going Customerless......Page 275
The Extra Mile......Page 276
Where to Now?......Page 278
C......Page 281
D......Page 283
J......Page 284
M......Page 285
Q......Page 286
S......Page 287
T......Page 288
W......Page 289