Standardized Testing doesn't stop with school.

I've been blessed enough to lead an exciting career. I've worked on every side of the IT relationship (customer, partner, manufacturer) I've lead and been lead. One of the things that always bugged me was this static approach to what was considered a productive employee. I left a previous employer for that very reason. I was a productive employee considered a valuable asset but after some medical issues involving family where I needed to be remote, I was degraded by HR for not being present in the office. I work in IT if anyone can be remote... It's the IT dude.

The idea of butts in chairs 40 hours a week has needed to die for a long time in my opinion. I do believe 2020 has helped accomplish that to some extent. We've reached a paradigm shift in the workplace where we can examine production has completed and timely tasks vs the number of hours you can sit at a desk. I've talked to a number of friends and colleagues whose employers are now shifting to a model that doesn't care about hours or times, they care that you get the job done. So if you need to stop for 2 hours in the middle of the day to teach math you aren't reprimanded.

But as we make one shift, it's going to move the goal post to a new spot... "performance metrics." Not to say we didn't have performance metrics before or don't need them but big business has to shift from the one size fits all mentality. That is what I compared this article to standardized testing in school. To apply a standard across the board would imply all people are exactly the same and as my 7th-grade Algebra teacher and my ADHD would say that's not true. But standards work for one thing... speed. Check the box move along and get to it. If we can apply the same standards to everyone then we don't have to think, it's reverse machine learning.

It's 2021 we have the computational power of the history of mankind in our pockets... We can analyze and manipulate data at lightning speeds but without the human element, it's just data. If we tell a computer that Jack and Jill have the same job title and should be judged against these 10 things then the computer will just look at those 10 things and move on. But the computer doesn't know that Jill doesn't do items 3-5 because the products she covers don't use them, or Jack doesn't apply 7-10 because his accounts are larger and require different workloads. But the performance metrics say they have the same job so they should be judged as such.

I believe once this final wall crumbles and falls we will see not only an improvement in job morale but a higher motivated workforce. Instead of checking boxes to meet the standard, we can break the mold and operate at our maximum for success.

My name is Adam, I'm an Infosec Engineer and this has been my TED talk...