CAD Manager's Newsletter (#188)

CAD Management Strategies, Part 2

Here are some smart tips for getting — and staying — ahead in your day-to-day CAD management activities.

Some exciting new changes are in the works for CAD Manager’s Newsletter that you will start to see beginning with the next issue. You can look forward to more technical coverage (including tips, tricks, and utilities that you can use) as well as interviews with industry experts and expanded analysis of the annual CAD Manager Survey results. Stay tuned for these changes, and please e-mail me to let me know what you think. After all, it is you -- the working CAD manager -- that I wish to serve, and thus your opinions are an invaluable aid in making this newsletter a more valid resource.

In this issue of the newsletter, I’ll finish presenting my CAD manager strategies that I began in the January 9 issue. If you haven't had a chance to read that issue, you may want to do so now to have proper context for this issue. Here goes.

Delegate
You can’t do it all, nor should you! Your managers don't care how a task is completed; they simply care that it was completed in a timely manner. You’ll get the credit for being a great manager when you get more done.

So are you better off doing less because you don’t have time, or are you better off finding a way to get it done by delegating tasks to others in your department, your reseller, or a consultant? Clearly the answer is that you’re better off to delegate.

Manage to Meet Deadlines
Your managers want CAD work to go out on budget and on time. They don’t much care why a project is late; they just know it is late. So if you manage your day-to-day tasks in a way that gives you the best chance to meet deadlines, you’ll have the best possible reputation with your management. Read more>>

:: CAD Manager's Q&A

I have a CAD management issue I?ve never seen covered in your Q&A. How can I get my problem addressed?

Robert Green replies: I’d love to provide more targeted coverage for the newsletter, but I need your help to tell me what topics you’d like to see covered. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to please e-mail me with your ideas.

Submit your questions to Robert Green atrgreen@greenconsulting.com.

:: Resources

Announcing Cadalyst Tips & Tricks Tuesdays
Attention AutoCAD users! All it takes is a minute or two, and you could be off to more productive use of AutoCAD. Cadalyst announces Tips & Tricks Tuesdays with worldwide AutoCAD Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen. Each Tuesday, Lynn and Cadalyst bring a new, super-quick tip to the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Tips & Tricks Tuesdays and receive an e-mail notification every time a new tip goes live in the Cadalyst Video Gallery.

Send us the address of your favorite Web site or other resource and a few words about why you like it. If we publish it, we'll send you a Cadalyst T-shirt! E-maileditors@cadalyst.com. 

:: Events

Webcast: "Approved as Noted: The Benefits of Adopting an Electronic Submittal"
January 31, 2008
1:00 p.m. ET
Newforma, a project information management (PIM) software provider, will sponsor this Webcast, in which representatives from BNIM Architects, LMN Architects, and Mackey Mitchell Architects will describe how their firms are saving time by transitioning from traditional, paper-driven methods to an electronic submittal process. Read more

OFCDesk IDC Product Demonstrations
Various U.S. Cities
Various Dates, January-March
Professionals in the interior design and architecture industries are invited to attend these events presented by OFCDesk. The company will introduce its new IDC (Interior Design CAD), reportedly the first CAD software focused exclusively on commercial interior design. A demonstration Webcast is also available. Read more

GIS Manager's Workshop
February 25, 2008
Kissimmee, Florida
Geographic Technologies Group (GTG) will sponsor the GIS Manager's Workshop for all GIS managers and IT directors. Topics will cover Managing GIS, The Governance of GIS, The Enterprise Implementation of GIS, and The Business Case for GIS. Other workshops will be held in other cities later this year. GTG is a local government GIS consulting company. Read more

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com.