stackdestroyer

Hi HN - curious to understand how much time engineering leaders spend in meetings. Thinking engineering managers, directors and VP's...

Extra credit: What's the longest duration meeting you regularly have? (For OP, it's a twice monthly 4 hour meeting with ALL product and engineering sr. mgrs and directors - FML)

I'm looking to get some perspective on my own schedule from this diverse group of folks. I routinely find my schedule dominated by 6+ hours of meetings every single day of the work week. I feel like this is overkill and part of the reason I am having difficulty keeping things running while capping my hours at about 40 per week. Basically all the work that gets created in meetings seems to overwhelm the available time based on a reasonable work schedule.

How much time do you leaders spend in meetings? How do you reconcile a meeting heavy role and the ability to get things done while still keeping a sane schedule (< 50 hours a week)?

<asking for a friend>

Does anyone use a standalone SQL proxy that supports MSSQL? I'm looking for something that can do throttling, load balancing, query filtering, etc. Thus far I have found only one thing in my limited search: SQL Relay (http://sqlrelay.sourceforge.net/index.html)

Anyone have experience with SQL Relay?

The key problem I'm solving is a set of MSSQL DB's that have become brittle bottlenecks for a constellation of apps, and I would like to exert greater control over what's happening on those DB's.

Is there a different way of thinking about this problem?

Anyone work in an org that has a combined product and engineering team? That's to say that there is no discrete product and engineering leadership, and that they all roll up into the same structure.

I have been working in such an org for a while now and it's my first time ever seeing or working in one, and I am starting to have my doubts about the scheme. Mainly it seems as though there is no clear engineering or technology thought leadership and I worry very deeply that it is harming the long term prospects of the org, and possibly the company.

Any experience in such a combined org would be supremely helpful, particularly if you've been in one that has worked well and been successful.

Over the course of my career I've been fortunate to have able to develop as an engineer and sysadmin, and did very well at tackling the projects and tasks that came with those roles. With success in those roles, I found pleasure in managing people and technology, and worked to get promoted to manager, and later director and VP roles in my organizations. The challenge I have faced the further up in the org I go is in changing my work style, tactics and approaches to be more effective. I often find myself overwhelmed with tasks, while projects also need attention. The question for HN is: How do senior level technology managers, directors and VP's manage their time, projects and tasks to be effective at those levels?