Hooray for the Homers!
“That’s okay, the engineers can run the refinery." So for the next thirty days, that’s what we did. On day thirty-one, the Homers came back to work, and got everything they had asked for. -- 'An Einganeer's Tale', page 31
Others, though, just want to say they’re so good that they can beat the computer. They claim they can always come up with a better solution on their own – and often, they can. -- 'An Einganeer's Tale', page 72
I'm not too kind to the Homers in my book. It's so easy to blame them for bad data, poor decisions, being lazy, not following directions, etc. Truth be told though, the oil industry, in deed the world, would not run without theses guys.
Homers is the euphemism I use for the working stiffs that I've had to depend on, learn from, and satisfy throughout my career. Generally, they have no or very little college education. Instead, they have come up through the ranks, absorbing experience and knowledge along the way that will never be mimicked by AI, or any computer program I or anyone else can devise.
The Homers I have known have had names like Griff, Willy, Gus, and Stu. These guys are scruffy and brash, and difficult to win over. They have little time or tolerance for incompetents, and would much rather have you leave them alone and let them do their job. But when (and if) you do win them over, they become your best friend, best supporter, and best source of information.
It took me a while to learn how to work with these fellas. Going in with the attitude that: "I've got an engineering degree", "I'm in management", "You have to do what I say", "The computer's never wrong" -- does not work. What's required is a more inside-out approach.
It's much better to play dumb, which isn't really hard to do since it's true. Listen and learn. Let the Homers teach you. They usually love doing this, to show you all the shit they have to go through, and to show how much more they know than you do. Just go with it. Then, once you have somewhat of a grasp on what they do, carefully introduce some technology that might help them, making sure this technology initially does what the Homer would expect. Once his confidence is won, he may be willing to free up the technology to explore other solutions.
Finally, take him out for a beer (or two, or three, or...) to cement your new relationship. Caution: DO NOT go out for a beer with him before you have won him over. You'll come away looking like a fool, and lose any progress you may have made. These guys can drink!