Microsoft Office 2010 Standard blog service-dogs

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The geek in question: Ann Beebe
The job title: Person Education Manager for Visual Studio
So, "User Schooling Manager" -- what does that mean exactly?
I manage the documentation team that creates all the help and user documentation for the Visual Studio products.
What are your passions outside of work -- what do you do when you're not wrastling documentation?
I raise puppies (like Grace here) to help people that have a variety of disabilities other than blindness. Some go on to be hearing dogs, but many of them become wheelchair assistance dogs. They’ll do things like open doors, push elevator buttons, carry things, pick up anything their partner has dropped, help a person transfer out of a wheelchair…they can even help do the laundry!
I've been training dogs for 15 years, and it's actually one of the reasons I came to Microsoft. There was a group here called Active Accessibility that was focused on software that makes it easier to build applications that work with accessibility devices. So if somebody uses a mouth-stick as a pointer or they use a Braille reader, or a one-handed keyboard -- Microsoft builds extensibility into Windows to allow other companies to create software that works with those devices.
Raising service dogs, I had so many friends with disabilities who would have benefitted from that software. In some cases, it would have allowed them to go back to work when their disability was keeping them away. For me, the exciting thing about technology is that it can open doors for people -- especially those who have disabilities. It's the same with a dog,Discount Office 2007, really. Having a service dog opens doors for people with disabilities, and software can do the same thing.
How does Microsoft support you in the work that you do with the dogs?
Microsoft makes a donation to the service dog organization for every volunteer hour I put in when I take my dogs to training activities, but maybe more importantly, they allow me to bring service dogs in training onto campus.
When I first started working here in 1997, security had just published their "No pets in the workplace" policy. My third week here, I emailed the VP of HR at the time, and asked him if he would support me in my effort to be able to bring my service dogs-in-training onto campus. He immediately started helping me, sending emails out and getting policies set that have been around ever since.
The requirements are fair: the dogs have to be six months old, must have basic manners, be house broken. We have to check with the people who sit around us to make sure that none of them have an allergy or an aversion to dogs. We have to make sure the dogs are not being disruptive, and they have to be bathed once a week and groomed daily…
— Which is more than you can say for some people! —
…As long as we adhere to these policies, things work great. It means that the dogs learn how to ride on elevators and be quiet in meetings. They learn how to work around noises like the telephone and the copier,Buy Office 2010, so they're ready to go to work with whoever may become their human partner. Plus, there are so many great people here! My dogs get a ton of socialization and even learn to ride in the shuttle buses.
Do you apply any of your puppy-training skills to your office work?
I do! There's actually a book I'm writing on the side called "Everything I Know About Management I Learned From My Dog." To me it's all about behavioral psychology and motivation.
One of the things I've learned about my puppies is that, if I'm giving them a command and they aren't doing it, my first thought has to be, "Do they really understand what I'm asking them for?" And if I realize they don't, then it's back to basics and reintroduce everything. And with employees, if you have something that you've asked them to do, and they're struggling,Office 2007, my dogs have taught me to always go back and think, "Maybe they don't have the information they need. Let's go back to basics."
If an employee does something really well, and you don't reward it ... you're setting up a situation where that great behavior is going to go away. Same with dogs, right? If my puppy is sitting quietly by my side and I don't praise her for it, that behavior is going to go away. Then she's going to start doing something to get my attention,Office 2010 Professional Plus Key, which might not be as positive a behavior. I have to reward her. As a supervisor, I try to reward people a lot or at least acknowledge the things they’re doing that are great.
What's surprised you about working at Microsoft?
I thought Microsoft was going to be a really big corporate environment. But it's really like working for a smaller company within a big company. You have a sense of community within your product. You don't feel like there's this big corporate arm hanging over you all the time. You have the freedom to innovate. The freedom to make suggestions and have ideas and see those realized. Relevant Links
Woof woof,Microsoft Office 2010 Standard, links please! Visual Studio Documentation Hawaii Canines for Independence Canine Companions for Independence