Abstract
Managing technical staff is becoming more difficult every day. The manager must carefully balance the needs of the organization with the needs of a scarce technical resource: trained staff. Directing technical staff can be a challenge for the manager who is hesitant to relinquish control, become flexible, and welcome the chaos that is inherent in our field. How can the manager deal with the realities of employee "poaching," making decisions about unfamiliar technologies, and employee morale and job satisfaction. Has the current trend for customer service and satisfaction made it even more difficult to attract and keep quality staff? This paper focuses on managers and the tightrope they must walk every day: keeping users happy, keeping their boss happy, and most importantly keeping their own staff productive and happy!