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Subject:Re: The mushroom syndrome From:Jeroen Hendrix <jhe -at- POLYDOC -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 20 Jan 1999 17:31:16 +0100
As the one who started of this thread, let me just inform you how it ended:
The extra functionality was added by one of our developers who, in an
enthusiastic whim, decided to add features to make live more easier for the
users, thus making life less easier for me (with this tight deadline).
After complaining to my manager (the one who told me I was a mushroom), the
project leader, the SMEs and others; big discussions followed. And, believe
it or not, total victory: they took the new stuff all out for this release
and put it on ice for the next one! They do listen to the assertive,
proactive and annoying Tech writer! The fungus raised it head and was
listened to!
I have to add that this firm is excellent in this aspect, we all listen to
each other, everybody respects each other's work. It's just that people are
sometimes too enthusiastic. That's understandable since we are a young firm
that's getting into adolescence and just need to become more aware of how
things go in the real world. There's no ill-will involved here. Therefore
we are very busy drawing up Q&A procedures (and I'm member of the Q&A
team). And these procedures have to make sure things like this won't happen
in the future. Flow of information and the way decisions like this are
taken will be formalised. For the time being, because of situations like
these, team members become more aware of the consequences of their actions.
And realise that we do not make our profit with growing mushrooms.
As for taking notes during meetings, I don't know whether that's the best
solution. If you are considered to be a valuable member of the team you
should be able to take part in the discussions, provide input from your
angle. That's not so easy when you have to jot everything down. If you
don't want to assign a dedicated person for this task, why not take turns:
everybody is considered equal then.
Everything starts or stops with a good relation with your colleagues.
Back to the caves, with the door ajar!
Jeroen Hendrix
PolyDoc
the Netherlands
Mail to: jhe -at- polydoc -dot- com
Web: www.polydoc.com
