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Lydia Wong writes:
<Snip>
> We can't have it both ways: "I'm important to the team, but I don't really
> need to be in the office for ad-hoc meetings, informal discussions, or
> mini-workshops on new features for the product."
</Snip>
And Barry has to add:
Lydia is right, you can not have it both ways - and let me add another
dimension.
The software team is putting in 60-hour weeks to complete the project. Jack
or Jill TechWriter is also putting in 60-hour weeks - AT HOME - none of the
team members ever sees the tech writer.
How the hoot do you expect to be treated as an "equal" on the team? Jump up
in a meeting and say:
"ME TOO! I HAVE BEEN WORKING LONG HOURS TOO! ONLY AT HOME (with my cat as
witness)"
You will get the response: "Yea, right, sure you were... working hard while
running errands"
No my friends, if you want to be part of the team, you gotta be there with
your teammates.
And for goodness sakes! Always save a question to ask late at night (just
before you leave) ask your question, listen carefully to the answer, take
notes, look at your watch, remark on the time, sigh, then mutter how it is
going to take you another few hours to add this to the documentation. This
scores points. ;-)
Have fun out there, and always keep a snack handy for those late nights!
