Happy 2009!
As the work calendar turns to 2009, it's natural to reflect on the past year. Professionally, 2008 was a very frustrating year. Part of it had to do with the tools I was using, part of it had to do with the project I was working on, and a lot of my frustration was that I felt like I wasn't being heard.
Instead of rehashing some of the difficulties I've experienced over the past year, I invite you to read some of my previous posts.
So, how do I hope to course correct in 2009?
Do More
Many times in 2008, I found myself waiting for others to complete some part of their work so I could do mine. Other times, we hit limitations of the development platform we were working on and waited for management approval for how we should proceed.
In these instances I often had an alternative in mind for how to proceed, but didn't. I instead hung back and tried to let others do their jobs, make their own decisions, and get consensus on an approach.
I regret this approach.
I wish I had been a little more proactive in these instances and at least started to work on prototypes for my alternative solutions. I have a feeling that these "prototypes" would've eventually become the solutions we needed. Too often these issues got lost in a myriad of meetings or priorities got shuffled and in time, nothing got done.
Communicate Better
I went into 2008 hoping to make a big impact on the organization I was with. The team was new to java and I hoped to start a java users group. I saw where improvements could be made in testing and change control, and made suggestions. Early on, I felt that we might have problems with our application architecture and I voiced my concerns.
My communication style was basically make some suggestions, answer whatever questions I could, then wait for followup. My big mistake was waiting. I needed to be more proactive and follow up on my own. I needed to be more assertive and urgent.
Part of the reason I write this silly blog is so I could learn to communicate my thoughts a little more effectively. I feel it has been a great tool in that respect, but if no one reads it, what good does it really do aside from some academic exercise?
I've heard that How to Win Friends & Influence People and Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully are both great books that can help me get my message across better. I'm going to read both of them early this year.
Act Positively
All too often I've heard myself say, "XYZ is not working. Here's what I think we should do..." This is a negative way to approach a problem. People will naturally become defensive when hearing this language and may stop listening before you even get to pose the solution.
I've been doing a lot of reading on Disney the past few months. I wanted to learn more about how they go about executing these enormously large projects, with so many people, so effectively.
One of the tricks they do is always ask "what if" and "why not". They always say "Yes, if..." instead of "No, because...".
This approach enables communication and invites exploration of better ways to do things. It removes any negativity and ego from the conversation.
This is my #1 goal for 2009.
Happy New Year!
Instead of rehashing some of the difficulties I've experienced over the past year, I invite you to read some of my previous posts.
So, how do I hope to course correct in 2009?
Do More
Many times in 2008, I found myself waiting for others to complete some part of their work so I could do mine. Other times, we hit limitations of the development platform we were working on and waited for management approval for how we should proceed.
In these instances I often had an alternative in mind for how to proceed, but didn't. I instead hung back and tried to let others do their jobs, make their own decisions, and get consensus on an approach.
I regret this approach.
I wish I had been a little more proactive in these instances and at least started to work on prototypes for my alternative solutions. I have a feeling that these "prototypes" would've eventually become the solutions we needed. Too often these issues got lost in a myriad of meetings or priorities got shuffled and in time, nothing got done.
Communicate Better
I went into 2008 hoping to make a big impact on the organization I was with. The team was new to java and I hoped to start a java users group. I saw where improvements could be made in testing and change control, and made suggestions. Early on, I felt that we might have problems with our application architecture and I voiced my concerns.
My communication style was basically make some suggestions, answer whatever questions I could, then wait for followup. My big mistake was waiting. I needed to be more proactive and follow up on my own. I needed to be more assertive and urgent.
Part of the reason I write this silly blog is so I could learn to communicate my thoughts a little more effectively. I feel it has been a great tool in that respect, but if no one reads it, what good does it really do aside from some academic exercise?
I've heard that How to Win Friends & Influence People and Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully are both great books that can help me get my message across better. I'm going to read both of them early this year.
Act Positively
All too often I've heard myself say, "XYZ is not working. Here's what I think we should do..." This is a negative way to approach a problem. People will naturally become defensive when hearing this language and may stop listening before you even get to pose the solution.
I've been doing a lot of reading on Disney the past few months. I wanted to learn more about how they go about executing these enormously large projects, with so many people, so effectively.
One of the tricks they do is always ask "what if" and "why not". They always say "Yes, if..." instead of "No, because...".
This approach enables communication and invites exploration of better ways to do things. It removes any negativity and ego from the conversation.
This is my #1 goal for 2009.
Happy New Year!
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