PUSH THE PACKAGE

This is a group of people in our Desktop Systems department putting together "packages" (that typically get installed to our computers) and their dilemmas when working out the process - people keep calling to expand the package... the never-ending story.

Squeezed In - No Matter

I sat next to some great eye candy. He's a guy I've mentioned to Matt, but that Matt didn't see when coming into the city with me for interviews. I just know that Matt won't find him nearly as attractive as I do, but that's cool. And, nothing happens as a result of my ogling this guy's muscles and thighs, or drooling over his tight jeans and chest popping and flexing behind his less-than-designer, but virtually skin-caressing shirts. It's all good.

Yesterday, the bus was absolutely PACKED with passengers. Lo and behold, this guy was sitting with an empty seat next to him. Thing is it was an older bus and he and I are roughly the same chest size 50-52 inches. Lo and behold, he got out for me and let me into the empty seat. Lo and behold, we were squeezed tight into our seats for 45 minutes and he took a nap while I IM'd a buddy of mine about the experience.

Along the way, seats were emptying all around us with people getting off the bus at their stop. Typically, if you're squeezed into your seat and you can get into a seat (if you wanna) with more room (if you wanna spread out), you would move (I've done this often on the way home - even with handsome fellas next to me). He didn't budge for some reason, although he was awake when people started emptying seats in front of and behind us. Toward the end of the commute out of the city and just before arriving at his stop, I looked at him and said, "Have a good evening..." He goes, "Thanks, you, too," nodded, and grinned a bit. Then I said, "You get off here, right?" He kinda grinned (I don't think I was making that up, btw), and nodded in agreement / acknowledgement. Right when he got up and I got to enjoy his departure off the bus (watching him get off), I noticed another one of my eye candies having also been on the bus. So, that was a fun trip home. Might happen again sometime, but doesn't have to be too soon, you know? Too frequent a thing and you get tired of it...

Excuse Factories

I can't stand Excuse Factories. Excuse Factories:

* Make excuses for the reasons for problems.
* Look for fault around them and not themselves.
* Don't accept responsibility for anything they do wrong.
* Don't fess up to not doing things expected of them.
* Waste time on discussing - at length - what went wrong and why and who's to blame.
* Never come up with solutions until they're told to by a manager or person in authority.
* Make others waste time on figuring out where things went awry (when that's not the important issue!).

ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!

When cornered, Excuse Factories will:

* Lie about things pertaining to the supposed resolution.
* Point fingers / look for "substantive" emails that point to the problem.
* Pop round for a chit-chat about the problem (so there's no documentation).
* Say they didn't understand something (even though they never asked for explanation or clarification on the issues at the outset - If they don't understand it and something goes wrong, they think they're not at fault - even if it's clearly within their area of expertise and responsibility).

I have striven throughout my career to, if I hear myself becoming an Excuse Factory, go the opposite direction as quickly as possible. I have tried to become a solutions-oriented person who proactively looks to improve himself and his own processes. I wish others on my project teams felt and acted the same way. More projects might be more successful.