I’m doing some casual reading on various topics, mostly things that I’ve come across in my first few weeks at my new job, but things that are not totally relevant to my direct tasks at hand or short term responsibilities. One of the articles I read was an interview with Ray Ozzie. A brief quote struck me as interesting and relevant to how I often think when trying to explain new technologies or features.
“When we, as an industry, communicate the meaning of an architectural shift to customers, sometimes it’s great to take an extreme position because it helps people to understand the benefit of this new era.”
I think the reason this spoke to me was because I often find myself lobbying much harder in favor of a change, than what I really believe is needed. In a way it’s like asking for much more than needed, so that the end result is a compromise that is closer to where I think we need to be. I don’t think this is always the case, but it is common. I bet others do this too.
As I think back over the past few years, I can very clearly note that most of the concepts and technologies that I’ve championed inside each organization have almost all come about. They’ve almost all come about much slower than I wanted, but they have happened. In a way it’s a very convincing argument that my strategy was right, yet my tactics were wrong.
What a great lesson to learn! (This is not totally new thinking. I have noted this before, but it’s nice to have more clear thoughts and be able to express those thoughts in writing here.)
Currently, I’m in a position to try to learn from a number of past experiences and to be patient and make wise choices of when to argue a point, or yield to more time needed for change management to work its course. There is plenty that I do not know. Recently, patience has opened my eyes to several new perspectives.
One thing is certain, there’s no shortage of learning going on here!
Filed under: Leadership, Listening, Perspective, Writing
