Thursday, September 06, 2007

Declare War On Your Enemies

While Joel Spolsky - as recently mentioned - prefers to bury bozos under a pile of bug reports, Ted Neward goes on the offensive and declares war on such and other enemies of project success:

Software is endless battle and conflict, and you cannot develop effectively unless you can identify the enemies of your project. Obstacles are subtle and evasive, sometimes appearing to be strengths and not distractions. You need clarity. Learn to smoke out your obstacles, to spot them by the signs and patterns that reveal hostility and opposition to your success. Then, once you have them in your sights, have your team declare war. As the opposite poles of a magnet create motion, your enemies - your opposites - can fill you with purpose and direction. As people and problems that stand in your way, who represent what you loathe, oppositions to react against, they are a source of energy. Do not be naive: with some problems, there can be no compromise, no middle ground.


Highly recommended reading material!