Public Relations
My current project has taught me so much about programming, software development and... office politics. My general personality can be rough at times especially if your throwing ideas in my face that I don't agree with. I've always viewed a raw version of truth to be important to my own personal growth and similarly important for social change in the world. Knowing the truth allows us to make better decisions on how to act in our lives. When we run across skewed versions of the truth then we risk making bad decisions because we're acting under false pretenses. Therefore, I believe that for as much bullshit which exists in the world the last thing we need is one more bullshitter, so I aim to Reversi™. Once again, I realize I'm stating the obvious, but the percentage of people that are willing to skew truth for personal reasons astonishes me.
Often I find that when people skew the truth, they're not even skewing the truth for their own benefit. They simply can't help themselves because they've grown accustomed to saving face. This is where my post really begins. People will risk just about everything (the project, deadlines, and ethics) to maintain a positive rapport by certain individuals. Concepts like Damage Control start to creep into the notions of the SDLC when instead we should be talking about Scope Creep. On a weekly basis I get wind of what's been going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, I learn only after proper strategies have been taken to mitigate my response to their actions. The actions seem to be generally the same. Someone wants to put in a hack which will miraculously change everything and give the team enough breathing room to maneuver future problems. I think the fact that bothers me most about the whole PR deal is people do this constantly. They talk and talk...when do they get anything done when they're so busy manipulating people's direction? They ask a plethora of questions, never provide proof for their reasons, and are always "getting ready to move" instead of just moving.
I'm not completely innocent of the problems that I've just ascribed to the wretched, but usually when I work my PR shtick, I do it at lunch. Then I come back to work and get 'r done. Usually my bullshit isn't bullshit at all. My view is prescribed from others actions and how the peruse their tasks. If you screw up your task that's -1 cool point. I keep tally and when I've lost count you're on my black list.
Every once in a while I'll walk by someone's desk and there will be 2 or three people talking to one person. People are pretty agreeable here, because they want to help. So coaxing others to follow along with a certain point of view isn't hard especially when the view is in the vein of "making things better". The problem is that when the people who play PR games all day long come to a decision it has no merit on any technical decisions, but instead relies on cargo cult science. They spend all day group thinking and never step back to evaluate what they're doing or what the effect of their actions will cause in the long run.
Maintaining a perception of who you are throughout an organization is important and certainly has its merits. What bothers me so much is that some people, when the time comes to face the truth of their actions, THEY TURN THEIR BACK. They turn their backs and they pretend like they didn't just see something important or they spin the truth. Either way, they simply can't face up to the fact that their wrong and that's the point. When you're wrong, admit it and learn from it. I find people more admirable when they can take a mistake and turn it into something fruitful. Make the world a better place one less lie at a time.