Information Technology Dark Side

My mom and dad started their marriage with ambition: they wanted twelve kids, and their determination lasted about 20 years, till they had their 8th kid. Then they threw in the towel – it was hard enough to raise 8 kids, and the law of diminishing returns was kicking in big time. Having more kids than eight kids didn’t equal more happiness, at least not in a four bedroom house!

I am number three in my family, the third boy in a series of four. We four older boys were quite a handful as kids, wrestling, fighting, and getting in trouble such that we were sometimes referred to as the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

I am at a BPM conference this week, and I found my mind wandering. The speaker had not grabbed my interest, so I let my mind go wherever it wanted. I found myself thinking about world views, what mine was, and how it was shaped. I realized that I wasn’t interested in the topic being discussed because it reflected a world view I simply didn’t appreciate: that so-called “robust” processes (I call them heavyweight) are actually healthy things to have. And so I checked out, without conciously deciding to ignore the speaker.

I started wondering how my world view was influenced by the fact that I come from such a large family. What sort of practical lessons did I learn as a kid that have become the bedrock of the way I see the world? I started to make a list. Here they are:

I’m not sure if any of these “lessons” are useful, or that they are actually healthy ways of looking at the world. Eating fast certainly hasn’t worked out for me, now that there is more food in my home than my small family could possibly eat! I certainly wouldn’t call the extra 30-70 pounds I’ve carried around for the past five years a good addition to my life.

I do see my world view in that list though. I don’t expect people to respect me automatically. I understand that I have to earn it. I also don’t expect equity at work – i.e. I don’t expect raises, bonuses, sweet project assignments, etc. to be distributed equally across the work force. Nor do I expect my chain of command to be able to tell me how to do my job, or to somehow know when I’m struggling unless I tell them.

What does this have to do with life in corporate IT? For me, everything. My worldview, the way I view my role in the world, is the source of my successes and my failures. I suggest it is the same for you, whether you can articulate your world view or not. You are fundamentally driven by the intuitive grasp you have on what the world does and does not owe you.

So, here’s a suggestion/challenge. Write down your world view. It doesn’t have to be precise, or beautiful. Just some expectations that you have that seem to you to be part of your nature. If you feel like it, share it here, as a comment. I’m very interested, even if no one else is. Or, you can bash on my world view. That won’t hurt my feelings. In fact, it might give me some insight. I can always use more of that.

Stumble it!