NoticingPeople

People of course all the souce of all defects (NoticingDefects) and features (NoticingFeatures). The most imporant factor when I'm noticing Defects or Features, is noticing me. I have the choice of deciding something is a feature or a defect. Somethings I consider defects, others consider features, and vice versa.

I agree that there could exist commonly agreed upon defects in a given circumstance, at a given time, for a given set of parameters and constraints.

But for me, in most situations, most of the time, I try to notice the people. Occasionally I use Esther's phrase which goes something like "What must be true for them at this time, for them to feel this way." -- DonGray 2005.07.24

Don, you said "People of course are the souce of all defects..." Didn't you mean "People are the sauce of all defects ..."?

It's the sauce that makes the plain food delicious. - JerryWeinberg 2005.07.25

I wrote something on a 3x5 card sometime in the last couple of weeks. I don't remember what caused me to write it, but it goes something like:

Think of places you hate to go.

Now think of ways to love the people in those places.

DwaynePhillips 26 July 2005

I deeply appreciate that thought, Dwayne.

MikeMelendez 2005.07.26

I've been struggling with this statement since Steve posted the form for an appreciation. I freely admit I'm unpracticed in these, but am willing to work on it. I am missing part 4, so let me try again.

I deeply appreciate that thought, Dwayne. As a strong "I", I tend to turn inward too much, so your reminder helps jiggle me out of that habit. Places we hate to go are not necessarily distant.

MikeMelendez 2005.08.11

Jerry,

The sauce does make the ordinary delightful! Do I have stories about misguided thoughts from my younger days? Let's just say I was "saucy".

I'm re-reading "Seeing Systems" by Barry Oshry. Came across the following.

An old proverb says: ?We see people not at they are but as we are.? To which we add: ?And who we are is shaped by the context in which we exist.? We win first prize when we are able to see not just the actions of others, but also the context out of which these actions come. We win second prize (and it is not an inconsequential prize) when we know that, for the most part, we don?t. DonGray 2005.07.27

People are the source (sauce) of all defects.

I'm all for fixing defects. And let's not forget that people are also the source of all success. Let's make sure we preserve the successes that we work hard to achieve.

If management or anyone in the organization wants success repeated I suggest they concentrate on noticing things that are working and appreciate the people who create and maintain that success.

For example, anyone can say or email an appreciation as follows:

For instance, I appreciate Keri Dubinski for emailing me definitions and specifics about the problems we are having with our product. I have used the information to create initiatives to solve the problems and tighten up our requirments for the next version of the product.

Note, the appreciation has four parts:

The person who is appreciative I
The person who is being appreciated appreciate Keri Dubinski
The specific thing the person did for emailing me definitions and specifics about the problems we are having with our product
The benefit to the appreciator of what was done or how the appreciator will use what was done I have used the information to create initiatives to solve the problems and tighten up our requirments for the next version of the product.

How would you feel if you receive an appreciation like the above?

SteveSmith 2005.07.27

Appreciations like that always make me feel really good. In person is better when it is possible, but email works just fine.

SherryHeinze 2005.08.05

Sherry, I appreciate you for reminding me that the content of the message is more important than the medium, even in this media-centric day and age. I will use this reminder to prevent me from withholding appreciations for "just the right occasion," because I do know that time delay between the act and the appreciation cause the value of the appreciation to decay. - JerryWeinberg 2005.08.05

I've added a refactoring of my appreciation of Dwayne's statement above. MikeMelendez 2005.08.11

Mike, I appreciate you for showing us the way to refactor posts on this wiki. You've opened up some new possibilities for me, and, I suspect, for all of us. - JerryWeinberg 2005.08.11

I am missing something here. I cannot find Mike's refactoring. Please help.

DwaynePhillips 12 August 2005

Unfortunately, wiki pages are linear. Search for MikeMelendez or for 2005.08.11. I rewrote but left the original for comparison.

MikeMelendez 2005.08.12

Ah, I found it. Mike - thank you twice. Once for the refactored appreciation and once for helping me find it.

DwaynePhillips 13 August 2005

Updated: Saturday, August 13, 2005