World is so interesting. We can bet that the world is way better than let's say 50 years ago or even 20 years ago, right? Less dictators, more democracies, more freedom of speech (of course nobody says if there are more people to listen :)), huge number of technological innovations, more Free Software... OK, almost nobody cares about this last one. Though, everybody seems to agree that the world is moving (too?) fast, right? Right?
Jeez, am I the only one to think things are in fact moving slowly? After all, there are yet some dictators, freedom of speech issues, poverty (oh yeah, sorry, we don't really want to solve this one, right?). When I read "History of political ideas", it has been put so clearly how humans are slow to change their minds. One political idea might emerge at some time, being [strongly] rejected by people aware of this new idea, disappearing for a while - up to several decades - and then this idea may reappear, discussed and incorporated into this new society, 100 years or more after first appearance. Time might vary depending on the type of ideas emitted. I would love to see a graph which would be basically a distribution of the ideas along history for which time between emergence and implementation is X years. We could even differentiate idea with the categories defined for innovation, to know incremental, semi-radical and radical ideas. It would give us a better picture of how fast (occidental) politics is going! Better, we could define some S.M.A.R.T. metrics for our politics to check whether they are doing a good job! But I'm digressing ...
Of course, dissemination mechanisms of new ideas intervenes in the time spent between first appearance to implementation. With the arrival of global communications, human has been a lot more able to be aware of new ideas faster than before. I'm excited to see the impacts of this new communication era in let's say 20 or 30 years from now. I'm however somewhat not expecting radical changes about underlying human behavior. Plus, we all know that problem has shifted from being able to access knowledge to find out what knowledge is relevant.
At a really smaller scale, I've been confronted to some walls remembering me from time to time how some love their comfort zone and don't want any change in their life! Worst, some don't want to know new ideas exists! I don't know all the psychology theory behind this behavior but I though know it is there, inside us. I'm not entirely satisfied with the fear/anxiety thing. I suspect that intrinsic motivation plays a role in all this but that's another piece of the puzzle I would probably talk about in another post.
The book Fearless Change changed radically my vision of how things works. In fact, I first saw a Master Thesis presentation which subject is mainly based on this book. (Don't miss it if you understand portuguese.) Indeed, it showed me a categorization of who and how many of us are reluctant to change/new ideas :
- Innovator (2.5%)
- Early Adopters (13.5%)
- Early Majority (34%)
- Late Majority (34%)
- Laggard (16%)
In a very short and rough summary, it means that only 16% are happy when new ideas are presenting to them. The other 84% are reluctant at different degrees. How incredible is that? Everything became clearer after having read that. Yet more interesting is that the book provides a description of some key patterns for the powerless to be used during their quest to change the world.
I'm a passionate guy, I love what I'm working on. At 8 years old I started with Basica on a MSX a monster of 64K with no OS as we know it today, not even close to DOS. It was too much pain to load a game with this f**king tape recorder. But hey! At that time, it was fast. Uh? No, in fact, even back then it was awfully slow! Thinking a bit now, it might be because it was so slow to load the only (so basic) game that I started to write my first program.
Fortunately enough, I've not stopped after having learned my first language and even being kind of a dinosaur today, I try to continue to update myself about BCPs and new technologies. The fact of being passionate clearly gave me some energy others don't have.
Energy! Probably a key point in what people have when easily accepting change in their everyday life. Change is about energy. You know if you read some book about leading change, they will probably have a section about maintaining the momentum. And momentum is about energy, right? In fact, change is energy since the beginning. If we think about it, it is like entrepreneurship. You have something in mind and you must convince people that this idea is worth to be taken into consideration. IOW, you're running like a fool to show the world how your idea is great! Well that book
will try to learn you how to run more efficiently!
I've tried to change some stuffs in some companies, that's one of my characteristics. Be warned, it takes time. You know, the "Rome has not been built in a day" thing? It's even more true for the powerless. Strange, isn't it?
In a previous life, I tried to show how we could use some additional language, Python to name it, in a company paranoiac about scalability. The kind of company in which it is impossible to release a product without having thoroughly thought about scalability otherwise it does not even reach one second of life in production. You just hear BzzZZzzzzzz ... if you're lucky! Yes, that one kind of company.
Have you ever read Steve Yegge about an attempt to check whether they could try another language where he works? Here's an excerpt :
... You get lynched for trying to use a language that the other engineers don't know. Trust me. I've tried it. I don't know how many of you guys here have actually been out in the industry, but I was talking about this with my intern. I was, and I think you [(point to audience member)] said this in the beginning: this is 80% politics and 20% technology, right? You know.
And [my intern] is, like, "well I understand the argument" and I'm like "No, no, no! You've never been in a company where there's an engineer with a Computer Science degree and ten years of experience, an architect, who's in your face screaming at you, with spittle flying on you, because you suggested using, you know... D. Or Haskell. Or Lisp, or Erlang, or take your pick." ...
I loved reading this because I've been in a very similar situation. Some people were really yelling at you in there! How can you dare think you could improve over than one decade of experience in this company?! That was more or less the message. In the case of Steve, he recognizes his company was right in maintaining a small set of languages for many reasons you can read in his post. In my case, we were basically using only one language in my team and I was trying to show that it was, first, possible and, second, worth using at least 2! If you want to know more about the reasons behind, you can read the slides of my presentation at Python Brasil [5].
When I started with this quest, I was unfortunately not aware of the fearless change and the patterns described, even if some are somewhat obvious. Let's see what happened during this long journey showing what patterns have been used. Everything started with a Python prototype [Just Do It] I wrote because of a C process which overnight had to service 10 times more users and it did not scale! This prototype worked so well, that it is now in production.
I spread the word around me [Evangelist, Personal Touch, Brown Bag(lunch time)]. Some liked the idea and had been impressed [Respected Techie] that some Python process might perform better than its C brother. But you know, for me, it had been like a bomb effect. Indeed, I had written 6 times less LoC, iow improved productivity, and this Python process had gone way better than previous C version. Well, something with a potential you know? But in fact, only a few people had been really impressed. Now, you know about the 84% reluctant to change, right? It gives you an idea. Even showing something worked has not been sufficient because it was one shot and not integrated with our internal systems (legacy and proprietary systems).
OK, then I stopped and thought a bit [Time for Reflection] about what are the use cases where Python could be useful for the company and made a planning [Step by Step]. Based on that, I started again to work and made other show cases [Just Do It].
With time I convinced some others to spread the word too [Evangelist, Bridge-Builder]. And after more than one year, I thought it was time to inform a larger audience about the accomplished work. I made a first version of the presentation for my team. Not really good ... probably too techie. Only presenting the facts won't convince all. You need to persuade and persuasion is about feelings (kudos to fearless change author for this). I learned the hard way but hey! that's the best way to remember, right?
I made a flyer with a funny logo summarizing everything accomplished [In Your Space]. I put this flyer to communication walls and at my desk. I distributed to the people wanting to promote this idea. It's an efficient way of sharing the idea to the people who haven't heard yet about it and to maintain the idea present on a daily basis.
Before doing the presentation for the whole company, I've been talking with some of my detractors [Champion Skeptic], they are the most valuable source of information when you try to convince. Indeed, they will rise the facts/ideas you should defeat to convince people. Take every point and think about it and try to find the hole(s) in their reasoning. During one of these conversations, I even convinced a conservative manager that it was worth evaluating more thoroughly this idea [Local Sponsor]. I have to admit it has been a good jump forward in my quest.
At this point of the game, fame should come - otherwise there is probably something wrong - and people should start speaking with you about this idea [Smell of Success]. It's a crucial time to further convince some or simply answer their doubts. You must be available for these people. They are making the first step to speak with you about your new idea, it's therefore crucial not to reject them else you might end with an adversary and potentially a fierce one.
Afterwards, an official Python User Group [Study Group, Ask for Help, Involve Everyone] has been created inside the company with its own maling-list. It helps to centralized everything related to this change and giving opportunity to everyone to be involved in the whole continuation of the process.
I left the company a bit after this idea having won popularity inside the whole company. Appearing at this time was the [Right Time] because there were some VPs asking whether we could improve our way to deliver faster product to the market (time-to-market).
Well, dear reader. How much time do you think I've spent in this process? The whole process 'til the moment I left this company almost took one year and a half. And it is not yet finished. Most of the metrics derived from my initial plan have been reached but not all though. How much energy do you think I spent? Too much too count ... but it was so good! I felt so well in this Evangelist position and trying to show the world one idea was worth being taken into account!
I have to admit that after having left the company, I was wondering whether this idea would continue in the company. I spoke several times with some convinced people and they told me that they were continuing the quest and the idea was pushed further. That's probably the greatest news of all this : knowing this idea/change has its own life now. I would like to give my congrats to Ruda Moura and Ricardão because they've been both Evangelists, believing in this idea almost since the start and they continue to work hard to [sustain the momentum].
Of course, afterwards, moreover after having learned about these patterns, I would do some things slightly differently. For example, I would probably involve more people or speak with detractors sooner. But all in all, it has been a real satisfying experience. And for sure, I won't change and will take on every challenges which I'm believing in. This time, having read the right book, I would probably run more efficiently
Now I hope, you'll try to run - efficiently - as well and maybe lead some bigger changes. You know the sentence "Another World is Possible" ? You should!
Cheers!
Fortunately enough, I've not stopped after having learned my first language and even being kind of a dinosaur today, I try to continue to update myself about BCPs and new technologies. The fact of being passionate clearly gave me some energy others don't have.
Energy! Probably a key point in what people have when easily accepting change in their everyday life. Change is about energy. You know if you read some book about leading change, they will probably have a section about maintaining the momentum. And momentum is about energy, right? In fact, change is energy since the beginning. If we think about it, it is like entrepreneurship. You have something in mind and you must convince people that this idea is worth to be taken into consideration. IOW, you're running like a fool to show the world how your idea is great! Well that book
will try to learn you how to run more efficiently! I've tried to change some stuffs in some companies, that's one of my characteristics. Be warned, it takes time. You know, the "Rome has not been built in a day" thing? It's even more true for the powerless. Strange, isn't it?
In a previous life, I tried to show how we could use some additional language, Python to name it, in a company paranoiac about scalability. The kind of company in which it is impossible to release a product without having thoroughly thought about scalability otherwise it does not even reach one second of life in production. You just hear BzzZZzzzzzz ... if you're lucky! Yes, that one kind of company.
Have you ever read Steve Yegge about an attempt to check whether they could try another language where he works? Here's an excerpt :
... You get lynched for trying to use a language that the other engineers don't know. Trust me. I've tried it. I don't know how many of you guys here have actually been out in the industry, but I was talking about this with my intern. I was, and I think you [(point to audience member)] said this in the beginning: this is 80% politics and 20% technology, right? You know.
And [my intern] is, like, "well I understand the argument" and I'm like "No, no, no! You've never been in a company where there's an engineer with a Computer Science degree and ten years of experience, an architect, who's in your face screaming at you, with spittle flying on you, because you suggested using, you know... D. Or Haskell. Or Lisp, or Erlang, or take your pick." ...
I loved reading this because I've been in a very similar situation. Some people were really yelling at you in there! How can you dare think you could improve over than one decade of experience in this company?! That was more or less the message. In the case of Steve, he recognizes his company was right in maintaining a small set of languages for many reasons you can read in his post. In my case, we were basically using only one language in my team and I was trying to show that it was, first, possible and, second, worth using at least 2! If you want to know more about the reasons behind, you can read the slides of my presentation at Python Brasil [5].
When I started with this quest, I was unfortunately not aware of the fearless change and the patterns described, even if some are somewhat obvious. Let's see what happened during this long journey showing what patterns have been used. Everything started with a Python prototype [Just Do It] I wrote because of a C process which overnight had to service 10 times more users and it did not scale! This prototype worked so well, that it is now in production.
I spread the word around me [Evangelist, Personal Touch, Brown Bag(lunch time)]. Some liked the idea and had been impressed [Respected Techie] that some Python process might perform better than its C brother. But you know, for me, it had been like a bomb effect. Indeed, I had written 6 times less LoC, iow improved productivity, and this Python process had gone way better than previous C version. Well, something with a potential you know? But in fact, only a few people had been really impressed. Now, you know about the 84% reluctant to change, right? It gives you an idea. Even showing something worked has not been sufficient because it was one shot and not integrated with our internal systems (legacy and proprietary systems).
OK, then I stopped and thought a bit [Time for Reflection] about what are the use cases where Python could be useful for the company and made a planning [Step by Step]. Based on that, I started again to work and made other show cases [Just Do It].
With time I convinced some others to spread the word too [Evangelist, Bridge-Builder]. And after more than one year, I thought it was time to inform a larger audience about the accomplished work. I made a first version of the presentation for my team. Not really good ... probably too techie. Only presenting the facts won't convince all. You need to persuade and persuasion is about feelings (kudos to fearless change author for this). I learned the hard way but hey! that's the best way to remember, right?
I made a flyer with a funny logo summarizing everything accomplished [In Your Space]. I put this flyer to communication walls and at my desk. I distributed to the people wanting to promote this idea. It's an efficient way of sharing the idea to the people who haven't heard yet about it and to maintain the idea present on a daily basis.
Before doing the presentation for the whole company, I've been talking with some of my detractors [Champion Skeptic], they are the most valuable source of information when you try to convince. Indeed, they will rise the facts/ideas you should defeat to convince people. Take every point and think about it and try to find the hole(s) in their reasoning. During one of these conversations, I even convinced a conservative manager that it was worth evaluating more thoroughly this idea [Local Sponsor]. I have to admit it has been a good jump forward in my quest.
At this point of the game, fame should come - otherwise there is probably something wrong - and people should start speaking with you about this idea [Smell of Success]. It's a crucial time to further convince some or simply answer their doubts. You must be available for these people. They are making the first step to speak with you about your new idea, it's therefore crucial not to reject them else you might end with an adversary and potentially a fierce one.
Afterwards, an official Python User Group [Study Group, Ask for Help, Involve Everyone] has been created inside the company with its own maling-list. It helps to centralized everything related to this change and giving opportunity to everyone to be involved in the whole continuation of the process.
I left the company a bit after this idea having won popularity inside the whole company. Appearing at this time was the [Right Time] because there were some VPs asking whether we could improve our way to deliver faster product to the market (time-to-market).
Well, dear reader. How much time do you think I've spent in this process? The whole process 'til the moment I left this company almost took one year and a half. And it is not yet finished. Most of the metrics derived from my initial plan have been reached but not all though. How much energy do you think I spent? Too much too count ... but it was so good! I felt so well in this Evangelist position and trying to show the world one idea was worth being taken into account!
I have to admit that after having left the company, I was wondering whether this idea would continue in the company. I spoke several times with some convinced people and they told me that they were continuing the quest and the idea was pushed further. That's probably the greatest news of all this : knowing this idea/change has its own life now. I would like to give my congrats to Ruda Moura and Ricardão because they've been both Evangelists, believing in this idea almost since the start and they continue to work hard to [sustain the momentum].
Of course, afterwards, moreover after having learned about these patterns, I would do some things slightly differently. For example, I would probably involve more people or speak with detractors sooner. But all in all, it has been a real satisfying experience. And for sure, I won't change and will take on every challenges which I'm believing in. This time, having read the right book, I would probably run more efficiently
Now I hope, you'll try to run - efficiently - as well and maybe lead some bigger changes. You know the sentence "Another World is Possible" ? You should!
Cheers!
