As you might have noticed, it's been a while since the last post, mostly due to a larger workload in the past weeks, which has also limited the number of incidents, and because I have promised to not bore you with more traffic stories...
Normally I just write about some of the thoughts that pops up in my head, and how they can relate to the everyday life of a busiess developer. The ideas usually comes from small incidents during my daily life, but this one is a little more peculiar than most others, so I thought that this time I would also share the origin of the post with you.
The origin for this post is actually one word "Orc" which was uttered by a colleague I passed in the hallway. I do not know what the conversation was about, but I guess using the word Orc in a conversation is not that uncommon in an IT environment.
That one word got me thinking about communication and problem solving, and how first impressions may deceive you, when trying to get to a common understanding or solution.
Here I will only use with two extreme categories, but there are probably many more in between.
First impression can often be classified as one of two, here expressed in a "Lord of the Rings meets Shrek universe" (Don't worry, it will make sense in a minute or two... I hope):
"Orcs" - Loud bully like creatures which seems to have no capacity for listening and understanding arguments for other solutions than their own. They are usually not slow to voice their opinion and to stress out that their solution is the only right one. - Think the Uruk Hai from the Lord of the Rings (I have now committed the sin of assuming that you are all familiar with this book and/or movie, for those who are not, they are highly recommended to read or watch)
"Knights" - Friendly chivalrous persons who seems to be able to engage in conversation and democratic process to reach the best possible solution. They are usually more modest, and give a good impression. Think Boromir, just to stay in the Lord of the Rings terminology.
I know this is probably stretching reality a little bit, but I'm sure you can recognize some features in a colleague or two.
Now in real life, the Orcs may be knights, and the Knights may be Orcs, when you get to know them.
Someone can seem almost unreachable to begin with, but if you can make the right arguments, they are usually good cooperators and can be a valuable asset to your project. Think Shrek - the ugly monster who everyone was afraid of, but turned out to be quite a Knight and a good guy.
On the other hand, someone who seems courteous at first, may be impossible to move form their own ideas, and they can be a real obstacle in the future work. Think the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood - he might be able to portray himself as a man of high class, but is not afraid of slaying anything in his way to get what he wants, quite an Orc at heart.
This is of course nothing new, and we all know the saying "Never judge at book by its cover" - which is still true, but sometimes we maybe need another analogy to remind us, so I have tried to provide one here.
But also remember that some Orcs are Orcs - Think again of the Uruk Hai, and some Knights are Knights - Think Aragorn.
The morale of my little tale here is, I guess, to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, until they get at chance to reveal their true identity, be it Knight or Orc or somewhere in between.
