Here on Earth… we are 60 days into forced quarantine… and everything is fine! (Apart from the fact that there’s a pandemic 😷)
By now, like you, dear reader, I’ve adapted to the situation. I’ve adjusted my routine, which is now as precise as a Swiss watch, but I do miss the ritual of aperitifs with friends and a bit of healthy social interaction.
And sure, living with family members has its challenges… but if we’ve survived a Friday deploy at 5 PM, nothing scares us anymore.
Contrary to what I expected, I’ve realized that I don’t actually have as much free time as I thought in remote work: the workload is the same, and apart from the commuting time (which I now use to get some sun, work out, or go for a run), there’s really little left to dedicate to other activities.
The “other activities” mainly boil down to two: playing PlayStation games I bought but never finished, and reading a few books I promised myself I’d finish this year. (Oh, and of course, finally putting this blog online—it’s been on the to-do list since Christmas 2018 😅)
At the moment, I’m reading Corporate Rebels, a book about out-of-the-ordinary companies.
They are “people-centered”, as the buzzword goes (did someone say buzzword?). But these companies are serious about it, not just pretending. The book is full of organizational models tailored to the specific purposes of the companies that created them, genuinely solving the problems they were designed for—backed by real data. The stories are sometimes so disruptive yet so simple that they make you jump out of your chair.
I’m halfway through, but so far, it’s been a fantastic read.
While reading, I came across a passage that struck me because it managed to evoke different and contrasting emotions and left me thinking for days.
Security
Some time ago, I understood and internalized the idea that stability is just an illusion and that the effort to chase it might be equal to—or even greater than—the “simple” act of adapting.
How many paradoxical situations have we witnessed in our workplaces, and how much energy have we spent maintaining a house of cards that ultimately served no purpose other than preserving the status quo? How much effort do we put into avoiding questioning the “it’s always been done this way”?
Sadness
For two months now, the media has been telling us that “everything will be fine”, without really explaining what that means. They keep fueling our yearning to return to normalcy: it’s human nature to resist change.
But are we sure it’s worth focusing so much on going back to yesterday, at the risk of missing out on a way to be better tomorrow?
Hope
If nothing else, many companies will now start thinking about having a process, and consequently, they’ll use remote-working tools that they’ll find make everything more efficient, faster, and error-free (yes, I know it’s just a hope 😆).
Redemption
And then, yes, there’s also a sense of redemption. Take that—now the world knows what “change” means.
It came brutally, unexpectedly, and changed everything. Now everyone can understand what the average life of a programmer is like—always chasing hidden requirements or last-minute features with top priority.
Excuse me, there’s just this tiny thing I’d like to change, and I need it by tomorrow because otherwise, we can’t use it. It’s quick, right?
Which translates to:
Well, what’s the difference? You’re working from home now, aren’t you?
Jokes aside, I’m increasingly realizing how the organizational and change-management skills I’ve developed over the past few years are turning out to be perfect for this situation.
Just before Padua became a red zone, we decided as a company to leave the office and work from home. And our way of working hasn’t changed a bit. Truly! Projects are moving forward, standups are happening, training sessions are ongoing, breaks are being taken… everything is the same, yet not the same.
I’ve started asking myself why Seesaw and many other small businesses in our field adapted so quickly while others are just now discovering that video calls are not only a 2007 Telecom commercial but also a potentially valuable work tool.
Why does the IT sector not only see constant technological innovation but also methodological and organizational innovation with an ever-increasing focus on people?
The answer I’ve come up with is that in our work, we are so accustomed to dealing with domains we (still) don’t know, people we (still) don’t know, needs we (still) don’t know, and technologies we (still) don’t know that our adaptability has allowed us to develop mindsets, processes, methodologies, and tools that even a pandemic can (almost) barely dent. And that’s an amazing superpower (and one that can be learned)!
I leave this thought with you.
If your job has nothing to do with computers and programming, I invite you to be curious and inspired by my bizarre and hectic world, hoping you’ll discover and learn something new to evolve your work and survive this situation.
If you’re a colleague and resonate with what I’ve written, help those who lack your perspective! This is a perfect moment to spark change, and as experts, we need to do our part!
If you disagree entirely, well, I’m curious to hear your point of view. 😉
But there’s one thing I’m sure we can all agree on:
