Ok, so this probably doesn't sound like your typical day at the office. (or at least I hope it doesn't). You've probably wanted to scream the same way. Scream Moments can come from many directions. Perhaps your boss just dropped a reverse eagle in your lap. Maybe the API you're forced to work with slowly drives you insane. It could be that one bug that Just. Won't. DIE.
How often do you find yourself in such a situation? Why? For this example, let's look at moments that come from external sources. The four hours you spent fixing your own stupid bug may frustrate you, but it's not a full-on Scream Moment. True Moments come from external sources. There are two types of sources for these moments: technical and personal.
Technical Moments
Code is evil. Lousy programmers are evil. Dealing with this evil doesn't make us a paladin (drat!). It just annoys us. Have you ever worked with an API that was so mind-boggling messed up that you wanted to beat those responsible senseless? How about ridiculously illogical language issues?
Technical limitations will always be a problem and yet they tend to crop up more on some projects. It's important to note why. Is it an external limitation? Has management been sold on a product that's slowing you down? These moments are fixable. After the initial wave is gone, analyze what happened. Find the source of the problem and fix it. That's what a programmer does, right?
Sometimes, you can't fix it. If you find yourself encountering a lot of problems that you either can't solve or aren't permitted to solve, perhaps it's time to start working your next job.
Sometimes, you can't fix it. If you find yourself encountering a lot of problems that you either can't solve or aren't permitted to solve, perhaps it's time to start working your next job.
Personal Moments
Most technical moments are fortunately easy to fix. A slow computer can be upgraded, language features can be restricted (through the language itself or office policy), and debuggers are a godsend. People, on the other hand, are a lot harder to change (Sadly, DNA isn't hosted on GitHub).
Personal Scream Moments are much harder to deal with. They're usually much more than a simple office spat about coffee location. They're usually caused by the fourth coffee-related spat in as many days.
Solving these moments (from either a management or worker perspective) require a lot of effort and creativity. There are many books/blogs/seminars about this sort of thing but two that have stood the test of time are Dale Carnagie's How To Win Friends and Influence People
and Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
.
7 habits teaches us one big lesson in resolving and avoiding these moments. We should strive to only work within our circle of influence. Don't focus on things that you can't change. Centralize your efforts around the issues and problems that you can influence.
Personal Scream Moments are much harder to deal with. They're usually much more than a simple office spat about coffee location. They're usually caused by the fourth coffee-related spat in as many days.
Solving these moments (from either a management or worker perspective) require a lot of effort and creativity. There are many books/blogs/seminars about this sort of thing but two that have stood the test of time are Dale Carnagie's How To Win Friends and Influence People
and Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.7 habits teaches us one big lesson in resolving and avoiding these moments. We should strive to only work within our circle of influence. Don't focus on things that you can't change. Centralize your efforts around the issues and problems that you can influence.
Frustration is enhanced by our efforts to change those things for which we have no capacity to change. However, we can also see evidence that many of the worlds major shifts (e.g. removal of slavery) happended because men and women took on ideas and issues bigger than they were able to change.
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