I hesitate to ponder the ups and downs of work when I know Diana is having a less than stellar week, but it sure has been event filled. I need to write some of this down to start processing it.
One of our directors resigned last week, which resulted in an organizational shake up that, actually, is probably good for the company in the long run because it forces you to take a look at how you're doing things and make corrections or improvements. It's probably not proper to get into a lot of specifics, so I apologize if i speak in some generalities.
Today my manager and one of the newly promoted second-in-command guys approached me today about working in more of the marketing related projects, given my background and understanding in that area. I had a lot of mixed feelings about that because I've enjoyed working in the UI area as much as I have, especially after developing a portion of that framework. Plus I don't really know much about what our marketing people are actually doing, and by extension wonder about their effectiveness. Of course, I always think I know better, so I'm not exactly impartial.
But they made their pitch, and eventually convinced me that it was the right thing to do because there is a certain amount of opportunity there to create influence to do the right thing. It became an easier sell for them because I had a meeting in the interim with the director who now oversees our group.
My conversation with him was basically along the lines of believing very honestly that we have a team of ninjas. It is hands down the smartest group of programmers I've ever worked with, in part because they get business as well as software. This is not a group that you drop a spec on their desk and go to it, they're a group that helps shape the product. We all make each other better, and frankly, I think it's some of the top talent in our area. That standard is what makes it a bitch to find people good enough to hire. We also talked a little about the benefits of current process, but that's not relevant here.
I was already thinking about it last week, but it brought to the forefront my thoughts about what makes the job worthwhile to me. I don't need this specific job, and I have days that I'd rather not get out of bed. I hate the commute. But I keep going because I get a lot out of it in terms of professional development, and I do think that, fundamentally, the company has a killer product. That's the reason I care at all, but I need some ownership to feel like it's worth my time in the long run.
The new involvement may give me that ownership because I can have influence that makes the company better in an area that I think it doesn't do all it should. If that brings success, both to the company's bottom line and my bonus, that satisfies the needs for both job satisfaction and compensation.
I've been there almost two years now, which makes it about the second longest I've been at any job. While I've spent a lot of time loathing The Man, this particular The Man has been good for me. I guess I should see in the short term just how good it can get.
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