Thursday, March 4, 2010

Some Management Style Conclusion at the End of the Project

• Rebellious spirit – I’d rather have a small revolution when I make a mistake then no reaction. A small revolution means people actually care. I’d rather have somebody to challenge from time to time “the way we work around here” than somebody who always does exactly what I say. Of course, it should be done in a respectful, polite and open manner and everyone be opened to discussion and mutual understanding. It does not mean lack of discipline nor insolence.

• Respect – Nobody knows better than somebody else. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion about anything and should not be criticized for that. We encourage team work. Rudeness, gossip and despise have no place in my team. Criticizing in public a person or an idea is also forbidden. When we judge, we judge facts and not persons.

• Thinking outside procedures – procedures are good as long as they serve the project. When they don’t, they should be dropped. I will never – ever punish someone for stepping out of the rules to try something better.

• Involvement and autonomy – My honest opinion is that everyone knows better than the manager what has to be done in his/her own field. Therefore, fostering autonomy and involvement is the only way to make the step toward great products. Obedience maybe will finish the project in time, but the quality bar will be low, the number of features minimal. I a word, mediocre.

• Encourage experiments and never punish failure as the only way to move forward and allow people to be courageous about their jobs.

• Work environment - play games, natural light, and fresh air – extremely important.

• Fun is made with fun. Involvement is obtained through fun and not through orders.

• Recognition - works much better than punishment

• Whiteboards work better than excel files at sharing information (at least they force you to be concise) – too bad I used them scarcely and only at the end of the project (maybe next time I'll do it better)

4 comments:

Cezara said...

„Thinking outside the box “ management. Articulate ideas, ideal to be applied not only in team management, but also in the non-righteous and often abusive work policy adopted by one’s hierarchical superiors…

I liked the rebellious spirit part. Is the concept ‘imported’ from literature, or is it yours? Either way, it’s real healthy.

Alexandru Gris said...

@Cezara: I don't know how much is mine obtained from practice, how much is imported from literature and how much of it comes from my own personality. Anyway, it's obviously a mixture of all the above factors.

Anonymous said...

With such frame of thinking, no wonder the game project was so successful.Since I don't think I congratulated you when I had the chance to, I am doing it now.
Keep up the good work!

Marius said...

Articulate ideas, ideal to be applied not only in team management