So They Rode In On Their White Horses
Ah yes, it's that time again...the ever popular Executive Product Reviews. Ugh.
Normally, I don't mind this particular business practice, but as of late, it's been fairly stressful. Hmmm...stressful. That's not really the right word, it's more of an annoyance for me personally, but certainly stressful for the game teams. They sit there and a variety of Pretty Boy Marketers, Ego Inflated Executives and random know it alls, pick apart and critique their every line of code, their every polygon. That has to be tough for them. They work so hard, put in amazingly long hours and pour their hearts into these games and strangers either rip it or cheer it. I'm sure the Leads are strong enough to handle it, but I have a feeling some of these guys take it personally. Let's face it, it is good business. It's always a good idea to get a second opinion; hopefully it's the right second opinion. Right people on the bus and all that good shit...
All the same, I don't mind the unfamiliar faces wandering the halls, the constant requests for network access, cables or other miscellaneous hardware (since it is my job ) and I certainly don't mind the free lunch, but what strikes me the most is the way some of these individuals treat other people. I'm not stupid, I realize many of these people hold important positions and are certainly not afraid to inform you of such details, but why be rude when you don't need to be? I'm realize my role is to provide quality service, so I'm also familiar with the "Treat me like I don't exist" syndrome. Hell, I think I do a pretty good job of biting my tongue each and every day (most of the time, anyway), but there is no need to treat other people like an inferior or worse yet, a complete moron. It's not just the way they treat we IT folk. I see how they treat the receptionists, the executive assistants and even each other. It just doesn't sit quite right with me. It's a lot of weight being thrown around for no particular reason. It's not quite a "My dick is bigger than your dick," but it's similar. Maybe because I'm not part of it, I don't see the point of such behavior. Maybe that's just the way things get done. Far be it from me to question the intentions of others, that's not really my place. But I will. Hey, I'm only human, right? :)
I can happily say I won't have to witness much more of this, as the majority of these Painfully Powerful Pricks will be gone within the week. We like to bus in our PPPs. There are very few of these PPP types around our location these days and the ones that are still there, I just simply try to avoid basking in the Glory of their Genius. I have things to fix, after all.
Comments
Greeeeaat. Send all the PPP's back to San Diego. Thanks!
Posted by: Paul | September 22, 2003 11:05 PM
I'll make it short - this company is dysfunctional. Sure, we put the fun in dysfunctional, but that's about it.
The amount of people that are still allowed to live after immensely costly mistakes /pisses/ me off. The unwillingness to learn from past experiences just adds on. And the PPPs just swing their dicks (pardon my french) when they're not yessir-ing up the ladder.
There's a few notable exceptions of talented leaders, yes. I just hope we have enough to save this thing.
Posted by: Groby | September 23, 2003 10:45 AM
today i walked into corporate and said, "i fuckin' hate executive review week!" to marcella, and she kinda motioned to me to turn around. there was an interviewee sitting in their waiting area. real classy.
but shit dude, i really am not fond of exec review week. sure, there's free food; i can't complain, but seriously, i don't understand why all their cell phones going at the same time don't cause some sort of nuclear reaction (or something).
realize i'm writing this in the heat of exec review week. i burned my finger for these people to eat!
Posted by: johannabanana | September 23, 2003 2:56 PM
Huh huh -- Limited Bagels.
I dunno -- I might get beaten up for it, but I like executive review week. Sure, they may tear things apart a little, but if they think they can't sell what we're working on, then I'd like to hear it sooner rather than later.
And if there are problems when the thing's all done, I'd like their jobs on the line as the ones who've been approving the thing all along.
The last place I worked, the management sometimes couldn't be bothered to even try playing the game for up to a year at a time. It sucks to be banging on something with no input.
I also like that it gives the team some real targets to work toward. Our game seems to make big leaps before every major show-me date. And I get to work on stability and performance for these instead of being pushed on the Random Emergency Implementation Task of the Moment while engine problems fester and spread.
I don't exactly like many of the execs themselves, but if being all huffy and puffy and blow-my-house-downish is what makes them feel like grown-ups, then have at it gentlemen! At least they're getting things done. (Except marketing)
Posted by: McGroarty | September 24, 2003 8:59 AM
i was NOT in charge of the "limited bagels" e-mail, trust me.
thank the temp for that one.
Posted by: johannabanana | September 24, 2003 10:25 AM
You know, I'd like to have my job on the line with a $4.5 million parachute. As if they were actually held responsible. It took years of blundering before some of our executives got replaced.
You mean, feedback like "Make it like Cruisin'!"? Yep, that sure is helpful. I agree that the exec reviews are slowly moving to a better place, but feedback should be continuous. We're a long way from that.
Which begs the question why we're not making progress all the time. Either we're slacking - which I don't believe - or it's only the appearance that changes. In which case it's purely dog-and-pony and a waste of time.
What can I say. Maybe it would be more important to be stable and performant all the time. But that's just my wild ideas...
I really don't agree. I just don't accept that people can be, well, ill-mannered (to put it mildly), just because it makes them feel better. If you're not a grown up yet, don't play one. Come back when you actually are.
Posted by: groby | September 24, 2003 11:31 AM
I actually enjoy the exec reviews, mainly because once the last-minute support crises die down about halfway through (because by that time, its usually too late), people are too busy to interrupt me and I can get some work done.
It's almost as good as E3.
Posted by: vince | September 24, 2003 10:43 PM
It boils down to accountability being assigned to more than just the bottom tier people which, as you've noticed, is only slowly improving. But I still see folks who think driving a team means filling out the friday status reports and only putting aside the pet projects when the exec reviews are coming up.
No argument there, but who do I have to kill?
Posted by: McGroarty | September 25, 2003 8:44 AM
I think we all could come up at least with a shortlist.
Maybe it's time to speak up. I rather like my job, and I'm just so tired of people driving the car even further into the mud...
Actually, I think I'm speaking up - there's a reason why my colleagues sometimes call me the "bitter german".
Posted by: groby | September 26, 2003 4:09 PM