Thursday, October 26, 2006

challenge: covering lots of ground

I've had the good fortune to have had jobs in which I could focus on a single product and dive deeply into all of the various tasks associated with that product. I've also had the privilege of working a "product line" of associated products.

Now I have the privilege of working on a very large line of products. The challenges associated with covering a lot of ground like this are very different from those you encounter when your scope is more narrow.

In the process, I've learned a few things about myself and the "perception warps" that surround certain aspects of my personality.

Here's one: when the chips are down and something needs to get done now, and I can help, I actually like to be in the middle of it to drive the task to completion. How is this perceived by others? It depends:

Good Perception: A team player who can be counted on to be responsive when it counts.
Negative Perception: A poor planner who operates solely in interrupt mode.

Each of us has traits that can be seen in different ways through different perception lenses. How you perceive yourself has a lot to do with how your actions register with those around you. What is a good trait in some environments is a bad trait in others - or at specific times - or around specific tasks.

What are your perception warps?

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