…you have to do less work, and do more to improve work.
I know, it’s been said 1000 different ways already, but it sunk in this week as I struggled to put out the bazillionth little forest fire that had crept up after our last deployment. It’s so easy to get back in the rhythm of doing whatever it takes to keep the system stable, even if it means sacrificing time with family, projects you want to make headway, general health and well-being… IT work is built on the backs of heroes.
But it isn’t sustainable. I look back over the last month and wonder what the hell it is I accomplished. My team is worn out; I’m worn out. We managed to squeak in a major project, but we had to drop the ball on 100 other little things to get it done. And, to rub salt in the wound, the new project added new work to the backlog, which just means that we may have won the battle, but it’s an expensive win.
My job as a leader is to make sure people know how much wins like that cost; not to discourage them from trying to make a win, but to make better strategic decisions so that we don’t sacrifice something important in order to get some other important thing done.
Monday’s coming, and I’m going to start over. Again. And i”m going to keep starting over until things get better.
