Wish Managers would sometimes be more like Developers.

I recently heard a citation somewhere on television. So i remembered a poem i read earlier in my school day’s. The title is “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” written by Robert Frost in 1922.

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

In the past few years i heard so many promises from managers and marketing managers. Wish they first of all would think and then talk. The most time of the year they make promises they are not able to keep. And the only thing they are going to do is talk. A Developer is much more reliable when it comes to promises. First of all developers don’t like to promise something. But if they do, they are committing a 100% to that promise. Sometimes they make lame excuses and tries to explain their situation. But most of the time, they keep promises. That’s why i like scrum. Everyone is committing to a backlog, work item, …. I guess a lot of German Managers are not compatible to scrum. But why?

1st: Germans like to think in hierarchies

That’s so military like. And so German. They only think about how to become one step higher and how and what things will bring them to a higher position or propose in life. My Manager has a Manager which has a Manager somewhere. That’s so not agile because it brings us to the second thing.

2nd: The Plan

Everything is planed, from the 18th – 64th year of life. They plan, and fall in a deep hole if one of their Milestones in life or work life is not coming true. That makes people depressive and the higher their aims the deeper they fall. Happiness is not possible in this scenario. And it’s not planned.

3th: The Talking factor

Most people like to talk. They talk about anything and most of the time they really like to hear themselves talking. So I know the job of a good Manager is talk and motivate people. Problem is, sometimes they talk too much and say too less. And when they make a promise in the talk they can’t remember. I hate that kind of people. I really do. But since this are the people giving me money, what should i do?

So you may suggest but you’re a Program Manager so why do you talk like this about yourself? Well i always try to keep my commitments. Sometimes I can’t and I hate myself for this. But I cant keep them because anyone else I trusted didn’t kept it’s promise to me. So I can’t keep my promises. So this is a “if-else” relation.

And that brings me to risk management in Projects and when you plan a business or just have a meeting. You are as aware as i that the sentence - “Trust nobody!” - maybe right or not, but think about the consequences. Since quitting is out of the question. What if a promises isn’t kept. In your hole plan or backlog or concept. Always think about the else. I know the most of you’re time you are thinking about the if and how to get there, and what you must do. But also think about the “else”. Make at least one fallback plan. Just the idea of a sleepless guy lost in meetings and C#.