mindgraffiti

I don’t know if this applies to anyone else. This is my story about the pickle I’ve gotten myself into.

I have done a fair job of shaking things up for the Web department. I have even converted a few people in other departments into thinking a little different when attempting to solve a problem. Instead of asking How do I bull doze my way through this problem and knock it down? (Yes, some of them still think the answer is to work more and more overtime.) I see more people asking How can I reasonably solve this issue without overworking myself? What’s the real issue here?

Some of the trouble with our department was disorganization. So much time was getting wasted (when doing web site updates, for example) because a web site had too many files to search through. No one deleted anything. Everything was kept, but never archived. Or in the case of new web sites, there wasn’t a central location to send new clients when they wanted to look at designs. Looks were e-mailed to individuals (until the style gallery was set up!).

Other problems involved upgrades. Some of it was software upgrades that we needed, others were upgrades to the process of how we built stuff. We managed to get our tools upgraded (most of it was software, some of it was training) and also used new methods to build stuff. Sale books take less time to build. New web sites take less time to build. Converted web sites take less time to maintain.

So we began the long haul of fixing and improving the web sites. This is where the 99% perspiration comes in. We are on the trailing, last small percentages of sites that have not migrated to Dreamweaver. We are on the last messy set of web sites that are not yet converted to CSS layouts. And because these projects have existed so long, the finish line feels miles away.

After experiencing the process of closing a project I know this is the most difficult part. Like wood shop in high school, it’s hard to get excited about cleaning up after your pool table is built, when you’re tired and dirty and bored. To top it off, I know I have to keep going until it’s done. No one else is responsible for seeing this to its end because it was my idea. I’m cursing my overzealous past self (for now, until it really is complete!), but I know I’d do it again.

The funny part comes when I realized I can’t keep myself motivated to finish a project “for the good of the company.” It sounds sweet and altruistic, but what really makes the midnight oil burn is pure selfishness. I claim ownership of it, ugly parts and all. No one else cares if I finish it, because it wasn’t their idea. Lots of people helped in the beginning, because it was interesting and I happily credit my co-workers for their support. But towards the end, I’m the only one cares. I wouldn’t be the first to lay a project or idea in the graveyard. But if I want others to believe my ideas are legitimate and workable, I have to prove it.

What about you? What gets you to the finish line?

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