Missives from the 6th Floor

The position wasn't terribly exciting, but talking to this fellow about the development process they had was sort of a breath of fresh air. We don't have a process at work, much - we just have thrash. Everyone (on the technical teams) seems to agree that it's bad, but momentum is a harsh mistress.

So that got me thinking...

Around the same time I got an email from a small software company responsible for a very well known and respected game and digital content distribution system. Their recruiter had found my resume, passed it to the hiring manager, and he wanted to speak with me.

Not one to turn down a conversation, we had a chat. That turned into a half-day visit to their offices in Bellevue. That position was much more interesting, but the lack of process sounded familiar.

I had been completely upfront with both parties about my current position and the complications involved with leaving. Specifically, there were two. First off, I'm good friends with the CTO, which means I can't really just vanish - I owe him at least a cogent explanation and some warning. Second, all this happened right about the time when it was being decided that I'd be taking direct management responsibility over a team. Vanishing at that particular moment would have put my direct manager in an awkward situation.

I committed to both interested parties to tell them where my head was after the coming weekend, and I started thinking hard.

Did I mention that all this was around the same time when Microsoft decided to hand us a suitcase of cash ? So suddenly all those options I had been given when I was hired had the potential to actually be worth something.

Nothing's ever simple, is it?

I ultimately decided to stay where I am for another 6 months and then think again. The six month number isn't magic - it corresponds to when the first chunk of my stock options vest.

The reasons for staying are more complicated than the stock.

Part of it is my respect for, and friendship with, my direct manager and the CTO. Part is my respect for many of the folks I work with, including the guys who now work for me. Part is wanting to see if I, in a management position, can change that lack of process and general organizational stupidity. Part is because of some imminent product launches at work - some really cool stuff that I've been involved with and is about to finally come to fruition. And part of it is that I, in part, justified the move by thinking about the job as a three year "thing."

It was a tough decision to make - I haven't been enjoying work much lately, and I've been pretty transparent to folks that this step into management isn't really what I want, I'm just doing it for "the good of the many" (assuming it turns out to be good for anybody.)

So I had a conversation with the two people at work who needed to know, and I basically explained that I had been interviewing and had decided to abort that process; and that I would take stock of the situation in the middle of next year and decide if the moratorium would be lifted.

Was it the right decision?

I'm not sure. But one of the things I learned a long time ago was that looking back isn't constructive. I made a decision, right or wrong, and now it's time to start discovering and dealing with the consequences of that decision.