A brief retrospective

I just returned from Whistler, BC, along with 1300 other Mozillians.

Because we’re a global organization, it’s important to get everyone together every now and then. We matched faces with IRC channels, talked shop over finger-food, and went hiking with random colleagues. Important people gave speeches. Teams aligned. There was a massive party at the top of a mountain.

+++++

Typically, I learn the most from experiences like these only after they have ended. Now that I’ve had 48 hours to process (read: recover), some themes have emerged…

1. Organizing and mobilizing a bunch of smart, talented, opinionated people is hard work.
2. It’s easy to say “you’re doing it wrong.” It takes courage to ask “how could we do it better?”
3. Anyone can find short-term gains. The best leaders define a long-term vision, then enable individuals to define their own contribution.
4. Success is always relative, and only for a moment in time.
5. Accelerated change requires rapid adaptation. Being small is our advantage.
6. The market is what you make it. So make it matter.
7. It’s been said that when technology works, it’s magic. I disagree. Magic is watching passionate people – from all over the world – create technology together.

Also, it has now been confirmed by repeatable experiment: I’m not a people person – especially when lots of them are gathered in small spaces. I’m fucking exhausted.

Officially signing back on,

-DCROBOT

http://autodidacticdesigner.com/2015/06/29/not-working-in-whistler/