Doing the impossible (with Robert's Rule #31 & #32)

This post is not going to be a 'how-to', or an example of critical thought applied to a current topic, but rather a prosaic reflection with career advice mixed in - somewhat like earlier posts.

When I was a young child, we were discussing poetry in primary school and I pulled a book of American poets off the shelf and found It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar A. Guest^[1]. I still recall the note my schoolteacher sent home saying how much the poem reminded her of me, even though I cannot find the note - of course that was quite a number of years ago.

I would not encourage anyone to be excessively optimistic (I would say pollyannaish, but I believe that unfairly associates optimism with feminism), there have been a number of credible studies that demonstrate the benefits of positive thinking^[2]. Yet,  there is something beyond even positive thinking that I feel is crucial to our survival in a corporate environment - an indomitable will. For some, an indomitable will manifests as an "incorruptible patience" or "a destructive pursuit of perfection"^[3]; for others, there are other ways - but they have this in common - they are not skill related and won't be found on the Programmer Competency Matrix^[4] - in fact, it's those times that we're faced with a situation that we know is beyond our bounds that this applies, and it's what made Bert Bell's belief that on any given Sunday any team could beat any other team in the league real. (Robert's Rule #31 - success is about more than skill - is based on that belief.)

A personal story - several years ago I was preparing to fly to California for an in-person interview for a position that I considered a dream job when I found out that my sister, who lived 2000 miles away, was critically ill, and a few hours before I was to leave for my day-long interview, I learned she had died. My grief was beyond anything I had borne before, but I also recognized that the only thing I could do at that point was request PTO and book a flight - and one more day would make little difference in the grief or support that I, or anyone else in my family, could offer.

Even though I knew a rigorous interview process was beyond my bounds in that circumstance, I went and did my best. After I returned home, I contacted my employer and booked a flight, and left the next day. After I secured the job (yes, I did get it), I discovered that some who interviewed me noticed (what they interpreted as) a lack of enthusiasm - several commented to me that interviewing in that situation was something they thought couldn't be done, yet it was done - and well enough to secure the job.

So, here's the lesson I learned that day - if you want something enough and your will is indomitable, you will likely succeed - success is not guaranteed, mind, but very likely.

There was another lesson I learned that day - one that's probably more important
that I carry with me, especially every time I interview a candidate - on any given day we see only a part of a person, and like in jazz, the important bits might be those not heard, so make allowances for what you don't see (Robert's Rule #32).

Or, in the words of Bill (in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure), "be excellent to each other".

Notes:

1. If you've never read this poem, do so. I recognize as a (more cynical) adult that it's a bit trite, but it's somewhat uplifting and motivational, and there are times we all need that.
2. The article How the Power of Positive Thinking Won Scientific Credibility is an interesting read regarding the evolution of thought and research in this field, and has links to a number of those studies.
3. These are two traits of a fantastic programmer from Signs that you're a good programmer.
4. http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/