The programmer and his woman

After gaining a deeper understanding of the progress and bottlenecks of the entire project, I realized that I had to proactively look for solutions to the problems. Therefore, I once again found the colleague who had argued fiercely with me in the conference room. He is not only a senior architect of the development department, but also the core person in charge of the development department. I understand that cooperation with him is crucial to the smooth progress of the system.

When I sat down with him again, he still insisted on his previous point of view, emphasizing that the product department had been slow to provide a complete product design prototype, which prevented them from starting to write programs. His words sounded reasonable, but I felt an unusual ease and comfort from his words and subtle expressions. He didn't seem to be in a hurry to promote the progress of the project, but rather enjoyed this leisurely pace of work.

This gave me a deeper understanding of the working pace of a large company. In such an environment, some people may lose their sense of urgency for various reasons, making the progress of the project slow and difficult.

After returning to the product department, I realized that I had to take action to change this situation. I knew that only by making a product prototype as soon as possible and submitting it to the development department could I break their excuses and procrastination and urge them to start development work as soon as possible. So I called together my colleagues in the department and worked overtime with them to rush to make a product prototype.

However, at this time, colleagues in our department informed us that we had a meeting. I walked into the meeting room with doubts and dissatisfaction. Watching them make a long report-style speech in the meeting room, I felt ridiculous and helpless. We are in urgent need of bringing the product to the market, but we are still wasting time here studying how to design a product prototype.

I finally couldn't help but stood up and said loudly: "We are now facing urgent time pressure. The development department is already waiting for our prototype design. We should not talk about theory here, but take action immediately. The basic page designs such as product creation, product display, category maintenance, etc. are not much different in function from other e-commerce platforms. We can directly refer to their design and make a basic prototype to the development department. Let them start the development work and launch the product as soon as possible. Then we will hold a meeting to study how to improve and optimize the product."

My words made the atmosphere in the conference room tense. But I knew it was necessary. We must break this meaningless meeting cycle and focus on what is really important. Only in this way can we revitalize the project and get the product to users as soon as possible.

Back at my workstation, I realized that my statement might just be my own eagerness and enthusiasm, and it didn't really move those product managers. They might still be stuck in their unfamiliarity with the development process, or trapped by some unspeakable factors, and still couldn't act quickly. This made me feel helpless, but I also understood that instead of waiting for them to change, it would be better for me to take that step first.

However, just as I was about to take action, another meeting notice disrupted my plan. This time, it was a UI design meeting of the art department, and all managers were required to attend. I reluctantly went to the company's largest conference room, and only then did I discover that there were actually eight conference rooms in the company. These conference rooms were occupied by different departments every day. If you wanted to have a meeting, you had to make an appointment in advance, otherwise it would be difficult to find an empty conference room.

When I walked into the meeting room, I found that the big boss and several vice presidents were already there, and everyone was discussing a problem enthusiastically. I walked closer and listened, and it turned out to be about the color selection of pictures in UI design - light blue or dark blue. I was shocked that they were already discussing such a trivial issue before the basic framework and functions of the product were determined.

I looked around and found that everyone seemed to be immersed in this topic, and everyone was expressing their own views and opinions. I tried to understand their discussion, but I really felt that these discussions were of no help to the progress of the entire project. I even wanted to leave angrily, but seeing that the big boss and vice presidents were so seriously involved in the discussion, I felt that my reaction was too impulsive.

I tried to calm myself down and told myself to be patient and understanding. Maybe in this big company, everyone has their own responsibilities and roles, and everyone is working hard for the success of the project. Although these discussions may seem trivial, it may be these details that determine the final quality of the product.

However, I still feel a little disappointed. In this project, what we need is efficient and quick action, not endless discussions and delays. I hope everyone can focus more on the core issues of the project and bring the product to market as soon as possible.

After several hours of heated discussions, the atmosphere in the conference room gradually heated up. Everyone's face revealed the tension and anticipation of the upcoming design plan. Finally, after layers of screening and heated debate, the big boss decided to use light blue as the theme color of our product. I breathed a sigh of relief, immediately packed up the materials on the table, and hurried back to my workstation.

I couldn't wait to put this decision into practice. So I quickly turned on my computer and started working on the prototype. Time seemed to jump at my fingertips, and soon a basic prototype appeared in front of me. I carefully checked every detail, and after confirming that it was correct, I handed it over to the development department.

However, the response from the development department surprised me. They said that a single functional prototype was not enough to support their R&D work. They needed a complete and systematic prototype design to ensure that the developed system could run stably without any problems.

I tried to explain that this functional module is independent and will not be related to other parts. But the architect insisted on his own opinion. He said to me seriously: "We understand your idea, but the complexity of this system is far beyond your imagination. Without an overall prototype design, it is difficult for us to ensure the compatibility between various parts. Moreover, we have completed the construction of the database and are working hard for the progress of the project every day. Now, we are just waiting for the prototype design of your product department."

I fell into deep thought. As the head of a department, I knew that the prototype design work of the product department could not be completed by me alone. However, the current situation made me feel stressed.

In the following days, my daily work was almost dominated by "grabbing meeting rooms". Whether I personally or other product managers acted on my behalf, we were all working hard to get a suitable meeting room. As the head of the department, I thought there would be more resources and power to support our work, but the reality was not the case. The product department was previously headed by the vice president, and now although I have taken over the management responsibilities, the company's decision-makers do not seem to intend to make any changes to our work process. Whenever I tried to change the status quo, the vice president would correct me in time.

This disordered state made me feel powerless and helpless. Every day, I had to continue running between various meeting rooms, and rarely had time to sit quietly at my seat to complete some substantive work. I began to realize that this phenomenon of snatching meeting rooms was not accidental, but a microcosm of the company's culture and work process.

Recalling the colleagues who gave excellent speeches at the first meeting, I can't help but marvel at their adaptability and survival wisdom. They seem to have long been familiar with and integrated into this environment, and know how to find their position in such a working environment. I can't help but think of Manager Ma from my previous company. His way of bringing a secretary to take notes during meetings may have been shaped by this working environment.

I realized that communication with my superiors was the key to solving the problem. Perhaps I should be more proactive in communicating with my superiors, giving them feedback on the difficulties I encountered, and striving for more resources and support. However, just as I was planning how to communicate with my superiors, the big boss suddenly appeared in front of me.

He looked at me, his tone revealing the care and expectations of an elder for a younger generation. He said earnestly, "Xiao Wang, the R&D department has been reporting your problems to me recently. The product department and the R&D department need more support and cooperation. We need to maintain a good relationship between colleagues and work together to move forward. In addition, you have to trust the company's management team. We have the ability to coordinate the work of all departments. Don't let individualism affect the atmosphere of the entire team."

I was a little angry when I heard what my boss said. So I asked, "Boss, have you noticed some problems in our company? The product development is progressing slowly. Don't you think there are deeper reasons behind this?"

The boss pondered for a moment and replied, "I have also heard about this question. I know that the product department did have some problems with its strength before, but we are now actively recruiting new product managers to strengthen the department. In the future, we will recruit another 4 to 5 product managers. I believe that with their joining, the product department will be able to catch up and no longer lag behind the R&D department."

I shook my head. It seemed that my boss still didn't realize the problem. I tried to express my opinion to him: "Boss, I think there may be some problems with our company's R&D method. If we continue with the current model, I'm afraid we won't be able to develop the product you expect in a short period of time. Why don't you let me form a small team to be responsible for this project? I promise to make the product within half a year. What do you think?"

The boss listened to me, smiled and shook his head: "Xiao Wang, I can understand your feelings. But the situation you described is not that simple. If it is really as easy as you said, then so many people in our company would have developed the product long ago. I called you here this time to remind you not to be so tough when talking to colleagues in the R&D department in the future, and to maintain good relationships with colleagues. You should be polite when talking to Lao Gao, the architect of the R&D department. He is the pillar of our company's R&D department. If you offend him and delay product development, I will hold you accountable. Well, that's all I have to say, you can go back."

After hearing what my boss said, I was filled with helplessness and disappointment. I left my boss' office angrily, but heard a commendation notice from the R&D department in the corridor. A colleague read the notice aloud: "In recognition of Comrade Liu's hard work and outstanding contribution for working overtime for a month, the company has approved a personal bonus of 1,000 yuan. I hope everyone will take him as an example, learn more and emulate him."

I listened to this notice with mixed feelings. I admired Liu's hard work, but after thinking about it carefully, I felt something was wrong. Shouldn't the R&D department wait for our design department to produce a product prototype before proceeding to the next step? Why did they suddenly work overtime? Moreover, I noticed that the head of the R&D department, Lao Gao, left work on time every day and I had never seen him work overtime. How could a small employee work overtime without any tasks?

With these confusions, I decided to talk to this award-winning employee to find out the truth behind it. When I handed him a cigarette and greeted him politely, he seemed a little surprised, but then accepted it in a friendly manner.

"Senior, I just came to the company not long ago, and I don't know much about many things." I said politely, "I would like to ask you about your overtime bonus? Can you tell me about it?"

He took the cigarette and smiled at me, as if he saw my curiosity and confusion. "Are you new here? I was wondering why I haven't seen you before." He came close to me and whispered, "Actually, I didn't know the company had this bonus. I guess the boss was in a hurry to catch up with the progress, so he gave me a temporary bonus. I was lucky to catch up."

I listened to him and became even more confused. I asked, "But I heard that our R&D department hasn't had any R&D tasks recently. Why are we still working overtime?"

He laughed and said, "Yes, you are right. In fact, I work overtime every day just to get the overtime pay from the company. You know, the overtime pay is quite a lot for us."

I looked at him in surprise, unable to believe my ears. He took a long drag on his cigarette and continued, "I'm telling you, if you're short of money and want to make some extra money, you can come and work overtime at night."

He looked around and saw that there was indeed no one around. He whispered to me, "I'll tell you a secret. I don't actually work overtime here at night. I live close to the company, and I just come to the company to clock in before going to bed at night, and then go home to rest. You can do the same, but don't tell anyone else. Keep it a secret. No one else knows about this."

I was shocked to hear his words. It turned out that this so-called overtime bonus was actually a carefully planned scam. I deeply felt the complexity and chaos within this company.