I work with people.
When I founded Mac-Sys in 2003, I founded it on the principles that had led be through a successful career in Nortel – that “IT Support” was only 30% technology, but 70% personality. I found that dealing with people who use computers to do their work was often stressful for those people and my job, as much as anything, was part-technician and part-barman. Often their fear of sounding stupid or revealing that they had done something foolish would cause them to withhold information that would actually slow down the resolution of the issue. They may have glossed over something crucial not realising the significance or made some efforts to cover their tracks. Therefore it took a certain bedside manner to get the information and I seemed to be pretty good at it. Knowing what you are talking about is certainly important but being able to project that to the computer user is also important. It didn’t matter whom I was speaking to: someone new to computers or someone long in the tooth with these devices; they had to be reassured that the problem was not necessarily their fault. Accidents happen and we never develop a counter-productive blame culture.
This background made my current job a lot easier. Experience of working with some of the top designers and technology enthusiasts in the province (and beyond) with Nortel and Mac-Sys meant that I was extending my address book and not having to create it from scratch. I had sponsored the first BarCamp in Belfast (BarCampBelfast was started by Matt Keenan and Mac-Sys was the primary sponsor) and also the OCCBBQ (which was organised by Evert Bopp) before I took this job with Momentum to deliver a facilitation role for the Digital Circle. I found it relatively easy to engender trust in those around me because most of them knew me already and I wasn’t having to start those relationships. Not everyone knew me obviously and some folk have had to put up with my rough edges before we developed a friendship.
My first hiccups with trust were surrounding my day job with Digital Circle and two little things
1. This was not the first time there had been an attempt to bind together the digital content industry in Northern Ireland. I don’t know why previous attempts had not been sticky enough but I’m arrogant enough to believe that it will be a combination of people and timing that will make Digital Circle stick around. The problem was that because some people had witnessed previous attempts, there was an expectation that this one would go the same way. I still get this reaction every now and then and it is obvious to me that Digital Circle does need some driving still but I can see real evidence about how it has brought the community together.
2. My involvement as a Director of Infurious. I started Infurious with my best friend Aidan Rogers back in 2006 and though he built two great products, the choice of platform failed us due to API instability and we didn’t seem to be going where we wanted to go. Building utility software to solve hard problems is fraught with this. And having a shifting API below us didn’t help. After that, Aidan moved away and Infurious had a little bit of a reincarnation with myself, Phil and PJ after PJ came up with an amazing design for viewing comics on the iPhone. Sadly I had already taken this job with Digital Circle and I felt I had to distance myself from the company. Over the course of a number of months, I signed everything off because I couldn’t recommend Infurious for contracting work as it would be seen as ‘feathering my own nest’ and my lack of work for the company meant I was failing my duty of care as a director. I put a decent amount of money and a lot of heart into Infurious and some of the most fun times I’ve had in the last five years were sitting up late talking to my best friend about some of the cool things we could build. I think he forgives me for not making him into a millionaire. But in the end, I sacrificed a bit of a dream to ensure trust.
These situations were somewhat pivotal in where I find myself now. There are people involved in the community whom I trust implicitly (and obviously for me to say this, there must be people who by their actions have made it impossible for me to trust them.) This is a difficult thing to manage because as a Facilitator, even if I don’t like you, I’ll still have to work with you. And that’s really the core of my role: I may not know, like or understand everything, but I’ll work to see things better for you in the sector anyway.
I met some folk for coffee a few days ago and the conversation came round to how people are perceived in the province: myself included. There are lots of positives and negatives around this and no-one can reasonably be expected to like everyone or be liked by everyone. But trust in itself is a different thing. I can pretend that some of the comments (second hand tales) didn’t frustrate me or in some cases offend and obviously I have felt the need to write this immense essay as some sort of catharsis but it upsets me when I am not trusted :- especially where there is injustice in the reasons for the mistrust (an accusation that I might be using ideas for my own benefit). It’s always easier to know who doesn’t like you because when they appear, as they invariably do, you can be retaliatory, conciliatory or just ignore them. I’m learning the latter approach when faced with my own personal Ahab but it’s not easy.
I live and breathe my work (a fact that frustrates my darling wife, Arlene) and I am passionate about the outcomes. I’m proud of my achievements but even more so I am proud that I get to work with some bright, talented and skilled people every day; people who have more talent in their little finger than I have in my whole body. I count them as friends and I know that they are giving me their trust when they turn up to the events I run, when they throw their efforts into the daft ideas I have and when they take time from work and family to help me build the future. I hope they get something out of it as well. You know who you are and I appreciate it, I really do.
And to those who, for some reason, mistrust? I cant help you. You have your reasons, I’m sure, real or imagined. But unless you talk to me I can’t tell you if your reasons are real or imagined and I’m sorry I’ve lost your faith and the benefit of your doubt.
I work with people but everyone is different and everyone will take a different way to work with.