Dick Hirsch has written what I believe is one of the best descriptions of what it means to combine passion and commitment when under extreme pressure. The backdrop is that Dick, Anne Petteroe, Darren Hague, Thomas Jung and I were in Berlin for SAP TechEd and DemoJam. We’re all part of the ESME project and on the night Dick and Anne were due to present, our primary server in the US went AWOL. (note to self: we need better failover.)
Solving the technical problems was relatively straightforward but required teamwork under the extreme pressure of knowing that time was running out. I knew there were technical problems from the pre-demo checks but it was only as I was making my way to get a drink that a stagehand grabbed me and ushered me backstage. It was only then that I saw for myself the gravity of the situation.
The team were huddled over machines, furiously coding and clearly strained but calm. Think swans and ponds. There was nothing I could do and left them to it. They got done with minutes to spare. But as Dick describes:
For the Demo Jam, I just had to give the introduction to ESME and provide the transitions between demos, Anne was doing the actual demos. We were both under unbelievable pressure. Speaking in front of a crowd of 2500 is tough. Combine this with uncertainty whether the technology is even going to work is even worse.
Although we would have liked to [have] won the Demo Jam in Berlin, it was really of secondary importance. If you look at how Anne and I responded after our six minutes is over, we don’t ask the audience to clap. The first thing we do is to give each other a high five. At this moment, we were overwhelmed that everything had worked. If other team members were on stage, we would have included them as well.
I never saw Dick and Anne live. I was stuck backstage with no clue how to get out of the area. I could only see what the TV monitors were showing. Even so, it was with immense relief that I understood they’d made it the whole 6 minutes. To see them onstage you’d never know that they very nearly crashed and burned.
So what’s the point. Dick again:
ESME is one example of a tool that creates bonds of a more personal nature. Such platforms are instrumental in building strong teams that act well in times of adversary or stress which are unfortunately commonplace in the current corporate environment.
Given our team is geographically dispersed across many countries, Dick’s words have special meaning. I can add little except to say that Anne and Darren, who I met for the first time, were exactly as I expected them to be. That’s one of the unsung benefits of these media. There are no surprises and no need to go through the awkward foreplay ritual that accompanies the creation of relationships. Mark that down as an ROI point.
Where is the ESME team?
It doesn’t matter if you’re in a firm of 20, 200, 2,000 or 200,000 people, there will always be those you can discover with whom you can bond and create a meaningful, satisfying and profitable relationship. Tools like ESME help accelerate that process. Dick’s story is but one powerful example. I expect to see many more in time to come.
Top pic courtesy of Twan van den Broek via Dick on ESME blog. Bottom pic courtesy of David Terrar.
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