Face to Face

International relationships are preordained to be clumsy gestures based on imperfect knowledge. ~Rebecca West


Since I first started multi-shore product development about 5 years ago, I have believed to the depths of my soul the best way to improve the product development process is not with improved processes but with honest to goodness face to face interaction. The interaction is not about sharing more in depth knowledge about the product. The key factor is getting to know your international counterparts on a personal basis, having a meal together without the constraint of the job, having a meal together during which, what was shared, was the common bonds that make us human, the common bonds that links all of us in the brotherhood of man (and woman), spending time together and getting to know each other in such a way as to transcend those things that would see us protecting our territory on a project.

I had such an encounter tonight. I ate and shared with people on my project, grew closer to people in a way that hundreds of hours on an international phone call could never begin to approach. I learned of Erik's half Dutch half Swiss heritage, I learned that Kurt is an international traveler that spent six weeks walking around Spain and speaks fluent Spanish. I learned that Massimiliano, at twenty four years old, is the youngest key Engineering technical leader in the company. I learned that Gianluca is a connoisseur of fine wines and, through his expertise understood that a 3 year old red wine is too young to have fully revealed it's flavor. I learned that no matter what country we call home, we are human and have similar aspirations. I learned that our native cultures are not what defines us, rather, is the framework in which we express our humanity and that humanity is fundamental to us all.