My first real programming/web dev gig was in Tacoma, Washington. My friend Joel had started a company with three other guys and decided they could take me on.
When they first came up with the idea to make a company like this, I was invited to give it a whirl - but I had some brand new kids that needed something stable, so I had to delay my joining them and kept my illustrious career at Kinko's and then eventually office manager for a Vendor's Rep company in Issaquah.
Their company wasn't bad at all for the most part. All the parts/members of their business were good fits, and what they lacked in business acumen they made up for in dedication and scrappiness. They began with a designer (Joel), two programmers (Joe and Tim) and a sales/project manager (Jon). The only down side to the makeup of the company was that it was a four way partnership - and all four heads were steering the ship, which frequently made conflict resolution difficult.
Ah yes, conflict resolution. The lack of this is why I ended up leaving. While I would suggest my departure was pre-mature, others might suggest that it was perfect timing. When the final pen strokes hit the pages, we agreed that I would quit and go along my merry way. What was the conflict, you may ask? I'll tell you (and for the first time ever).
The company was in the middle of a large project, for their largest client at the time - and I was in the position to animate a demo version of a piece of software. I had just enough experience with Flash to perform the task, though I am sure I was going about it all wrong. While the finished product looked good enough, the actual construction of the animation was a real mess. I took issue with the effort required to pull off the tasks, but with no other options or methods, without learning some serious Action Script (which there was no time for) I was flying solo to meet a deadline that just couldn't be met.
I missed my deadline and the project manager, Jon, ripped me a new one, via email. He made several demands in a demeanor that I thought were uncalled for. After many more hours of work, the demo was done and in his, and the client's hands. A meeting was held with him and our lead programmer, Joe, to discuss the stumbling blocks. They agreed that it was project communication and the strict deadline that was to blame, and that in the future: the programmer to be doing the work would in some way be consulted about feasibility of critical items, like deadlines. All was well in the world again and we were ready to depart the conference room, everyone planning for a great weekend. Right?
You'd think so, but I needed to get something off my chest. I brought up the tone and lack of professionalism in the emails sent to me, and how I felt I didn't deserve that treatment one bit. I ended up missing a family event to complete the project, while Jon spent the weekend with his son, sending me demands remotely from home. I went so far as to say that if he had spoken to me in that tone, in person, to my face, that I would have knocked him out. Probably not the best choice of words.
The next business day I returned to find all of my belongings in a box waiting for me at the front door. The reason being that I was being let go due to threatening the Project Manager with physical violence. Wha!? Truth be told it really wasn't that I threatened him, since it could hardly have been construed that way - but I did tread pretty heavily on his ego. Proof to that point being that in exchange for saying I quit instead of fired, I needed to produce a letter of apology to Jon, and one to the company. Later when I pressed them for specifics on exactly what I was apologizing for - their lawyers had told them to drop the matter and to just agree that I left on my own accord, stripping me of any unemployment benefits, etc.
However, like all good bed time stories - this one has a happy ending. I learned an awful lot about working with designers, and made some lasting friendships, which I would not have had without them. I have gone on to be successful by many standards, and have continued to keep my principles about me. Likewise, I have always treated those I work with and for with total respect and civility... and if I ever run into Jon - I will knock him out! Ha ha ha!
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