My First Software Project Was a Political Firestorm

Thriving Technologist

The first software project of my career was a masterclass in surviving corporate politics that I'll never forget. Programming was the least of my problems! The perfect storm of addiction, deceit, and surviving a death in the family sent me into a downward spiral on this true story of a software project. In this story, I share the personal details of how my struggles with marijuana addiction and the lies of IT leadership collided.

Looking back at this software project in the context of my career, I can see how it shaped me. No programming degree or bootcamp could have prepared me for working in software development would really be like when powerful people were involved. As a result of this experience, I went through a period of not trusting anyone, and learning to be vulnerable again took decades. But it also taught me some important lessons about loyalty, perseverance, and putting work/life balance in perspective.

I hope by sharing this story, I can encourage you to take some responsibility for your own actions while coding. While at the same time being alert to the evil tactics people can threaten you with when ego, power, and money are on the line.

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Episode timelinks: (0:00) Introduction (1:10) The Calm Before The Storm (2:07) A Fragmented User Experience (3:00) Boredom Births and Idea (3:50) An Unexpected Demo (5:45) Mutiny In The Ranks (6:19) The Replatform Distraction (6:55) The Mutiny Exposed (7:50) The Confusions of Addiction (8:55) Impending Family Tragedy (9:41) The Burden of Responsibility (10:31) Putting Life Before Work (11:50) Comparmentalizing Grief (13:02) Accusations of Incompetence (13:50) Investigating the Truth (14:34) Relieved - But Not Really... (15:12) Act II: The Downward Spiral (15:47) A Foreshadowing Warning (16:53) A Seemingly Standard Practice... (17:41) Signs of Sabotage (18:34) The Deception Sinks In (19:44) A Coup D`Etat (20:57) A Harsh Lesson in Project Politics (21:17) New Leadership Arrives (21:38) Unrealistic Expectations (22:33) Mission Impossible (23:45) A Last Ditch C@ckblock (24:27) An Unjust Casualty (25:16) Conclusions (27:41) Next Time (28:17) Episode Groove

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