Back in the saddle

Yesterday, I visited with my co-author Gary to discuss a possible next book.

We spent some time talking about what had gone right at Atria/Pure Atria/Rational and what had gone wrong -- where we seemed to take the turn. He believes that no matter how bright the picture is, how wonderful the work environment, it will turn sour eventually. (His explanation is that Camelot turns into Brigadoon every time.) We talked about how soul-deadening the large company experience can be, and how at a large company, you can never have widespread effects on the company or your customers even after you reach the point in your career where you're capable of doing that type of work.

And then we sat down to discuss the next book. I went in expecting to enumerate our ideas, and walk away with a vague plan to do something someday. Over the last few months, we've casually tossed a couple of ideas back and forth. Yesterday, we settled on one, and then got to work. We decided who our audience would be, articulated the problem with current books of the same type, figured out how our book would be different, and started to map out -- not a table of contents -- but a structure at a higher level. We listed our deliverables and talked about having some kind of community participation.

Wow. I can tell you that I remember enjoying collaboration. I remember that feeling of being able to produce something better in a group than any individual could come up with. But yesterday, I was reminded of how good and nourishing that feeling really is. It's one of those sparks that keeps me going. And I can't wait to do more.

Alas, it'll probably be a month before we can pick this up again (Gary has a life), but still, I'm excited and eager. I haven't felt that about anything vaguely work-like in a long time. Happy, fine, pleasant, yes. But wanting to dig in? Bring it on!