Over the last 2 days, I’ve met damn near a million people at my current project. The project has been going on for a few months now, so everybody else knows everybody else, and there’s a constant rhythm that comes from people knowing what they’re supposed to be doing. Everybody works together, and each person (ThoughtWorkers and Client Employees alike) are all working seemlessly together. This is a great thing, but for somebody new to the team (me, for example), it can be confusing.
I want to be able to know who the ThoughtWorkers right from the get go. Have any of the other TWers run into this problem? My solution is to create a ThoughtWorker “sign.” Something that we all know, but is sly enough to keep somewhat secret. That way when we meet we can both flash the sign and know we’re on the same page…or at least that we work for the same company.
Am I out of my mind? Is this totally unneeded? And of course, who’s got a recommendation for what the sign should be?
4 responses to “The ThoughtWorks “Sign””
Well, we have a small team on our project, so we know each other, but there is potentially another way; we have regular TWer only standups. We discuss internal matters or stuff our clients wouldn’t be necessarily interested in. That marks out the TWers right away.
And regarding the TW sign, our client devs already call us Freemasons jokingly. Don’t think we need a sign, maintaining the illusion is key. LOL.
Out of your mind? No. Not needed? Not really. You’ll figure it out.
I’ve just rolled on to a project and have a similar problem, especially when talking about previous projects and knowing what I can or cannot discuss.
But, I think I prefer it this way. I like the seamless integration of ThoughtWorkers and clients, and I think it’s important for us to be open with clients so I think I’d always want to discuss project issues in front of everyone without barriers. Quite often I’ve found the client people being the best people on a project to help dispel any confusion I have had, especially when it comes to corporate culture and governance.
Anyway, there’s always the pub for ThoughtWorks geekery 🙂
So no one told you the sign?