GeekHawk
Well-known member
I will speak about 'culture' from recent experience... Starting out with, I was raised in the 60s/70s in lower-working-class circumstances and all that entailed. Poverty, hard work, little to no reward, little to no chance of college (and getting out of that environment), etc. No regard whatsoever for 'culture' except the culture of 'suck it up, buttercup' and 'nobody gives a shit about your widdle feelings'.
I was sent from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard last fall to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in VA for 4 months starting in the middle of last August. When I got there, I was immediately struck by the toxic work environment and the sheer amount of errors being made by everyone there - engineers, shop workers, quality inspectors, project supervisors, the whole gang. It's no wonder all their projects are over budget, behind schedule, and often needing rework after the ship goes back to sea. Huge, unsustainable personnel turnover with people talking openly about wanting out and what jobs they were applying for elsewhere. Everyone aspiring to just barely make the minimum requirements of whatever they're doing. And, I was struck by the negative culture of the place. I guarantee most everyone goes home after work and drinks too much just to numb themselves after the day. What was kinda telling was how many people, both engineers like me and shop workers, who had ever temporarily been assigned to Puget wished their work place was like ours.
I tried to work there the same way I work here, and to treat the shop workers like we do instead of like they do, and I spent a great deal of my time just talking about how I thought they could get 'more like us'. You know, just being an example. (As I like to say, if your life can't be a shining example at least let it be a terrible warning. In this case I was trying for the former...) Before I left I was hit up by managers and department heads about my experience there, and I talked frankly (and without regard to the politics of the place) about their culture and what I call 'lack of ownership' of the equipment and processes.
Believe me, culture can make a huge difference to the product of your work. I don't see why it would be any less true for a football team than it is for a ship maintenance facility.
I was sent from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard last fall to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in VA for 4 months starting in the middle of last August. When I got there, I was immediately struck by the toxic work environment and the sheer amount of errors being made by everyone there - engineers, shop workers, quality inspectors, project supervisors, the whole gang. It's no wonder all their projects are over budget, behind schedule, and often needing rework after the ship goes back to sea. Huge, unsustainable personnel turnover with people talking openly about wanting out and what jobs they were applying for elsewhere. Everyone aspiring to just barely make the minimum requirements of whatever they're doing. And, I was struck by the negative culture of the place. I guarantee most everyone goes home after work and drinks too much just to numb themselves after the day. What was kinda telling was how many people, both engineers like me and shop workers, who had ever temporarily been assigned to Puget wished their work place was like ours.
I tried to work there the same way I work here, and to treat the shop workers like we do instead of like they do, and I spent a great deal of my time just talking about how I thought they could get 'more like us'. You know, just being an example. (As I like to say, if your life can't be a shining example at least let it be a terrible warning. In this case I was trying for the former...) Before I left I was hit up by managers and department heads about my experience there, and I talked frankly (and without regard to the politics of the place) about their culture and what I call 'lack of ownership' of the equipment and processes.
Believe me, culture can make a huge difference to the product of your work. I don't see why it would be any less true for a football team than it is for a ship maintenance facility.