The arguments are so vicious because the stakes are so low. (Henry Kissinger)

For some reason or other, this always seems to raise its ugly head on internal projects. My experience with these is that everyone tends to think they’re an expert, there’s no natural chain of command, the people who tend to volunteer are often suck-ups and preeners … Add in the fact that no one’s going to pay attention to the end results anyway, and you’re all set!

Not too surprisingly, my first experience with this goes all the way back to grad school (the original quote was about academia, by the way). Now, that stuff really did amaze me. In fact, it’s probably why I don’t have a PhD at the end of my name, to be honest.

One of the great attractions about industry was that I didn’t have to worry too much about all that. Either the stakes were pretty high, or people simply weren’t that into fretting and drama, and just wanted to get something decent out the door.

At the same time, I happened to be very lucky in that I always seemed to find myself in situations where I was encouraged to sample the academic side of things. Conferences, papers, speaking engagements, guest lectures, organizational work were all encouraged. It was the best of both worlds. 

I also found that I was most attracted to the academic stuff that was only of the most practical nature. So, UXPA over CHI, the Journal of Usability Studies versus Proceedings of the IEEE, Jakob Nielsen before Don Norman …

Sometimes, though, even industry can turn a bit petty. Luckily, though, it seems to be mostly in those unusual situations, where the normal guardrails are not always in place. And in those situations, it’s always helpful to remind myself that it may not matter all that much, and that I can always save my energy for something that does.

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God, do you learn. (C. S. Lewis)

I love being wrong. I just adore making mistakes. Especially if I can arrange to do that in front of a large crowd or a bunch of people that I look up to.

Yeah, right. Just like every other specimen of Homo sapiens out there, this is not exactly my favorite thing. There’s nothing in the world that will transform me into a petulant, defensive five-year-old quicker.

Now, this sort of thing will also certainly get my attention. But, heck, getting hit over the head with a hammer would do something very similar. That said, I can be pretty thick at times. So, probably not a bad idea, all things considered. 

And these are also the times when things really do sink in. And that’s not just because of the huge dent on the top of my head either. Now, they might take a while to totally sink in – and a lot of sensitive feelings to get over as well. But it really is pretty effective.

Now, I tend to be really terrible at it, but when experience is pointing something painful out to me, I do try to calm down, shut up, and take it in. Once again, I’m not always successful, and it certainly doesn’t happen instantaneously, but I’ll usually get there eventually.

And for you designers and developers and project team members out there, do know that user researchers get feedback too. Yup, we’re not just dumping on you.  ;^)

You’ll be happy to know that user researchers dump on each other as well – if they’re part of a well-functioning group, that is. We’ll also go directly to our clients and have them dump on us – once again, if we’re managed well. 

And, finally, know that experiential feedback is not just something for newbies. Now, the beginning of your career is ripe for this sort of thing, but do realize that the rest of your career will be far from immune. New tools, new methods, new users, new domains, new teams, new companies, new technology – all provide plenty of opportunities for experiential learning.

Learning is good. Learning can, however, be painful sometimes. Just hang in there though – you’ll learn lots.

Hint:  He was against it (technology, that is)