Red Squirrel Reflections Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development

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Fear is the Mindkiller
Friday, December 13, 2002

We had a preliminary meeting yesterday with some of the development team. I was excited about getting together. My Excitement didn't last long, though. As soon as the first obstacle was exposed (different goals for IT and the Customer), Fear rushed back in.

In Philippians 4:6, Paul wrote, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Frank Herbert, author of Dune, wrote, "I must not fear. Fear is the mindkiller." I think I need to keep both of these quotes close at hand. I think I'll try to memorize them.

I awoke early this morning with thoughts of failure dancing in my head. The developers will reject the practices. Management won't give us the support we need to be successful with the practices. The project manager will quietly start the project without introducing the practices. I will be unable to effectively demonstrate test-first in Dynamo.

Enough! I will not be driven by fear. Building relationships is the number one priority right now. I will also ask if I can start setting up the development environment with a partner.

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