1,623 e-mail messages and 44 days later...

So, what did 1,623 e-mail messages and 44 days get me? I don't have all the answers yet, but let's explore.

First, a bit of background. I am one of a dozen individuals from colleges and universities located around Indiana who decided they would collectively submit a proposal in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the State of Indiana. One thing we all have in common is an interest in helping people learn the mysteries of computer science.

The RFP was posted 44 days prior to the deadline for submission of proposals. Fortunately, it was during the summer when we faculty-type people have "nothing" to do and could thus devote our time to developing our proposal. (Actually, this is a myth for most of us. Summer is when we try to do everything we didn't accomplish during the rest of the year, while we're teaching.)

So, we started off slow, holding an online meeting to see what direction we all wanted to take the proposal. Gradually, some overlapping themes started to emerge, and we were off and running. Well, we thought we were running at the time, but by the time we got to the end of the race, we discovered we were just jogging--or maybe even walking--at the start.

I think we treated our journey in preparing this proposal as a bit of a road trip. And "what a long strange trip it's been!" (Sorry, I couldn't resist using a Grateful Dead album name.) We had a starting place, and a destination we had to arrive at by a certain date and time, but what we did in between was not planned for those other 42 days. Along the way, we picked up a couple more travelers (we started out with ten) and took a variety of turns we didn't anticipate when we started out. Some of those were based on choices we made, and at other times we ran into "detour signs" along the way and were forced to take a different route. Most (but maybe not all) of our re-routing ended up resulting in a stronger proposal.

As you've likely experienced, designing something by committee is always an interesting, and usually slow and frustrating process. I experienced that a bit this time, but not as much as I expected. We were relatively focused and headed in similar directions, and knew we had a looming deadline we had to meet. The challenges and frustrations I experienced were largely thrust upon us from external factors. It was a genuine pleasure to work with this group.

As one measure of our workload, I present the following chart showing how many e-mail messages I have sitting in a folder for this proposal. This counts both messages sent to me, and messages I sent. As you can see, we got a whole lot more serious about completing the proposal during the last few days!

So, what did these 1,623 e-mail messages and 44 days get me? I don't have all the answers yet (for instance, I don't know if we're going to be awarded the project), but let's see what I do know at this point.

After working with the other eleven professors (and a myriad of other supporting staff) for over a month (approaching 24 x 7 the last few days), I believe I've developed some new collegial friendships. At any rate, I've expanded my collegial network. I now have tremendous respect for many of these individuals, and (although I'm likely biased) I believe the others now have more respect for me.

I repeatedly practiced patience, listening, negotiating, cooperating, leadership, taking chances, and making myself vulnerable. I was able to fight my imposter syndrome a bit, realizing others value what I have to offer at times.  I found many new resources, both people and otherwise. Most importantly <grin>, I was also able to use my sense of humor (however strange it may be!) at key moments in our journey.

Was it worth it? Would I do it again?  The answer to both is a resounding "YES, in a heartbeat!" Even if we aren't awarded the project, I gained so much more from the experience. Having said that, I do hope we get the award, as I want to continue working with this group to spread computer science knowledge.

It is amazing how hard and long we will work when we're passionate about something. This was definitely a labor of love. I've come away from it with renewed energy and excitement! 

What have your received in similar circumstances? Leave me a message below, or email me.


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