Embrace your inner strange

“Everybody Wants Some!!” It’s a nostalgic coming of age movie for male base ballers set in the 1980’s.

The following conversation ensued between Jake and Willoughby (both pitchers):

Willoughby: ..let me tell you something, Jake. It is lonely out on the bump, man. You know, hitters, they got no idea what that’s like. They don’t know the first thing about it, you know? It’s the most important part of the game, hands down, and yet it is a complete mystery to them.

Jake: Yeah, no shit, but it’s almost like they view us as a necessary evil.

Willoughby: Well, yeah, man, we kind of are, you know?  But that doesn’t make them bad guys. You know, they’re just… They’re a little scared of us. You know? We’re fucking weird, man! We’re different! And the trick is, what’s the trick?

Jake: I don’t know. Tell me.

The trick is, you can’t fight it.You gotta accept it. You gotta fucking embrace your inner fucking strange, man.Just be fucking weird, you know? And when you do that, you bring who you are, never who they want.And that, my friend, is when it gets fun.

Likewise, testers and testing are seen as a necessary evil, and it can be lonely if you are the only tester. If that’s the case, look for ways to create a community of testers within your organization. Or look to outside and join one of the many software testing communities out there.

There’s going to be times when people don’t understand what you do. Even if people don’t fully understand what you do, they will often respect your work. Lack of understanding doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It might be they fear your mystical testing skills that pull bugs out of software with a mere glance.

There are people who either don’t or won’t see the benefit of what you do regardless. You can try to explain and demonstrate what you do, and certainly use what opportunities available to talk and explain testing, but don’t overdo it. If people don’t see a benefit, sometimes it's because they don’t want to see the benefit. Let them be. Not much can be done about these.

Let’s face it, too many in software delivery we are a little weird. But rather than trying to ignore it, let’s accept and embrace it even!  When we do that we bring our whole selves to our work, not a version of what we think people want.

As a tester, there are times you’re going to face pushback, ignorance, and disrespect. I say, pick your self up, don on those red party shoes, let your hair down, turn the music up and let’s get this party going!

And that my friend is, as Willoughby says, is when it gets fun!

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