Corporate trolling. Part one

    In business, one always needs something from others. In the design business, you crave to get your services involved. You need to make a profit. The customer also needs a lot of things. But, no matter what, you need to sell the services and get paid for them. At each stage you will be resisted. Today I will begin the story of who will resist you and how and what you can do to counter this.

    In general terms, a project in IT consists of the following steps. First you will find out about someone’s need for something (or create that need). Then you rub near the customer, licking him in every possible way and incline towards a frank conversation. I deliberately ignore corrupt transactions and will only talk about transactions under the law. When a client matures for a meeting, you arrange a show during which an idea is sold and a picture of the wonderful life that comes after the implementation of your decision is drawn. Then a contract and an advance. Then an examination and a long tedious design work. Then the delivery of design documents. Then the implementation and launch of the solution. Then commissioning. Each stage is closed by an act, on the basis of which a penny falls on your account. This is such a business. Of course, I exaggerate, and sometimes everything can be the other way around.

    So, we will deal with the classification of trolls and their techniques. Today is formal trolling. Another time, trolling full-time.


    What are trolls



    Trolling occurs at every stage, where you from the customer need a signature on the act of completion. Also, trolling occurs during implementation and even during a preliminary presentation. Because trolls are different.

    In total, British scientists distinguish three types of trolls.

    Trolls are victims.These are the poor fellows who suffer from your appearance. They lose influence, work. Or vice versa, they have to work, if before that they kicked the bulldozer. People accept hostility with any changes. This is a scientific fact. At the same time, some shut up and are silent in a rag, while others begin to troll. Having calculated such offended, you should extinguish them at every opportunity. If they are sitting in the same meeting with you, then do not let them sit next to the boss. Push between the boss and the troll. Look for logical inconsistencies in the words of the troll and point him to them. Question his competence as far as possible in context. The main thing is not to go too far.
    The most evil trolls must be removed from the project. As a last resort write official letters. Because the loss from the action of trolls is colossal. Below I will talk about how trolling is done and you yourself will understand everything.

    Troll killers. These are specially dedicated employees who prepare the way for the appearance of a “boss in white”, who will offer you obviously unfavorable conditions or simply squeeze out a free job or a discount. The issues of artistic extraction deserve a separate description, so let us leave this pleasure for later.

    Trolls are upstarts.As a rule, these are careerists who do not disdain to use any opportunity for self-PR. If a person is intelligent, you can play along with him. When he sees that you are working for him, he will also begin to help you smoothly. If he is a moron, which is most likely, then you will have to intimidate him, publicly humiliate him and make it clear that he will not beat you. In extreme cases, it should also be removed from the project, as well as the troll victim.

    Types of Formal Trolling



    The easiest way is formal trolling. For example, during the approval of documents and during the acceptance of the system. In documents, usually any crap is written, to get to the bottom of which a special mind is not necessary. Here for an example, the most noticeable rake.

    Any, everyone, everything.These three magic words should not appear in your technical documents. Seek and crush them if you do not want the trolls to celebrate an easy victory! They wrote "choose any object." The troll will choose the one that will not meet the given conditions. And he will be absolutely right. Also, it doesn’t break it off to check “every” element. If at least one of the similarities is not observed, then your phrase is formally false, which means that you can safely enter this into the protocol, without unnecessary details. The big boss will not delve into the details, but simply will not sign the act and leave you without money.

    Val comments.The method relates to exhausting tactics. It is used by the troll-killer, which can take a week to prepare hundreds of comments on your documents. The trick here is that you spend significant resources on working out each comment. And you must work them out. Even if you just need to give explanations, then you need to write them, make a general register, do not forget to prepare a working protocol, a cover letter. Sometimes you have to pull out specialists who may already be busy on other projects or may be on a business trip. As a result, you can sit in time, which will be a formal reason to send you.

    Endless cycle.You work out all the sent comments and think you won. But the trolls have prepared something else for you. Documents are sent for approval to the troll from another department under the pretext of complex internal regulations, and the latter will generate a couple of dozen comments. You work them out. Then the first troll says that you made changes to the original document, about which he knows nothing. And again begins to read and generate new comments. Everything continues exactly until you overdue the next working out, after which you are joyfully sent.

    First, immediately prepare the work schedule for comments, confirm it with the boss. So that the customer collected everything in one heap, in a standard form (for example, in a tablet) and sent it to you for testing. This will eliminate looping and duplication of comments.

    Next, you must appoint an anti-troll, which will systematically dig up every comment. Where there is no specifics - nafig. Where demagoguery - nafig. From the whole bunch of comments sent, choose only those where it is clearly written what needs to be changed. The rest are rejected. In 70% of cases you will be left behind. But if the troll victim dug in on that side, get ready for a deadly duel. He will not calm down and will still hammer you with remarks. In some cases, it is necessary to attract heavy artillery from those who bring in the loot so that the troll-victim is removed from participation in the project.

    Agree, all this would be very sad if it were not so much fun. In the end, this is the same game as many others played by adult uncles and aunts.

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